Born in Melbourne, John Brack emerged as one of the most singular and original of Australia's twentieth century painters in the 1950s. Brack became interested in studying art after seeing reproductions of works by Van Gogh, and between 1938 and 1940 he took evening classes at the National Gallery of Victoria School. He returned to art school full-time in 1946 after six years in the army. After finishing his studies worked as an assistant framer at the NGV, until being appointed to the position of art master at Melbourne Grammar School in 1951. Brack's works of the 1950s depicted ordinary people and urban scenes and were an immediate success. He is now celebrated for his satirical yet perceptive images of urban life, his subjects including shopfronts, school yards, housing estates, office workers, ballroom dancers, jockeys and barflies. Though portraiture represented only a small proportion of his output, he created a number of icons of Australian portraiture, such as Barry Humphries in the character of Mrs Everage, which was an Archibald Prize finalist in 1969 and for which this work is a preparatory study.
Gift of Timothy Fairfax AC 2012. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
© Helen Brack
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