Vic O’Connor chronology 1918 – 2010

Vic O’Connor 1996

1918 Victor George O’Connor was born 21 December, Carlisle Street, Preston, to Ada Alice (nee Clear) and Bertie Edward O’Connor. Vic was the fourth child of five children. His childhood spanned the deprivations of post-WW1 and the Great Depression, embedding in him a natural sense of social justice, which was to prevail in his art throughout his life.

1920 Vic attended school Raglan Street, South Preston, then Penders Grove School, Victoria St Northcote. The family moved from Carlisle Street to Gower Street, Northcote. As a boy, from about 9 to 13 years, Vic helped his mother sell slippers at the Victoria Market after school and aton weekends. She had set up a small slipper factory behind the house when Vic’s father was unable to work, due to poor health. The slipper enterprise went broke in the Depression when Vic was about 13.

1930 Aged about 12 to 13 years, Vic went to stay with his Uncle Alf in Mildura and attended Koorlung School. In 1931 aged 13 he then moved back to live with his mother and younger brother Norm at Mount Evelyn, where he started to paint and read widely. He attended Lilydale School. In about 1936 the family moved to Hutton Street, Thornbury. Vic then attended High School, completing Leaving Certificate.

After leaving school Vic worked for his brother Alf, a solicitor, for a year in his office on Sydney Road, Brunswick. Vic’s father also worked as a clerk for Alf. Vic, aged about 17 or 18, started a law degree at Melbourne University and worked as an articled clerk to Alf. He spent time in the city studying and working and making new friends. Artist David Strachan was impressed with Vic’s art and suggested he exhibit in the newly formed Contemporary Art Society. He also had suggested Vic attend George Bell’s Saturday afternoon classes. In 1939 Vic met Ailsa Donaldson at George Bell’s art classes.

Portrait of Ailsa Donaldson c.1940

1939 (June 6-25) The Contemporary Art Society, Inaugural Exhibition, National Gallery, Melbourne.

1940 Vic won a joint first prize of 50 pounds with Donald Friend at the 1941 Contemporary Art Prize exhibition held at the Hotel . In 1941, aged 23, Vic was admitted to practice law. He then went into the army from 1942 to 1944, stationed first at Tocumwal, then Brunswick. He was initially in a machine gun company. Vic had joined the Communist Party of Australia after meeting in 1941. In January 1942 Vic married sculptor Ailsa Donaldson. Their two children Sean and Megan were born in 1944 and 1946.

In 1944 Vic wrote the articles ‘Art and Fascism’ and ‘A criticism of Adelaide’s Angry Penguins’. He also corresponded with noted art historian Bernard Smith regarding the ‘Angry Penguins movement. Bernard Smith acknowledged the importance of Vic’s work in his book ‘Place, Art and Tradition’ as a major Social Realist artist.

After the war, in 1946 Vic, Yosl Bergner and Noel Counihan held their first major exhibition, as ‘Three Realist Artists’, which attracted considerable notice and approval. Also in 1946, Vic established the small Dolphin Press with his friend Judah Waten to publish local writing. His artist friend Yosl Bergner travelled to to be part of the new nation. His other close friends, artists James Wigley and Noel Counihan, ventured to Europe in the last few years of the 1940s, witnessing the effect of the war on cities and populations.

Vic O’Connor The Pumpkin Seller Linocut 1949

1941 (Oct 14-31) Contemporary Art Society, Hotel Australia

1942 (Aug 4-15) Contemporary Art Society, Athenaeum Gallery

1942 (Dec 8-10) Contemporary Art Society, Anti-Fascist Exhibition, Athenaeum Gallery

1943 (Aug 24-Sep 9) Contemporary Art Society,

1944 Contemporary Art Society

1945 (April 3-13) CEMA Autumn Arts Festival, Velasquez Gallery, Tye Buiding

1946 (July 16-25) Three Realist Artists, Myer Art Gallery

( 194?) Eureka Art Group, first Eureka Art Exhibition

1950 In 1951 Vic, Ailsa and children moved from Kensington to Hutton Street, Thornbury. Vic worked as a solicitor in Sydney Road, Coburg. He continued painting and exhibiting both in one-man shows and in group shows with other realist artists though the 1950s.

Significantly, in 1953 he exhibited at Tye’s furniture store with James Wigley and Noel Counihan with over 2,000 people viewing the exhibition in 10 days (opened by Flora Eldershaw). In 1955 Noel wrote critically of Vic’s work in The Guardian, marking a change in their friendship.

