Son of the Brush
Language: English
Published by Allen and Unwin, AU, 2020
- Softcover
- New

Seller: Rarewaves.com USA, London, London, United KingdomRarewaves.com USA
AbeBooks seller since June 11, 2025
Condition: New
£ 28.12
Quantity: 12 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Tim Olsen is the son of arguably Australia's greatest living artist, Dr John Olsen. Son of the Brush is his fascinating, candid memoir of what it was like to grow up in the shadow of artistic genius, with all its wonder, excitement and bitter disappointments. Tim's childhood was dominated by his father's work, which took the family to Europe and to communities around Australia as John sought inspiration and artistic fellowship. Wine, food, conversation and the emerging sexual freedom of the 1960s wove a pattern of life for the family. It was both the best and worst of childhoods, filled with vibrancy and stimulation, yet fraught with anxiety and eventual sadness as John separated from Tim's mother Valerie and moved away from the family.The course of Tim's life has been set by the experiences of his childhood, and by the passion for art he inherited from both his parents (his mother was an acclaimed painter in her own right). His life has always been about art, although he has followed a different path from his parents. Having overcome and recovered from addiction, Tim is today one of Australia's most respected gallery owners, with a knowledge of art and artists forged from what is literally a lifetime immersed in the art world. Son of the Brush is a memoir about a son and his father, and what it takes to forge your own identity and chart your own course in life, but it is also about the wider world of art, artists and the joy, inspiration and sacrifices of the creative life.…
Seller Inventory # LU-9781743318058
- Title
- Son of the Brush
- Author
- Tim Olsen
- Publisher
- Allen and Unwin, AU
- Publication year
- 2020
- Condition
- New
- Binding
- Paperback
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 1743318057
- ISBN 13
- 9781743318058
- Item weight
- 666 grams
For Tim the only way through has been into the belly of the beast, forging his identity in the very centre of the art world his father dominated and subjecting himself to all of the cliches, excesses and odd adventures of the art dealer as a young man.
Addiction, obsession, controversy, desire, divorce, death, feuds, rivalry, redemption and lunch, always lunch, tell the story of a man attempting a self-made life in a landscape painted long before he was born.
'In this book I wish to reflect, not only on my own experiences in life; the struggles to live life fully and emerge complete from under the shadow of a famous father. I'm proud to call myself (as artist Margaret Olley described herself, 40 years sober) a non-practicing alcoholic. I cherish as a miracle what I was able to achieve having lived in such a contradictory and confused state of mind; a beautiful son, a reconciled relationship with my father, running one of Australia's foremost commercial art galleries and friends that I can rely on.'
This is a memoir that exposes the shenanigans and trickery, the surrealism and turbulence of an upbringing in the magnificent and legendary art world, a world changing with each generation and each show.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
He established his own Gallery in 1993, which has rapidly expanded to become one of Sydney's leading galleries today, marking his contribution and commitment to the Australian art scene. He not only has supported the careers of many of Australia's leading established artists but also has nurtured the creative lives of many emerging artists who can presently include themselves as being very much part of the art establishment today.
Tim has been a foundation member of the AGNSW for over 15 years and is dedicated to its restoration department and also a major donor and benefactor to the MCA. He has been a patron of the King's School Art Prize for over twenty-five years and since 2000, sponsored the annual Tim Olsen Drawing Prize at UNSW, School of art and design. He is on the foundation board of the University of New South Wales, and on the board of the National Art School in East Sydney.
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Rarewaves.com USA
London, London, United Kingdom
AbeBooks seller since June 11, 2025
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