First Daughter (Brack)

First Daughter
Artist John Brack
Year 1955
Type oil on canvas on composition board
Dimensions 75.5 cm × 55.4 cm (29.7 in × 21.8 in)
Location Private collection, Sydney

First Daughter is a 1955 Modernist painting by Australian artist John Brack. The painting depicts his daughter Clara as a young girl kneeling on the floor drawing a person on a piece of paper. The subject is seen from above - from the viewpoint of a father.[1]

The painting was first shown in the exhibition John Brack, at Peter Bray Gallery,[2][3] Melbourne, 8-17 March 1955, for the price of 35 guineas; then at John Brack: The Sport of Kings and Other Paintings, at the Johnstone Gallery, Brisbane, 27 March - 8 April 1957, titled there 'Little Girl Drawing', and purchased for 40 guineas,[4] by Mr J.C. Tritton, Brisbane.

It was sold at auction by Christie's in 1971 and "disappeared from view", becoming part of various private collections.[5][6]

The painting was part of the private collection of Sydney banker, and co-founder of Macquarie Bank, David Clarke.[7] It was sold at auction by Sotheby's in April 2015 for a hammer price of AUD725,000.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Sasha Grishin, The Art of John Brack, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1990, Vol. 2, p.32
  2. ↑ "Austerity of line and color controls the effect of the portrait of the artist's wife and the studies of his four daughters. "Little Girl's Head" (5) makes a lovely pattern of a "hairdo" seen from the back. The sprawled form of "First Daughter" (4) draws the eye to her own art effort on a paper placed on the floor." Shore, Arnold (1955). 'Artist stresses human values'. (1955, March 8). The Argus p. 13. Retrieved 8 July 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71637449
  3. ↑ 'Painter's Commentary on Social Scene', The Age, Melbourne, 8 March 1955
  4. ↑ Gertrude Langer, 'Painter Portrays City Life', The Courier Mail, Brisbane, 27 March 1957
  5. ↑ Cockington, James (21 April 2015). "Art world's big hitter back on the block". The Age. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  6. ↑ Cockington, James (21 April 2015). "Brack on the block". The Age. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Sotheby’s to auction Macbank co-founder David Clarke’s $5m collection". The Australian. 26 February 2015.
  8. ↑ Dumas, Daisy (29 April 2015). "John Brack's artwork First Daughter, not seen by public for 60 years, sells for $725,000". The Age (Fairfax Ltd). Retrieved 29 April 2015.

External links

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