
''Collins St., 5 pm'' is a
1955 painting by Australian artist
John Brack
John Brack (10 May 1920 – 11 February 1999) was an Australian painter, and a member of the Antipodeans group. According to one critic, Brack's early works captured the idiosyncrasies of their time "more powerfully and succinctly than any Aust ...
. The painting depicts office workers walking along busy
Collins Street in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
after finishing work for the day"Blank-faced office workers hurry by like sleep-walkers, thinking only of the pubs or their homes in the suburbs".
Brack conceived the work after reading
T. S. Eliot's 1922 poem ''
The Waste Land''. It is considered a companion piece to Brack's earlier work ''
The Bar''.
The painting was purchased from
Peter Bray Gallery for the
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...
's permanent Australian art collection and is exhibited in the
Ian Potter Centre in
Federation Square in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
.
National Gallery of Victoria Acquisition 1956
/ref>
In 2011, ''Collins St., 5 pm'' was voted the most popular work in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...
.
References
External links
''Collins St., 5pm''
- National Gallery of Victoria collection.
Paintings by John Brack
Paintings in the National Gallery of Victoria
1955 paintings
Arts in Melbourne
Oil on canvas paintings
Streets in art
Paintings based on literature
Collins Street, Melbourne
Works set in Australia
Paintings of people
Cityscape paintings
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