Lot 22

Overall good condition. No major faults to report. Housed in a timber box frame measuring 94.5 x 186cm.


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Niagara Galleries, Melbourne (label verso)
Private collection, Melbourne

John Kelly paints cows like no other. Often floating in mid-air, upside down or in obscure positions and locations, off balance with elongated necks and miniature limbs. His inspiration primarily comes from fellow artist, William Dobell.

Kelly's subjects are often referred to as 'Dobell's Cows', a nod towards the 1940's Australian war-time artist. Alongside many of his artistic peers at the time, Dobell was hired as a 'camouflage artist' to deliberately deceive and confuse Japanese air force planes flying overhead. It has been speculated that Dobell would create giant papier-mâché cows, strategically placed to imitate a Japanese market scene. Furthermore, Dobell's Archibald Prize winning portrait of Mr. Joshua Smith inspired Kelly with the sitter's elongated neck and hands. These Dobell-inspred features became Kelly's most dominant motif.

Dobell's Cows' became the breakthrough series in Kelly's career, expressing his playful appropriation of the cows in awkward and peculiar positions and spaces. Audiences were quickly enthralled, resulting in multiple sell-out exhibitions. Kelly pursued this focus for several more years, extending it to a selection of animals, such as horses and kangaroos that continued this playful exploration of illusion versus reality.

Hannah Ryan | Art Specialist

© John Kelly/Copyright Agency 2022