Vale John Olsen (1928–2023)

John Olsen passed away peacefully surrounded by family in his home near Bowral, New South Wales, on 11 April 2023 at age 95. His children, Tim and Louise, say he was “painting right up to the last in his studio, with his friends calling in to see him.”

His distinctive use of colour, energetic painting style, and lyrical depiction of the landscape led to an impressive career as one of Australia’s greatest artists for over sixty years. His work, My Salute to the Five Bells, has been commissioned for Sydney VIVID to be displayed on the most famous outdoor canvas, the sails of the Opera House.

John Olsen, 2021. Photograph: Anna Kucera

Tim and Louise in loving tribute:

“Our father was a titan of the art world and beloved by many in Australia and overseas but to us he was Dad, in all the wonderful humaneness, complexity and humanity that word encapsulates.”

John Olsen will be dearly missed.

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