Traditional Art – Oil Painting – Top Marks

Top Marx

Oil on Canvas

102cm x 76cm
(40″ x 30″)

Currently entered into:
The Australian Artist Awards 2024

Groucho, Harpo and Chico are three of five brothers from the famous Marx Brothers comedy act successful in Vaudeville, on Broadway and in some of the earlies motion pictures in form early 1900’s to around 1950.

I chose to paint these three because of their own unique and different personalities and used the three primary colours to represent their individuality. These three comedians came together in a way that uniquely portrayed their own eccentricities as well as complimented and enhanced the others. It was a brilliant balance of individual styles coming together to form a magnificent and highly successful team in the same way the primary colours relate to each other.

In the painting I have included certain physical objects synonymous with the brother’s personalities. Groucho’s glasses and cigar, Harpo’s golden curls and trick rose and Chico’s bow tie and Tyrolean hat. Although the brothers have distinct personalities, they are still brothers so to portray this, I have included their individual tie styles but connected them by including their brothers’ colours on each.

I love and admire these guys. I still to this day use some of Groughos quotes and sayings. I think their influence helped to shape Hollywood and this continues into today. They were a large part of a very successful period of a time admired by millions throughout the world.