Laughing Child

Laughing Child
Artist	John Brack
Year	1958
Type	oil on canvas
Dimensions	45.8 cm × 40.8 cm (18.0 in × 16.1 in)
Location	Private collection, Melbourne

Laughing Child is a 1958 Modernist portrait painting by Australian artist John Brack. The painting depicts his daughter Charlotte as a young girl, in a dress and with messy hair, laughing.

Charlotte Brack said of the painting that "There's a message in the messy hair and the flying plait. For me it's about the chaos of being a child."[1] Discussing portraiture, John Brack said "I am not interested in how she looks sitting in the studio, but in how she looks at all times, in all lights, what she looked like before and what she is going to look like, what she thinks, hopes, believes and dreams".[1]

The painting was exhibited at Australian Galleries in Melbourne in 1958, where it was purchased by collector Cara Black for 50 Guineas.[1] In June 2020, Laughing Child sold at auction for $915,000 (hammer price $750,000).[2][3] A representative of the auction house claimed the painting to be one of the "most compelling representations of childhood" in Australian art.[1]

See also

• First Daughter, a 1955 portrait by Brack of his daughter Clara

References

1. Wilson-Anastasios, Meaghan (12 June 2020). "Rediscovered John Brack portrait shows a time of chaos and art". The Age. Nine Limited. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
2. "Laughing Child". Smith & Singer. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
3. Miller, Nick (25 June 2020). "Laughing to the bank: Brack daughter portrait fetches $900,000". The Age. Retrieved 27 January 2021.

Further reading

Hoff, Ursula, Robert Lindsay and Patrick McCaughey (1987) John Brack A Retrospective Exhibition, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Grishin, Sasha (1990) The Art of John Brack, Oxford University Press, Melbourne Vol. 2 (illustrated)