John BRACK

The bar
1954

Medium

oil on canvas

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
Reproduction requests

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

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

97.0 × 130.3 cm irreg.

Place/s of Execution

Melbourne, Victoria

Inscription

inscribed in black paint John Brack 54

Accession Number

2009.53

Department

Australian Painting

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
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Vizard Foundation

Reproduction requests

Gallery location

Gallery 12
Level 2, NGV Australia

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)

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John BRACK The bar 1954

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John BRACK

The bar
1954