Title

Jumping horse-mackerel

1959

Artist

John Passmore

Australia

04 Feb 1904 – 09 Oct 1984

Details

Date

1959

Media category

Painting

Materials used

oil on hardboard

Dimensions

121.9 x 149.8 cm board; 128.0 x 156.0 x 5.0 cm frame

Signature & date

Signed and dated l.r. corner, "August 1959 [pencil]/ -Sept. 1959 [brown (oil?)]/ J.Passmore [(pencil?)]".

Credit

Purchased 1959

Location

Not on display

Accession number

OA21.1959

Copyright

© John Passmore Museum of Art
Reproduction requests

Artist information

John Passmore
Works in the collection

36

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About

John Passmore studied briefly at Julian Ashton's Sydney Art School before travelling to England in 1933, where he remained for 18 years. Inspired by modern French painting, in particular the work of Cézanne, Passmore returned to Australia in 1951 and began teaching a generation of young artists including John Olsen, Yvonne Audette and William Rose.

Passmore took part in the avant-garde exhibition 'Direction I' held at Macquarie Galleries in 1956, which launched abstract expressionism on the Sydney art scene. During this period, Passmore derived his images principally from the waterways of Sydney - fishermen, jetties and the changing patterns of sea and sunlight.
Exhibition history
Shown in 6 exhibitions
- Selections from 'The Helena Rubinstein Travelling Art Scholarship' 1959, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 16 Sep 1959–11 Oct 1959
- Recent Australian Painting, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, Jun 1961–Jul 1961
- 1940-1965: The heroic years of Australian painting, Melbourne Town Hall, Melbourne, 02 Apr 1977–20 Apr 1977
  
  1940-1965: The heroic years of Australian painting, Sale Regional Art Gallery, Australia, 29 Apr 1977–20 May 1977
  
  1940-1965: The heroic years of Australian painting, Art Gallery of Ballarat, Ballarat, 27 May 1977–17 Jun 1977
  
  1940-1965: The heroic years of Australian painting, Warrnambool Art Gallery, Warrnambool, 24 Jun 1977–15 Jul 1977
  
  1940-1965: The heroic years of Australian painting, Shepparton Art Museum, Australia, 22 Jul 1977–08 Aug 1977
  
  1940-1965: The heroic years of Australian painting, Hamilton Art Gallery, Hamilton, 12 Aug 1977–02 Sep 1977
  
  1940-1965: The heroic years of Australian painting, Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria, 16 Sep 1977–07 Oct 1977
  
  1940-1965: The heroic years of Australian painting, Mildura Arts Centre, Mildura, 14 Oct 1977–04 Nov 1977
  
  1940-1965: The heroic years of Australian painting, Benalla Art Gallery, Australia, 11 Nov 1977–02 Dec 1977
  
  1940-1965: The heroic years of Australian painting, Mornington Peninsula Arts Centre, , 09 Dec 1977–20 Jan 1978
  
  1940-1965: The heroic years of Australian painting, Ararat Gallery, Ararat, 27 Jan 1978–17 Feb 1978
  
  1940-1965: The heroic years of Australian painting, Geelong Art Gallery, Geelong, 24 Feb 1978–17 Mar 1978
  
  1940-1965: The heroic years of Australian painting, La Trobe Regional Gallery, Morwell, 24 Mar 1978–14 Apr 1978
- John Passmore Retrospective (1984-1985), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 19 Dec 1984–10 Feb 1985
  
  John Passmore Retrospective (1984-1985), Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, 27 Feb 1985–07 Apr 1985
  
  John Passmore Retrospective (1984-1985), Newcastle Art Gallery, Newcastle, 12 Jul 1985–18 Aug 1985
- New Directions 1952-1962, Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest, Emu Plains, 08 Feb 1991–24 Mar 1991
- Australian icons: twenty artists from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 04 Aug 2000–03 Dec 2000
Bibliography
Referenced in 13 publications
- Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of New South Wales picturebook, Sydney, 1972, 123 (colour illus.).
- Christine France, New Directions 1952-1962, 'New directions 1952-1962', pg. 7-19, Sydney, 1991, 43. cat.no. 56
- Sasha Grishin, Australian art: a history, 'The competitive spirit in Australian art', pg. 350-363, Carlton, 2013, 350 (colour illus., detail), 354, 355, 356 (colour illus.), 551, 566. plate no. 34.3
- Mervyn Horton (Editor), Art and Australia [vol. 1, no. 1], Sydney, May 1963, 11 (illus.).
- Robert Hughes, The art of Australia, Melbourne, 1970, 15, 261 (illus.), 262, 328. illus.no. 106
- Ronald Millar, Civilized magic: an interpretive guide to Australian paintings, Toorak, 1974, 21 (colour illus.).
- Hal Missingham (Editor), Art Gallery of New South Wales Quarterly, 'Acquisitions for 1959', Sydney, Apr 1960, 19 (illus.).
- Barry Pearce, John Passmore 1904-84, Sydney, 1984, 77 (colour illus.). cat.no. 50
- Jill Sykes, Look, 'Remembering John Passmore: a home for the works of an important Australian artist', pg. 20-22, Sydney, Aug 2004, 20 (colour illus.), 21.
- Whitechapel Art Gallery (Compilator), Recent Australian Painting, London, 1961, (illus.). plate no. IV
- Editor Unknown (Editor), The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 19 Sep 1959.
- Editor Unknown (Editor), Daily telegraph and daily news, Sydney, 17 Sep 1959.
- The Helena Rubinstein Travelling Art Scholarship 1959, Sydney, 1959. cat.no. 46