Vic O’Connor Court scene Oil on Board c.1950

Vic O’Connor Evening the river Pencil 1952

1950 (Oct 2-13) Paintings by V G O’Connor, Ballarat Art Gallery

1953 (Sep 28- Oct 11) Spring Exhibition of Victorian Artists Society

1953 (Oct 6-16) Exhibition Noel Counihan, Vic O’Connor, James Wigley, Tye’s Gallery

1954 (Sept 14-25) Artists for Peace, Tye’s Gallery

1954 (Sep 20 - Oct 3) Spring Exhibition Victorian Artists Society

1954 (Nov 16-26) Exhibition of Paintings, Tye’s Gallery

1955 (Mar 11-19) The Herald Outdoor Art Show

1955 (May 16-27) V G O’Connor Paintings, Victorian Artists Society Galleries [note reviews]

1955 (Nov 22-Dec 1) Fine Arts Week Exhibition, Tasmanian Government Tourist Bureau, Melbourne

1956 (Mar 8-17) The Herald Outdoor Art Show

1957 Exhibition by V G O’Connor, Australian Galleries, Collingwood [review]

1958 (June 13-18) Sixth Annual May Day Art Exhibition , Lower Melbourne Town Hall

1959 (Nov 7-18) Festival Art Competition, Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture. In Association with Australian and New Zealand Congress for International Co-operation and Disarmament

1960 In 1960 Vic moved from Hutton Street, Thornbury to Miller Grove, Kew. His legal office was now in Faraday Street, Carlton. In the early 1960s Vera Stanley and their young daughter Sue moved to Sydney where Vic joined them, living in a terrace house in Neutral Bay, then a working class area. Ailsa and Vic divorced in 1965 and in 1968 Vic and Vera married.

Vic O’Connor Sydney Harbour from Lavender Bay Pencil 1963

1960 Australian painters including Noel Counihan, Moscow

1963 (June 2-15) Victorian Artists Society Galleries [reviews]

1963 (Sept 19) Victor O’Connor exhibition, Douglas Galleries, Brisbane

1964 (April 19) Queensland Art Gallery

1964 (May 11-20) Centro Italiano d’Arte 4th Exhibition on SS Marconi, Sydney

1964 (June 13-14) Fredericks Showroom Gallery, St Kilda

1964 (July7-Aug) 0 Friends of National Gallery in Victoria, Loan Collection, Georges Gallery

1964 (Aug 9-22) The Realist Group, Victorian Artists Society

1968 (Oct 8-18) VG O’Connor, Australian Galleries, Collingwood [reviews]

1968 (Oct 10-Nov3) The NBN Channel 3 Art Prize, Newcastle City Art Gallery

1969 (Feb 28) Moomba Festival Exhibition, Toorak Art Gallery

1969 (June 23-July 4) Recent Acquisitions, Joseph Brown Gallery

1970 Vic and Vera remained in Sydney and then, in 1973 to 1974, travelled to the UK and Europe. Vic, Vera and Sue arrived at Southampton on 4 Feb 1973. They lived in Polperro, Cornwall and in Scotland. In September 1974 they travelled to Holland, then France in October and then on to Greece. They returned to Australia via Israel where they visited Yosl Bergner.

Vic O’Connor The Old Shopper, Paris Linocut

1970 (March 2-23) Autumn Exhibition, Joseph Brown Gallery [reviews]

1970 (April 7-22) VG O’Connor (including from series Exodus), Australian Galleries, Collingwood

1970 (May 4-18) 150 Years of Australian Drawings, Joseph Brown Gallery

1970 Aug 11- Sept 2) Australian Irresistibles 1930-1970, Bonython Gallery, Paddington

1971 (May 9-21) Art Exhibition CICD Anti-War Centre, Melbourne

1971 (Oct 13-Nov 5) Spring Exhibition, Joseph Brown Gallery

1971 (Nov 9-20) Vic O’Connor, The Cremorne Gallery, Sydney

1972 (March) Vic O’Connor retrospective of drawings and watercolours, Powell St Gallery . [reviews]

1972 (Nov 8-30)) Spring Exhibition, Joseph Brown Gallery

1972 (Dec 10-23) December Exhibition, Toorak Art Gallery

1974 (March 26- April 10) Vic O’Connor, Australian Galleries [reviews]

1974 (May 4- June 9) Usher Gallery, Lincoln

1974 (July 10-Aug 4) Australian Artists in England, Commonwealth Institute London

1975 (from July 8) The Social Realists Exhibition, Latrobe Valley Arts Centre, Morwell

