Colin Colahan

Colin Cuthbert Orr Colahan
Born(1897-02-12)12 February 1897
Woodend, Victoria, Australia
Died6 June 1987(1987-06-06) (aged 90)
Ventimiglia, Italy
Alma materXavier College, Melbourne
Occupations
  • Painter
  • Sculptor

Colin Cuthbert Orr Colahan (12 February 1897 – 6 June 1987) was an Australian painter and sculptor[1] who was educated at Xavier College.

Colahan was born in Woodend, Victoria in 1897, the second youngest of the six children of Surgeon-Major-General John Joseph Aloysius Colahan (1836–1918), and Eliza McDowell Colahan (1859–1899), née Orr.

While a student in Melbourne he joined Max Meldrum's school of painting and subsequently became a key figure of the Australian tonalist movement. In 1937 he joined and exhibited with Robert Menzies' Australian Academy of Art.[2]

Colahan created the 'Sirena' fountain for the Italian town of Bordighera. His sculpture of the head of Victor Smorgon was bought by the National Gallery of Victoria. His work can be found in the collections of the state galleries of Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. He was appointed an Australian official war artist in 1942.[1]

A portrait in oil of F. Matthias Alexander (of "Alexander technique" fame), painted by Colahan to commemorate the subject's 80th birthday, was shown on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow programme in May 2013, when it was still in the possession of the son of the wife of Alexander's nephew.[3]

Colahan died in Ventimiglia in 1989.

  1. ^ a b Kinnane, Garry (2007). "Colin Cuthbert Orr Colahan (1897–1987)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 17. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  2. ^ Australian Academy of Art First Exhibition, April 8th-29th, Sydney : Catalogue (1st ed.). Sydney: Australian Academy of Art. 1938. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  3. ^ "F.M. Alexander portrait". Antiques Roadshow. Series 35. Episode 23. 19 May 2013. BBC Television. Retrieved 19 May 2013.