Joseph Brown AO OBE (1918–2009), art collector and art dealer, arrived in Australia from Poland in 1933. He studied painting and sculpture and exhibited his works in the 1960s, but is best known as a gallerist who both fostered the careers of emerging Australian artists and facilitated appreciation of the work of their colonial-era antecedents. Having established the Joseph Brown Gallery in Collins Street, Melbourne, in 1967, he built up one of the finest private art collections in Australia, and made such substantial contributions to Australian art history that he was awarded three honorary doctorates. His gift of more than 150 works to the National Gallery of Victoria in 2004 remains the single most generous donation of artworks to a public collection in Australia.
Noel McKenna is best known for his spare linear style and paintings of everyday scenarios, often featuring animals and interiors. In this portrait he has depicted Brown in a pared-back gallery setting with John Brack's painting Two Typists (1955) in the background. Brown purchased Two Typists for his own collection (the red dot indicating this is also shown in the work) and it was later among the artworks he donated to the NGV. This portrait was McKenna's entry for the 1996 Archibald Prize.
Gift of the artist 2021. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
© Noel McKenna/Copyright Agency, 2024
John Brack 'Two Typists' 1955 is kindly reproduced with permission from Helen Brack
Noel McKenna (2 portraits)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Sandra Bruce explores a new acquisition that has within it a story of interconnectivities in the Australian art world.
As Bryan Westwood’s portrait of Brian Dunlop hangs adjacent to Brian Dunlop’s portrait of the philanthropist Dr Joseph Brown AO OBE, we see the artist of one work as the subject of the other.
