Jan Brown, Magpies
JAN BROWN AM (Australian, 1922 - 2022)
Magpies 1988 Bronze 30cm x 7cm Acquired 1998 109550 |  |
Biography:
Jan Brown was a Canberra-based artist whose sculpture practice focused on animal and bird forms.
Jan studied abroad at the Chelsea Polytechnic School of Art in London and under acclaimed 20th century British sculptor Henry Moore (1898-1986) and Bernard Meadows (1915-2005). On her return to Australia in 1957, Jan took up a teaching role at the Canberra School of Art remaining until she retired in 2001. From 1997 Jan had also held the role of Visiting Fellow with the ANU Institute of Arts.
Throughout her career Jan had been a vocal activist for the visual arts sitting on a number of advisory boards. In recognition of her work and dedication to the arts community, Jan received the Visual Arts Emeritus Award from the Australia Council and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1992.
In 1991 Jan was the subject of a survey exhibition at the ANU Exhibition Space in Canberra, which was accompanied by a catalogue essay by the arts writer and critic Dr Sasha Grishin.
In honour of her teaching “The Jan Brown Drawing Prize” offered to student by the ANU School of Art is awarded annually to celebrate her role as a teacher at ANU. (Now known as the ANU Drawing Prize.)
Her work is represented in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, Artbank, Parliament House, Canberra Museum & Art Gallery, and the National Library of Australia. Jan’s public artwork commissions remain in place in Canberra; the Kangaroo suite situated by the Nerang pool, Commonwealth Park (1981), and “Icarus” in Petrie Plaza, Civic (2009).
Artwork
Jan Brown was particularly known for her fondness for magpies and currawongs. Her close observation of these birds, along with her exploratory finely detailed drawings, is reflected in the craftmanship of the artwork. The work has been created using ciment fondu (a calcium aluminate cement) which is more easily manipulated than traditional stone, and helps to form casts in readiness for the final casting in bronze.
The University of Canberra holds a number of other works by Jan Brown including Untitled, Seated Woman and Untitled Reclining Woman, two large figurative depictions and a [], smaller work of art of an Albatross sitting on a ledge, titled Drawing of Bird.
Bibliography
Grishin Dr Sasha, Jan Brown: A Retrospective, Australian National University Exhibition Space, Canberra, 1991