1975 (Sep 16- 27) Sir William Angliss Art Prize Exhibition

1975 (from Oct 27 on ) Vic O’Connor, The Masters Galleries, Melbourne

1976 (April 3-15) V G O’Connor Exhibition, Victorian Artists Society [reviews]

1977 (August 27 – Sept 9) Vic O’Connor Exhibition Victorian Artists Society [reviews]

1977 (Nov 27) Exhibition of important works by Vic O’Connor spanning 30 years, Jewish Folk Centre, Sydney

1977 Neutral Bay Art Gallery Sydney

1979 (Oct) Masters Gallery, Melbourne

1980 In the early 1980s, Vic and Vera moved from Sydney to Dromana and bought the house ‘Woodside’ in 1983 where heVic lived until mid 2010, some 27 years. Vic was aged 64 when they moved into ‘Woodside’ where he set up his studio and continued painting prolifically as well as doing major development of the garden. In the late 1980s he also rented a studio in Greeves Street, Fitzroy which he visited from Dromana and again painted Melbourne’s inner suburbs. In 1988 his work was exhibited in London’s v Gallery as part of the exhibition ‘Angry Penguins and Realist Painting in Melbourne in the 1940s’. This exhibition then toured a number of Australian galleries. In 1987 Vic had his first of many exhibitions at Bridget McDonnell’s Gallery. Bridget subsequently became his main dealer.

Vic O’Connor Long Island, Frankston Oil on Canvas 1982

1980 (Dec 3-24) Vic O’Connor, The Bloomfield Galleries, Paddington

1981 (Oct) Vic O’Connor’s Early Works on Paper 1935-63, Niagara Lane Galleries [review]

1981 (Oct 26-Nov 7) The George Bell School, Georges Gallery, Melbourne

1981 (Nov 8-29) Social Responses, Golden Age Art Gallery, Ballarat

1981 (Dec 3-Jan 17) Acquisitions Exhibition Newcastle Region Art Gallery

1982 (June 20 – July 7) Mixed Exhibition Niagara Lane Galleries

1983 (March 6-31) Australian Painters, Golden Age Fine Art Gallery, Ballarat

1983 (May 17 –June 12) The DR Sheumack Collection of Australian Paintings, National Trust NSW

1983 (August 1-19) Selected Paintings by Vic O’Connor 1939-8,3 Gryphon Gallery, Melbourne College of Advanced Education, Carlton [review]

1984 (Feb 12 – Apr 17) The Local Scene, McClelland Gallery, Langwarrin

1985 (March 1-12) Exhibition of Art Vic O’Connor and David Armfield, Caulfield Arts Centre

1985 (July 27- Aug 9) Vic O’Connor –, Recent Paintings, Victorian Artists Society

1985 (Nov) Exhibition of prominent artists, World of Art, St Kilda

? 1986 (Nov 25-Dec 24) Out of this World a summer exhibition, Dempster Gallery, Canterbury

1987 (July 21-Aug 9) Modern Australian Paintings, Bridget McDonnell Gallery

1987 (Aug 8-13) David Armfield and Vic O’Connor, Victorian Artists Society

1988 (May 19- August 14) Angry Penguins and the realist painting in Melbourne in the 1940s, Hayward Gallery, London. Also (Oct 5 – Nov 27) Tate Gallery Liverpool, UK and in 1989 in Australia including Campberfield NSW, Launceston, Townsville

1988 (Nov 29 – Dec 22) Modern Australian Paintings, Bridget McDonnell Gallery

1989 (June 14-30) Drawings, linocuts and etchings, Australian Impressions Gallery

1989 (June 16-July) Modern Australian Paintings, Bridget McDonnell Gallery

1989 (Nov 12- Dec 3) Acland St Art Gallery

1989 (Nov24-Dec 23) Summer Exhibition Dempsters Fine Art, Canterbury

198?? (July 9-20) Vic O’Connor Paintings and Linocuts, Eltham Gallery

1990 Vic continued to paint actively, now in his 70s. Whilst living in Dromana, Vic travelled to Mauritius 27 September to 23 October 1990. In June 1992 Vic had a heart operation. In 1994, from 26 June to 17 July, he visited Vanuatu and created artworks. In 1999 he subdivided ‘Woodside’, selling off three blocks on the McArthur Street frontage, retaining the house and changing the entrance and address to 3 Stawell Street, Dromana.

