JUSTIN O'BRIEN

O’Brien studied at the East Sydney Technical College (1930-36), and served with the Australian Medical Corp during the Second World War in Palestine and Greece. During the war, O’Brien witnessed a mass grave of Greek civilians and the experience profoundly influenced the artist, shaping his commitment to Byzantine art. On his return to Australia, O’Brien lived at Merioola a boarding house in Sydney which became an important artistic centre, with O’Brien establishing lifelong friendships with artists such as Jesse Martin and Margaret Olley.

O’Brien’s work is characterised by a consideration of Byzantine aesthetics, Quattrocento painting and Flemish masters such as Dieric Bouts and Gerard David, with elongated, stylised figures, summary and symbolic landscapes and a shallow treatment of the picture plane.

O’Brien was an influential teacher as art master at Cranbrook School in Sydney (1946-67) and was awarded the Blake Prize for Religious Art in 1951. His work is held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney and the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.