JUSTIN O'BRIEN
1917-1996

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, SYDNEY

JUSTIN O'BRIEN

1917-1996
The Draught of Fishes (1946)

oil on canvas on board
signed 'O'BRIEN' upper right
75.5 x 60.3 cm

Provenance

Mr Richard Ormsby Martin, New South Wales, acquired in 1946
Paintings, Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 2 November 1983, lot 92, 'The Apostles Hauling in the Net'
Private Collection
Australian and International Paintings, Christie's Australia, Melbourne, 23 November 1999, lot 11, 'Miraculous Draught of Fishes', illustrated
Private Collection, Sydney, acquired from the above

Exhibited

Contemporary Art Society: Second State Exhibition, Education Gallery, Sydney, 26 April – 10 May 1946, no. 133, 35 gns
Sydney Group: Oils and Watercolours, David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, 6-27 August 1946, no. 41, 'The Miraculous Draught'
(Possibly) Australian Irresistibles 1930-1970, Bonython Gallery, Sydney, 11 August – 2 September 1970, no. 89, 'Miracle of the Fishes c. 1949';
Justin O'Brien: The Sacred Music of Colour, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 18 December 2010 – 27 February 2011, no. 11, illustrated

Literature

Paul Haefliger, 'Sydney Group's Second Annual Show', The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 6 August 1946, p. 5
Harry Tatlock Miller, 'Artists Turn Backs on Bikini', The Sun, Sydney, 6 August 1946, p. 7
Anthony Bradley, The Art of Justin O'Brien, The Craftsman Press, Sydney, 1982, pp. 14, 98
Barry Pearce and Natalie Wilson, Justin O'Brien: The Sacred Music of Colour, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2000, pp.2 (illustrated), 157, and catalogue supplement p. 7