Vic O’Connor was an instrumental member of Melbourne’s progressive social realist group, which also included Noel Counihan and Yosl Bergner. Together, they rallied against the art establishment with the fundamental belief that art and politics ought not be separated.

This political edge pervades O’Connor’s work. Influenced by a childhood spent working at Melbourne’s Victoria Markets, he depicted the hard work, comradeship and poverty associated with market life.

In ‘Winter Sunshine’, O’Connor envisions a shadowy landscape that, like an optical illusion, suggests something different with every glance. It is intensely evocative, recalling the tiring journey home after a long day’s work. The original plate for this linocut was cut in 1949, with a limited edition (of which this works stems) being pulled in 1980 at Whaling Road Studio.

A notable figure in Australia’s artistic and political life, O’Connor is represented in numerous regional, institutional and public collections including at the National Gallery of Victoria and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. For collectors of Modernist Australian art, as well as those invested in politics and the underdog, O’Connor is an enriching find.

 
Vic O'CONNOR (1918 - 2010)
'Winter Sunshine' 1949
Linocut on paper
Edition of 9
Image Size: 26 x 16 cm
Dimensions: 38 x 30 cm
Signed: Signed, titled, dated and editioned in margin
Comes with Letter of Provenance
 
Condition: Excellent

© The Artist or Assignee