Background
John Olsen was born in Newcastle on 21 January 1928 and moved to Bondi Beach with his family in 1935, which began his lifelong fascination with Sydney Harbour.
John Olsen was born in Newcastle on 21 January 1928 and moved to Bondi Beach with his family in 1935, which began his lifelong fascination with Sydney Harbour.
He went to the Datillo Rubbo Art School in 1947 and in 1950 to 1953; he studied at the Julian Ashton School in Sydney, and Auburn School, 1950 to 1956.
In 1957 a Sydney art critic raised funds for John Olsen to go to England and paint. He studied printmaking in Paris in 1957, followed by two years in Spain. Olsen returned to Sydney in 1960. He wanted to represent Australian culture in such a way that the world would see the diversity in the changing outback seasons.
John Olsen's work is represented in all Australian state gallery collections, the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra and regional galleries Australia wide. He is also represented in institutional, corporate and private collections in Australasia, United Kingdom, Europe and the United States of America.
Selected Group exhibitions
Southern Reflections: Ten Contemporary Artists, an exhibition that toured Northern Europe, 1998-1999
Private Collections, Orange Regional Gallery, 1998
Escape Artists: Modernists in the Tropics, touring regional galleries in Queensland and New South Wales 1998-1999