Collection
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Title
The miraculous draught of fishes
1952
Artist
John Passmore
Australia
04 Feb 1904 - 09 Oct 1984
About
In preparation for his retrospective, which opened only months after his death in 1984, Passmore allowed the Gallery access to hundreds of his drawings, fragments and notes, on one of which was scrawled the words:
"Where is the great masterpiece? There is no masterpiece, no answer, it is all in the search."
'The miraculous draught of fishes' is considered by many to be Passmore's most ambitious painting. It was certainly one of the largest pieces he painted following his return to Australia in 1951 after a long period in England and he entered it in the Blake Prize in 1952. The painting had its genesis in a small pen and ink sketch.
James Gleeson, writing in 1971, said:
"Paintings like 'The miraculous draught of fishes' are heavily charged with emotions that have been heightened for transmission to us through the medium of line and colour. They are compositions of extraordinary vitality and originality, though the dazzle of their virtuosity never blinds one to the disturbing, though elusive, undercurrents just below the surface of the forms."
Australian Art Department, AGNSW, 2000
Details
Date
1952
Materials used
oil on hardboard
Dimensions
122.0 x 183.0 cm
Signature & date
Signed l.r. corner, yellow oil "John Passmore". Not dated.
Credit
Gift of Joseph Brown 1989
Location
Not on display
Accession number
179.1989
Shown in 2 exhibitions
Exhibition history
Australian icons: twenty artists from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 04 Aug 2000–03 Dec 2000
O Soul O Spirit O Fire: Celebrating Fifty Years of the Blake Prize for Religious Art, Queensland University of Technology, Australia, 23 Nov 2001–24 Feb 2002
Referenced in 4 publications
Bibliography
Rosemary Crumlin., O Soul O Spirit O Fire, 'Beginnings', Brisbane, 2001, not paginated. exhibition list
Modern Painters 1931-1970, 1970, (colour illus.). plate no. 22; Collection: private collection
Elwyn Lynn., The Weekend Australian, 'Retrospective puts Passmore in order', Sydney, 29 Dec 1984-30 Dec 1984, page unknown.
Barry Pearce, John Passmore 1904-84, Sydney, 1984, 47 (colour illus.). cat.no. 20