Vale John Olsen AO, OBE

In a career spanning more than 70 years, Olsen developed an exceptional and distinctive pictorial language. Defined by an energised line and bold use of colour in works that meld both representation and abstraction, his practice captured a unique sense of Australia’s landscape. He painted a personal view of the world as experienced by the senses, often full of joie de vivre but also contemplative and deeply felt.

His first exhibition was held in Sydney in 1955, and he quickly became recognised as an emerging force in the Australian art world. From the 1960s, Sydney Harbour inspired numerous paintings, the best known of which is Five bells 1963 on display at the Art Gallery now, a prelude to the monumental Salute to ‘Five bells’ 1972–73, commissioned for the Sydney Opera House.

In the following decades Olsen evolved artistically, while his relationship to the environment remained central to his art. He created a unique and poetic vision of the spirit and character of Australia. In his words, he aimed to paint the ‘… experience of a total landscape. Not like there is the foreground, there is the middle distance and there is the horizon. I wanted that overall feeling of travelling over the landscape.’

Olsen’s relationship with the Art Gallery – both challenging and championing – goes back seven decades. From leading anti-Archibald protests in the 1950s to serving as a trustee in the 1970s; winning the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes from the 1960s to the 2000s; and celebrating a major retrospective exhibition in 2016–17, Olsen has been a thoughtful and passionate contributor to the Art Gallery and to Australian cultural life.¹