John Joseph Wardell Power

John Joseph Wardell Power (12 October 1881 – 1 August 1943), often referred to as J. W. Power, was an Australian modernist artist who practised his art in England and Europe. The Power Institute of Fine Arts at the University of Sydney bears his name.

Early life and education John Joseph Wardell Power was born in Sydney on 12 October 1881.

After attending Sydney Grammar School,

He had a studio in Paris, and was represented by Parisian gallery owner Léonce Rosenberg.

In 1934, a solo show of his work was held in Paris by Abstraction-Création.

Power Institute of Fine Arts His estate (worth £A2 million) The Power Institute, established in 1968, is the university's art history department. His effect on art history in Australia was significant.

John Power Memorial Lecture The inaugural John Power Memorial Lecture was delivered at the University of Sydney by American art critic Clement Greenberg in 1968. In the following year, Donald Brook, artist and lecturer in the history of sculpture at the Power Institute of Fine Arts, gave the second John Power lecture, "Flight from the Object".

MCA Australia Part of the Power bequest provided the core funding to set up Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art in 1989.

The Chau Chak Wing Museum in Sydney held the first comprehensive survey of Potter's art, J. W. Power: Art, war and the avant-garde, from July 2025 to February 2026.