John Olsen Condolence Motion, House of Representatives 10th May 2023

I join with the Leader of the House in expressing on behalf of the opposition the condolences to the family and friends of John Olsen and of acknowledging his larger-than-life personality and his extraordinary life of artistic achievement.

He was a man with an extraordinary passion for Australia's landscape and natural features, including, of course, his lifelong fascination with Sydney Harbour, which he described as 'full of pulsating life—it's enigmatic like a beautiful big bath'. His painting Five bells, inspired by a poem by Kenneth Slessor with the same title, is inspired in part by his love of Sydney Harbour. He also had a great love of Lake Eyre, first visiting it in October 1974 and describing it as 'a bowl of endless sky to a point of limitless nothing'.

He was also passionate about the landscape of the Southern Highlands, where he lived later in his life, and many other parts of our beautiful country. He represented our landscape and our country enormously effectively in his work. He was also influenced by his experience in Europe in the early stages of his career, travelling to Europe in the early 1950s, studying in European cities, including Paris and Madrid, and that was a continuing influence on his style. He was an artist who worked diligently and had an extraordinary output over many, many decades.

His achievements include twice winning the Wynne Prize, in 1965 and 1985; winning the Sulman Prize in 1989; and winning the Archibald Prize in 2005 with a self-portrait. He was a significant figure in our national life beyond his extraordinary artistic career.

He was a prominent commentator on Australian culture and society, and he wrote extensively on topics such as food and wine—he had a passionate commitment to food and wine. He wrote extensively about the environment, and his writing has been widely published. But painting was his clear passion, and his extraordinary track record over seven decades is quite remarkable. He taught a children's art class, and he asked a six-year-old boy what he was doing. The child replied, 'I'm drawing my think.' 'What a perfect answer,' said Olsen, 'and that's what I try to do too. I'm painting my think.' He spoke about diligence and about failure: One benefit of growing older is that I gained the confidence that I could learn from failure, so I never give up. Investigating your failures enlarges your capacity to create. … I'll overpaint or throw out a work 20 times before I'm happy with it. But I start afresh each day, with an inner voice saying, "Go on, go on", knowing I will eventually break through.

It is that combination of creativity and persistent, diligent, determined hard work that has underpinned his extraordinary achievements. His works, of course, are found in the major public collections throughout our nation. As well as a painter, he was a prolific printmaker, producing many etchings and lithographs. He's written several books, including a memoir titled Drawn from Life.

His legacy and artistic influence and his impact on the broader Australian nation will be studied and admired and acknowledged for generations to come. He is survived by his son, Tim, founder of the Olsen Gallery in Sydney, and daughter Louise, co-founder of Dinosaur Designs. On behalf of the coalition, I express our thanks and admiration for his lifetime contribution, his passion and his extraordinary achievements