John Olsen is 93 now, and painting is still his life force, his passion undiminished. Described by the late art curator Edmund Capon as “up there in the stratosphere†of Australian artists, there have been honours, awards, prizes and all the things that come with acclaim.
John Olsen is one of Australia's greatest living artists. Born in Newcastle NSW in 1928, Olsen is well known for his energetic and distinctive painting style and in particular for his lyrical depiction of the landscape.
The present painting Popping Blue Bottles, Life by the Sea, created in 2007, is a visual evocation of Olsen's recollections of an idyllic childhood of life on the shores of the harbour.
At 144 kilometres long and 77 kilometres wide, Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre is Australia's biggest salt lake. Located 647 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, it was formed approximately 200 million years ago and is the lowest point below sea level on the Australian continent.
In 2004, a year after the launch of his second gallery, their son, James, was born. Publicly, Olsen was emerging as a force in the art world. The real picture was one of intense private turmoil, where depression and alcoholism reigned. He says the only thing that stopped him jumping was the thought of his son.
John Olsen has been married four times and has three children. Tim is the son of his second wife, artist Valerie Olsen.
Who were John Olsen's parents?
Esma Agnes Olsen
Henry Olsen
"My mother is the reason why I'm still alive," he said of the artist Valerie Strong, who died in 2011.
Tim's mother, Valerie Strong – “interesting, gentle and lovingâ€, according to John's biographer Darleen Bungey – had been a married art student when she came under the magnetic pull of Olsen. She gave birth to Tim two weeks after she married the artist in 1962.
Albert NamatjiraAn Arrernte man from the MacDonnell Ranges in the Northern Territory, Namatjira (1902-1959) is undoubtedly Australia's most famous Indigenous artist.
I became engaged to Dominique Ogilvie within a month of meeting her. I was in love and felt safe with her. She is the mother of my 16-year-old son, James.
