The story of John Olsen's masterclasses in Campbell Town

They hosted banquets, recited poetry and mused philosophically and, of course, painted, sharing and teaching all of it to a crop of Tasmanians who would influence the modern artistic landscape of the state.

A collection of archives from the late Launceston arts education teacher Terry Woodward, taken at the time of these master classes, was the subject of a recent People's Library event at Design Tasmania.

In packed Price Hall at Design Tas, portions of the notes were read by Mr Woodward's daughter, Margaret - herself an artist who grew up in Trevallyn and now lives in Hobart.

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The importance of that time for the state's artistic framework came to the fore with the intriguing story of when one of Australia's great artists called Campbell Town home.

John Olsen at the Grange

In 1969, '75 and '76, the residential summer schools at the famed Grange Estate in Campbell Town were helmed by an early career John Olsen AO OBE, the painter who would become Australia's most renowned artist.

The great abstract landscapist, who passed away in April this year, is the chief subject of Mr Woodward's short manifesto, John Olsen's Notebook, which includes diagrams, drawings, letters and notes from Olsen.

"They were heady times, a potent mix of paint and poetry, philosophy and art," Ms Woodward said.

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"Those times in Tasmania had a flavour and an excitement, and that was a gift from John Olsen and the other painters who spent time at the Grange."

Painters like John Firth-Smith, the prolific figurative artist Andrew Sibley, and renowned arts teacher and Order of Australia medal recipient Merv Moriarty taught at courses too, but Olsen's time was particularly fruitful.

"[My dad] would come home with the boot of the car full of sketches, ink studies on paper, paintings on cardboard," she said.

"To some degree, he was there to enjoy himself, but he was also able to take those teachings and learnings from John and pass them to his students.

"It really was a significant, rich experience for the artists of Tasmania."

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Olsen - who was seen as somewhat of an artistic radical during that time - was in an illustrious creative vein, having already completed some of his greatest works, like The Sydney Sun (1965) and his mural at Sydney Opera House.

And he drew an interesting crowd: the poet James McAuley, founder of literary magazine Quadrant and the subject of an Archibald prize-winning portrait by Launceston's Jack Carington Smith in '69, regularly attended alongside other cultural luminaries.

However, unlike his paintings, Olsen's effect on Tasmania and its generation of artists is hard to quantify; all that's certain is the period's extraordinary nature.

John Olsen's Notebook is available for reading with the People's Library exhibition at Design Tasmania until September 3.

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