Collins St. 5p.m.

"Collins St., 5 p.m." is a 1955 painting by Australian artist John Brack that exemplifies genre painting with an emphasis on urban life. The work depicts a group of Expressionism-influenced office workers hurriedly walking along Collins Street in Melbourne, embodying a sense of alienation and monotony. Brack's portrayal of the blank-faced figures echoes themes from T. S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land. The painting's stark, simplified style serves as a commentary on modernity and the routines of daily life, and it is often seen as a companion to Brack's earlier piece, The Bar.