JOHN BRACK
Over a period of 40 years John Brack painted many of Australian art’s most celebrated images in works that revealed an acerbic view of life in urban Melbourne. Brack attended evening classes at the National Gallery of Victoria School (1938-1940), and following six years of army service, returned to study full time (1946-49), later working in the Gallery’s print room (1949-1951). He was also an influential teacher, employed as art master at Melbourne Grammar School (1952-1962) and head of the National Gallery School (1962-68).
Rather than being drawn to painting images of the Australian desert, Brack was interested in the country’s urban environment and the nature of human behaviour with his paintings revealing an alienated view of modern life executed with a meticulous care for detail, establishing his reputation as one of the country’s most important painters. Most famously, his painting, Collins Street 5pm (1955) remains one of the most reproduced works of art in Australia. From 1968, he completed other well-known series, including the Schoolyard, Wedding, Shop Front and Ballroom Dancing series, in which he sought to reconcile the specific subject matter of his paintings with more universal concerns about the human condition.
Brack has work in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne and all state gallery collections.
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