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• Auction House:
  Deutscher and Hackett
• Sale Name:
  Important Fine Art + Aboriginal Art
• Sale Date:
  02 Dec 2015 ~ 7pm
• Lot #:
  52
• Lot Description:
  John Olsen
  (born 1928)
  Low Tide, Cable Beach, Broome, 2003
  oil on board
  diptych: 180.0 x 240.0 cm overall
  signed and dated lower right: John / Olsen 03; signed verso on panel A: J.Olsen; signed and inscribed verso on panel B: J.O. / ‘Low Tide / Broome’ / ‘Cable Beach’
• Provenance:
  Metro 5 Gallery, Melbourne; Private collection, Melbourne
• Exhibited:
  John Olsen, Metro 5 Gallery, Melbourne, 30 April – 18 May 2003
• Notes:
  In the early 1980s John Olsen took part in an expedition across the north-west of Australia, starting from Geraldton on the coast of Western Australia and concluding in the West Kimberley. Comprised of five explorers including the artist and documented in a book titled The Land Beyond Time, the objective of the quest was to explore the more untouched regions of Australia and attempt to ‘solve some of the riddles of a land which is totally strange to the majority of those who live here.’1 One of the stops along the journey was the coastal town of Broome, renowned for its white sandy beaches and magnificent sunsets. Mary Durack, one of the five explorers, details the beauty of the former pearl fishing town. ‘In Broome one is always conscious of the presence of the sea: the silky turquoise water by the town; the magnificent Cable Beach a few kilometres north… The prodigious ten-metre tides give the sea an added dimension and movement, of revealing shining secrets every day as huge expanses of sand and mud appear where there had been water.’2 Post expedition, Olsen would return several times to Broome with his wife Katharine from the early 1990s and clearly enchanted with the township, they purchased a house there.3 Low Tide, Cable Beach, Broome, 2003 is an impressive diptych that engulfs the senses. Gazing out to the far-reaching horizon that climbs the picture plane, we can smell the salty air and hear the sound of the ocean gently crashing against the shore as if we are physically standing on the edge of Cable Beach. So far removed from the urbanisation of the larger cities, one cannot help but feel insignificant against the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean and to wonder what lies beyond the horizon. The viewer is also captivated by the brilliant colours and the minute details in the lower half of the composition, where an entire world exists and thrives. A small seagull hovers discreetly in the centre of the diptych, eagerly awaiting the opportunity to scavenge its next meal from the creatures exposed from the low tide. The shoreline is alive with movement and typical of Olsen’s oeuvre, the eye is drawn all over the picture in an attempt to decipher every dot, mark and swirling line. The intricate and chaotic detail of this micro-environment is gracefully juxtaposed against the calm vastness of the ocean in a composition that is effectively split into two halves. Imbued with a sense of wonder, Low Tide, Cable Beach, Broome demonstrates Olsen’s great affinity to the environment and the belief that our presence in such a primordial land is diminutive. ‘… I believe that the North-West, perhaps more than any other part of Australia, must make us conscious that we are no more sojourners in this ancient land.’4 CASSI YOUNG 1 Olsen, J., ‘A New Way Into an Old World’, The Land Beyond Time, MacMillan Company, Melbourne, 1984, p. 7 2 Durack, M., ‘Port of Pearls’, The Land Beyond Time, MacMillan Company, Melbourne, 1984, p. 122 3 Hart, D., John Olsen, Craftsman House, Sydney, 1991, p. 212 4 Olsen, J., op. cit.
• Estimate:
  A$250,000 - 300,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

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• Category:
  Art

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.