Rudolph John Komon MBE (21 June 190827 October 1982) was a Viennese–born Czech–Australian art dealer, gallery director, benefactor and wine connoisseur. He had a great influence on the burgeoning artistic life of Australia in the 1950s and 1960s.

Life

Komon was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

in 1908, to

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

parents, and his family later moved to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. After school he was a journalist for a Czech language newspaper, and in 1938 he moved to

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

itself and joined the resistance, while ostensibly engaged in journalism and art dealership. His parents remained in Berlin, and his mother was killed by Allied bombing during World War II.Australian Dictionary of Biography
Retrieved 14 January 2019 After the Communist takeover of his country in 1948 he escaped to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, then migrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in 1950, settling in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. He opened an antique store in Waverley, then the Rudy Komon Art Gallery in

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

, in the site of a former liquor shop at 124 Jersey Road. The corner shop was modified into a gallery by local architect Neville Gruzman in 1963. Komon introduced European marketing practices to Australia, such as paying artists a wage in return for the right to sell their work, and significantly assisted the budding careers of painters such as

Arthur Boyd Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd (24 July 1920 – 24 April 1999) was a leading Australian painter of the middle to late 20th century. Boyd's work ranges from impressionist renderings of Australian landscape to starkly expressionist figuration, ...

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 ...

, Judy Cassab, Robert Dickerson,

William Dobell Sir William Dobell (24 September 189913 May 1970) was an Australian portrait and landscape artist of the 20th century. Dobell won the Archibald Prize, Australia's premier award for portrait artists on three occasions. The Dobell Prize is named ...

Russell Drysdale Sir George Russell Drysdale (7 February 1912 – 29 June 1981), also known as Tass Drysdale, was an Australian artist. He won the prestigious Wynne Prize for ''Sofala (Drysdale), Sofala'' in 1947, and represented Australia at the Venice Biennal ...

Leonard French Leonard William French OBE (8 October 1928 – 10 January 2017) was an Australian artist, known principally for major stained glass works. French was born in Brunswick, Victoria to a family of Cornish origin. His stained glass creations inc ...

Sidney Nolan Sir Sidney Robert Nolan (22 April 191728 November 1992) was one of the leading Australian artists of the 20th century. Working in a wide variety of media, his oeuvre is among the most diverse and prolific in all of modern art. He is best known ...

Clifton Pugh Clifton Ernest Pugh (17 December 1924 – 14 October 1990) was an Australian artist and three-time winner of Australia's Archibald Prize. One of Australia's most renowned and successful painters, Pugh was strongly influenced by German Express ...

, Jon Molvig,

John Olsen John Wayne Olsen AO (born 7 June 1945) is an Australian politician, diplomat and football commissioner. He was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001. He is now President of the Federal Liberal Party, Chairma ...

, Fred Williams and

Brett Whiteley Brett Whiteley Order of Australia, AO (7 April 1939 – 15 June 1992) was an Australian artist. He is represented in the collections of all the large Australian galleries, and was twice winner of the Archibald Prize, Archibald, Wynne Prize, ...

.National Portrait Gallery
Retrieved 14 January 2019 Gwen Frolich joined the gallery in 1961 as Komon's business partner until his death in 1982. The Gallery was then run by Frolich until it was closed in 1984.

Honours

Komon was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE), Member (Civil) for the Arts on 2 June 1973. He was also known as a ''bon vivant'' and connoisseur of wine. From 1956 to 1976 he was Cellarmaster of the Wine and Food Society of New South Wales, and from 1959 to 1979 he judged wine at shows in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Canberra. The Rudy Komon Memorial Perpetual Trophy is awarded annually at the Sydney Royal Wine Show. Eric Smith's portrait of Rudy Komon won the 1981

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

. Smith had previously entered a portrait of Rudy in the 1973 Archibald Prize. In 1970 Smith had won the Archibald Prize for a portrait of Komon's gallery architect Neville Gruzman. A plaque commemorating Rudy Komon's life was installed at the site of his art gallery at 124 Jersey Road, Paddington by Woollahra Municipal Council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Komon, Rudy 1908 births 1982 deaths Czechoslovak emigrants to Australia Australian art dealers Austrian art patrons Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire Czech journalists 20th-century Australian philanthropists 20th-century journalists Australian art patrons Czech patrons of the arts

Life

Honours

See also

References