The bar
1954
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
97.0 × 130.3 cm irreg.
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased with the assistance of Peter Clemenger AM and Joan Clemenger, Elena Keown Bequest, Spotlight Foundation, NGV Foundation, Ross Adler AC and Fiona Adler, Bruce Parncutt and Robin Campbell, Marc Besen AO and Eva Besen AO, the Bowness Family, Lindsay Fox AO and Paula Fox, Dorothy Gibson, Rino Grollo and Diana Ruzzene Grollo, Ian Hicks AM, the NGV Women’s Association and donors to the John Brack Appeal, 2009
© Helen Brack
Gallery location
Gallery 12
Level 2, NGV Australia
About this work
While the history of art remained an important touchstone and source of inspiration for John Brack throughout his career, The bar is one of the few works of his in which there is a direct connection to artistic precedent. Here, Brack restates the subject of Édouard Manet’s famous painting A bar at the Folies-Bergère, 1882, in a contemporary guise, replacing the opulence of 1880s Paris with the austerity of 1950s Melbourne. Under the watchful eye of the stern barmaid, a band of near-identical workers urgently drink their fill before the six o’clock closing that was enforced in Melbourne pubs until 1966.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Melbourne, Victoria
Inscription
inscribed in black paint l.r.: John Brack 54
Accession Number
2009.53
Department
Australian Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Vizard Foundation
Subjects (general)
Daily Life Human Figures Interiors
Subjects (specific)
bars (commercial buildings) bartenders drinking flowers (plant components) men (male humans) pubs reflections (perceived properties) women (female humans)