Olsen, John

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.^[2] 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.In 1968 Olsen set up and ran the Bakery Art School, and in 1972-73 he painted 'Salute to Five Bells', inspired by Kenneth Slessor's poem. Olsen's work has been marked by a deep engagement with the Australian landscape, and he has lived for long periods in different parts of the country and travelled widely in it. He has served on the boards of the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the National Art Gallery.His artworks include the Lake Eyre series and more recent works such as Golden Summer, and the Clarendon'. One of Olsen's most successful murals, Salute to Five Bells, is currently hung in the Sydney Opera House. Although he has been labelled as an abstract artist, Olsen rejects this accusation, stating, "I have never painted an abstract painting in my life". He describes his work as "an exploration of the totality of landscape". Olsen published his diaries, under the title 'Drawn From Life', in 1997.He is well known for his paintings of frogs, and for including frogs in many of his works. In 2013 a major work titled King Sun was hung in Collins Place, Melbourne Docklands. It is immense, 6 by 8 metres, and made up of 8 panels. It is a depiction of a brilliant Australian sun, and it contains 3 frogs.In the New Year's Honours of 1977 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire,^[3] and in the Australia Day Honours of 2001 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia.^[4] He was awarded the Centenary Medal on 1 January 2001.^[5]He won the 2005 Archibald Prize for his portrait Self portrait Janus Faced.^[6]