John Olsen, one of Australia's most acclaimed artists who was known for his distinctive depictions of landscapes and nature, has died at age 95.
He died surrounded by family on Tuesday evening, the ABC has confirmed.
Born in Newcastle in 1928, the painter's career spanned more than 60 years, with his work exhibited in galleries across the nation and overseas, and he was a winner of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes.
He spent time in Europe between 1957 and 1960, before creating the esteemed The You Beaut Country series, known for its vivid depiction of his travels and homage to the Australian outback, including South Australia's Lake Eyre.
In 1970, Olsen took on perhaps his biggest challenge after being commissioned to paint a mural for the soon-to-be opened Sydney Opera House.
Olsen produced his acclaimed work Salute to Five Bells, inspired by the Kenneth Slessor poem of the same name, a mural over 21 metres wide and three metres tall.
After receiving an Order of Australia in 2001, Olsen described art as a form of compulsion, which he started developing at age four.
"Artists are born, not made," he said.
Olsen received numerous other awards in his long career, including an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 1977, and continued painting well into his 90s.
He won the Archibald for self portrait Janus Faced in 2005, the Wynne Prize for The Chasing Bird Landscape in 1969 and A Road to Clarendon: Autumn in 1985, and the Sulman Prize for Don Quixote Enters the Inn in 1989.
Tim Olsen overwhelmed by tributes to late father
Olsen's son, writer Tim Olsen, said tributes had been pouring in from around the country.
"He died peacefully early last night," Mr Olsen told ABC Melbourne radio.
"A great loss to Australia and I'm just overwhelmed by how many people have been moved by this, the messages just keep flying through my phone."
Mr Olsen said that his father was a true renaissance man who lived life to its fullest.
"He was not only a painter, he was a poet, he was a great cook … not many people know this but he was also a NSW backstroke champion in swimming, so he had some athleticism in there as well," he said.
Olsen left an indelible mark on Australia, opening a contemporary art gallery in Sydney and helping to theme a hotel with his namesake in Melbourne which his son said he took great pride in.
"He was very proud of that, although he did describe it as a Travelodge on steroids … only he's allowed to say that," Mr Olsen said.
Olsen remembered by the art community
Olsen's contribution to the art landscape was his abstract tradition, using brush stroke and colour to help audiences to connect with the essence of nature.
National Gallery director Nick Mitzevich described Olsen as one of the country's greatest artists, who made Australia his muse over the course of his near-seven decade career.
"John was always committed to his subjects. He always wanted you to know it was a landscape, or it was a sunset. He wanted you to be part of it, he wanted you to feel the energy of the experience of that moment in time," he told ABC News.
Olsen could be picked out from a crowd by his wardrobe, frequently donning a beret and turtleneck sweater.
"He didn't mind playing the cliché, and in some ways he was very cheeky about it," Dr Mitzevich said. "He loved being the eccentric artist and he embodied it completely."
Despite being a national figure, Olsen was a proud Novocastrian and a regular visitor of the Newcastle Art Gallery. Dr Mitzevich, who is also from Newcastle, said that Olsen was like a "poster child" for the city.
The pair crossed paths over the course of three decades, with Olsen offering wisdom from both his studio practice experience and positions as a council member and trustee at Australia's biggest galleries.
"He always said to me, 'Stand as close to the edge as you can because that is where you get the best view'," said Dr Mitzevich.
"John was always cheeky but also he was pragmatic about life. He had a colourful way of describing it and anyone who came into contact with John felt his charisma, they felt his energy," he said.
"You came away from an encounter with John feeling really excited about the world we are in."
A career of artistic preservation
Speaking to Australian Story in 2021, Olsen said by his own admission that artists can be selfish — they will do anything to preserve their work and "eliminate anyone who stands in the way".
"I don't really mean to hurt people either, but my act is only preservation," he said.
In 2022 he spoke to AAP about his affinity with rural and remote Australia, having long captured its wild terrain.
"To be an Australian landscape painter is to be an explorer," he said after donating several of his works to a regional NSW gallery.
"There is so much to look at and observe about the Australian landscape, how it varies from tropical to the coastal fringe, and the interior.
"It's so multiple. It's a beautiful animal, that landscape."
Mr Olsen believes his father's work taught Australians how to look at the landscape in a different way.
"So many people say to me 'we flew back from Europe and we were flying over Australia, and there were just Olsens everywhere'," he said.
A tribute to his long career will be beamed onto the Opera House's sails next month during the Vivid Sydney festival.
ABC/AAP