1990 (May 25-June 15) Modern Australian Paintings, Bridget McDonnell Gallery

1990 (July August)Social and Political Drawings and Cartoons, MCA

1990 (Oct 30-Nov 18) Bridget McDonnell Gallery, Carlton [review]

1990 (July 21- Aug) Bridget McDonnell Gallery, Carlton, with Mary Hammond [review]

1990 (Dec 16- Jan4) Australian Graphics 1902-1990, Livingston Print Room, Hawthorn

1991 (July 21- Aug) with Mary Hammond, Bridget McDonnell Gallery [review

1991 (Oct 24-Nov10) Modern Australian Paintings, Bridget McDonnell Gallery

1992 (July 4-19) Artists and Rebels on the Waterfront, Tom Nelson Hall, Sydney 1992 (Oct 26-Nov15) Modern Australian Paintings, Bridget McDonnell Gallery

1992 (Dec) Christmas Exhibition, World of Art, Blessington St, St Kilda

1992 (Dec) Christmas Exhibition, Bridget McDonnell Gallery

1993 (April 29-May 9) Vic O’Connor, a survey, Doncaster Gallery [reviews]

1993 (June 29-July18) Vic O’Connor, works on paper, Bridget McDonnell Gallery [review]

1993 (Aug 17- Sept 5) Modern Australian Paintings, Bridget McDonnell Gallery

1994 (Feb 2-23) Modern Australian Paintings, Bridget McDonnell Gallery

1994 (Oct 18 – 32 ) Vic O’Connor, recent works on paper, Bridget McDonnell Gallery

1994 (Dec) Christmas Exhibition, Bridget McDonnell Gallery

1995 (Dec) Christmas Exhibition, Bridget McDonnell Gallery

1996 (May 2-15) Vic O’Connor, recent paintings, Victorian Artists Society

1997 (May 24-Oct 12) A face in the crowd, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra

1997 (Sep 9-20) Modern Australian Painting, Deutscher Fine Art, Malvern

1998 (Nov) Vic O’Connor, Bridget McDonnell Gallery, Carlton [review]

1998 (Dec 18-March 14) Acquisitions exhibition, Newcastle Region Art Gallery

Vic O’Connor at Dromana 2005

2000 In October 2004 Vera O’Connor died. On 7 July 2010 Vic O’Connor moved to Sumner House, Fitzroy, where he died on 8 September 2010.

2001 (Oct 2-16) Vic O’Connor, watercolours, drawings and prints, ‘Bridget McDonnell Gallery

COLLECTIONS

Art Gallery of Australian National Gallery Benalla Art Gallery Bendigo Art Gallery Cbus Collection Geelong Art Gallery McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park Melbourne University Collection Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery National Gallery of Victoria Queensland Art Gallery Queensland University Collection Riddoch Art Gallery, Mt Gambier Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery

REFERENCES

Australian Art Auction Records http://www.artrecord.com/index.cfm/artist/12114-oconnor-victor- george-vic/medium/1-paintings/ 10/7/2015

Bridget McDonnell Gallery website; http://www.bridgetmcdonnellgallery.com.au/oconnor-vic/

Carter, David (1997) A career in writing: Judah Waten and the cultural politics of a literary career. Association for the Study of Australian Literature, Toowoomba. Available at http://www.nla.gov.au/documents/carter_combined.pdf

Dougherty, Peter ‘Vic O’Connor: the people’s artist’ in Art Streams v6 n5 Summer Edition 2001-2, p3-5,23, 2001.

Haese, Richard, 1981 , Rebels and Precursors: the Revolutionary Years of Australian Art, Allen Lane, Melbourne.

Langsam, David, 1998, ‘The urge to paint – David Langsam talks to Vic O’Connor’ in Art Monthly n 113, September 1989 p15-19

O’Connor, Vic Art and Fascism, Australian New Writing, Sydney 1946

O'Connor, VG (1944) Art and Fascism. http://www.reasoninrevolt.net.au/objects/pdf/b000044.pdf

Phipps, Jennifer (2005) A human, democratic art: three realist artists 1944-1947. Art Bulletin of the National Gallery of Victoria 45. Available at http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/essay/a-human- democratic-art-three-realist-artists-1944-1947/

Richmond, Keith (1994) A painter of ordinary life. Oz Arts magazine 9: 53-59.

St John Moore, Felicity 1989, Angry Penguins and realist painting in Melbourne in the 1940s. An Australian National Gallery Exhibition.

South Bank Centre 1988 Angry Penguins and realist painting in Melbourne in the 1940s, Hayward Gallery London.

Smith, Bernard (1945) 1979, Place, Taste and Tradition: a study of Australian Art since 1788, Oxford University Press, Melbourne (p255, 261)

© Research by Sean O’Connor, Janet Taylor and Joe Pascoe 2015.