Colin Cuthbert Orr Colahan (12 February 1897,

Woodend, Victoria Woodend () is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Macedon Ranges local government area on Dja Dja Wurrung country and is bypassed to the east and north by the Calder Freeway (M79), located about halfway between Melbourn ...

– 6 June 1987,

Ventimiglia Ventimiglia (; lij, label= Intemelio, Ventemiglia , lij, label=Genoese, Vintimiggia; french: Vintimille ; oc, label=Provençal, Ventemilha ) is a resort town in the province of Imperia, Liguria, northern Italy. It is located southwest of ...

) was an Australian painter and sculptor. Educated at

Xavier College Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878. ...

. Second youngest of the six children of Surgeon-Major-General John Joseph Aloysius Colahan (1836-1918), and Eliza McDowell Colahan (1859–1899), née Orr: Mary Margarita Colahan (1886–1965); Beatrice Clare Colahan (1889–1984); Frederick John Orr Colahan (1892–1982); John Maurice Orr "Jack" Colahan (1894–1917); Colin; and Basil Nicholas Orr Colahan (1898–1980)., While a student in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, and joined

Max Meldrum Duncan Max Meldrum (3 December 1875 – 6 June 1955) was a Scottish-born Australian artist and art teacher, best known as the founder of Australian tonalism, a representational painting style that became popular in Melbourne during the interwa ...

's school of painting and subsequently became a key figure of the Australian tonalist movement. In 1937 he joined and exhibited with Robert Menzies' Australian Academy of Art. Colahan created the 'Sirena' fountain for the Italian town of

Bordighera Bordighera (; lij, A Bordighea, locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Imperia, Liguria (Italy). Geography Bordighera is located from the land border between Italy and France, and it is possible to see the French coast with a nak ...

. His sculpture of the head of Victor Smorgon was bought by the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited ar ...

. His work can be found in the collections of the state galleries of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. He was appointed an Australian official war artist in 1942. A portrait in

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

F. Matthias Alexander Frederick Matthias Alexander (20 January 1869 – 10 October 1955) was an Australian actor and author who developed the Alexander Technique, an educational process that recognizes and overcomes reactive, habitual limitations in movement and th ...

(of " Alexander technique" fame), painted by Colahan to commemorate the subject's 80th birthday, was shown on the BBC's ''

Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local peopl ...

'' programme in May 2013, when it was still in the possession of the son of the wife of Alexander's nephew.

References

External links

''Dr John Dale'' by Colin Colahan (1934)
at the

1897 births 1987 deaths Australian war artists World War II artists 20th-century Australian sculptors 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists Australian male painters People educated at Xavier College Australian people of Irish descent Artists from Victoria (Australia) {{Australia-painter-stub