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 Australian artist before or since. Brack forged the iconography of a decade on canvas as sharply as

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (17 February 1934 – 22 April 2023) was an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He was best known for writing and playing his stage and television characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He appeare ...

did on stage."

Life

During

World War 2 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilisin ...

(1940–1946) VX107527 Lieutenant John Brack served with the Field Artillery. Brack was Art Master at

Melbourne Grammar School Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian private school, private Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and senior s ...

(1952–1962). His art first achieved prominence in the 1950s. He also joined the

Antipodeans Group The Antipodeans were a collective of Australians, Australian modern artists, known for their advocacy of figurative art and opposition to abstract expressionism. The group, which included seven painters from Melbourne and art historian Bernard W ...

in the 1950s which protested against

abstract expressionism Abstract expressionism in the United States emerged as a distinct art movement in the aftermath of World War II and gained mainstream acceptance in the 1950s, a shift from the American social realism of the 1930s influenced by the Great Depressi ...

. He was appointed Head of National Gallery of Victoria Art School (1962–1968), where he was an influence on many artists and the creation of the expanded school attached to the new gallery building.

Style

Brack's early conventional style evolved into one of simplified, almost stark, shapes and areas of deliberately drab colour, often featuring large areas of brown. He made an initial mark in the 1950s with works on the contemporary Australian culture, such as the iconic '' Collins St., 5 pm'' (1955), a view of rush hour in post-war Melbourne. Set in a bleak palette of browns and greys, it was a comment on the conformity of everyday life, with all figures looking almost identical. A related painting, '' The Bar'' (1954), was modelled on Manet's 1882 ''

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère ''A Bar at the Folies-Bergère'' () is a painting by Édouard Manet, considered to be his last major work. It was painted in 1882 and exhibited at the Paris Salon of that year. It depicts a scene in the Folies Bergère nightclub in Paris. The pa ...

'', and satirised the six o'clock swill, a social ritual arising from the early closing of Australian pubs. Most of these early paintings and drawings were unmistakably satirical comments against the Australian Dream, either being set in the newly expanding post-war suburbia or taking the life of those who lived there as their subject matter. In the 1970s, Brack produced a long series of highly stylised works featuring objects such as pencils in complex patterns. These were intended as

allegories As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory throughou ...

of contemporary life.

Period and themes

Brack's works cover a wide range topics and themes. He often did a series of works on a particular theme over a number of years. His portraits, including self-portraits, and portraits of family, friends and commissions, and his paintings of nudes were produced throughout his career. * War time drawings (1943–1945) * Scenes of urban life (Shops, street scenes etc.) (1952– * Racecourse (1953–1956) * School, the playground (1959–60) * Wedding (1960–61) * Shop Windows (1963–1977) * Ballroom Dancers (1969) * Gymnastics (1971–1973) * Postcards and implements (1976– * Pencils and pens (1981– * Mannequins (1989–90) ''The Art of John Brack'' by Sasha Grishin includes a

catalogue raisonné A (or critical catalogue) is an annotated listing of the works of an artist or group of artists and can contain all works or a selection of works categorised by different parameters such as medium or period. A ''catalogue raisonné'' is normal ...

of his work to 1990. The catalogue for the exhibition at

Heide Museum of Modern Art The Heide Museum of Modern Art, also known as Heide, is an art museum in Bulleen, Victoria, Bulleen, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Established in 1981, the museum exhibits modern art, modern and contemporary a ...

in 2000 includes works to 1994.

Exhibitions and auctions

A major retrospective exhibition of Brack's work was held at the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

from 24 August 2007 to 18 November 2007; it was the last major exhibition at the Old Parliament House before the gallery was relocated. Brack's widow, Helen Maudsley, an artist in her own right, attended the opening and commented that Brack was not concerned with the social standing of the sitter, but rather the artistic merit of their participation in the piece. Brack's painting ''The Bar'' sold for $3.2 million in April 2006, while in May 2007 his painting ''The Old Time'' sold for $3.36 million at auction in Sydney, a record for a painting by an Australian artist. * 2020 'Laughing Child' (1958) was scheduled for auction in Sydney on 24 June 2020. It is a portrait of the artist's daughter Charlotte, aged four, and is described as "one of Australian art's most compelling representations of childhood". * 200
John Brack: Retrospective ExhibitionThe Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
* 2006–200
'The Nude in the Art of John Brack'
MacClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park, Langwarrin * 199
'John Brack – Inside and Outside'
works in the N.G.A. collection, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra * 199
'John Brack and Fred Williams'
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide * 1987–88 'John Brack – A Retrospective'
National Gallery of Victoria
Melbourne * 1981 'Drawings, 1945–79',

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

Gallery, Melbourne * 1977 'Paintings and Drawings, 1945–77',

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

* 1977 'Selected Paintings, 1947–77', Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Gallery, Melbourne

Notes and references

External links

Self-portrait 1955

John Brack
at the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

*
''The Sewing Machine'' 1955 at
Ballarat Fine Art Gallery.
John Brack at OnlyMelbourne

Images of John Brack's prints at ''Prints and Printmaking''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brack, John 1920 births 1999 deaths Artists from Melbourne 20th-century Australian male artists 20th-century Australian printmakers Australian male painters Australian military personnel of World War II Military personnel from Melbourne People from South Melbourne National Gallery of Victoria Art School alumni Melbourne Grammar School 20th-century Australian painters Australian modern painters Australian satirists Australian sports artists