About the author
Clara Brack was born in Melbourne, the first of four daughters of artists Helen Maudsley and John Brack. She taught in Technical Schools and then TAFE and wrote and took photographs, making books for family and friends. The Secret Landscapes is the result of over twenty years of writing releasing herself from inhibitions about releasing her story.
In the media
John Brack once painted his children. Now his adult daughter tells her story of life with the famous artist
She’s the little girl in some of her father’s most famous paintings, but life as the eldest child of artists John Brack and Helen Maudsley wasn’t always easy.
Published: 3 Sep 2026 / WITH NATASHA MITCHELL
Interview with the age
“The Secret Landscapes is ‘part memoir, part biography, part social and art history, and reads like a novel . … grounded in compassion . . . beautifully written, gracefully honest and peppered with dark humour”.
– Gabriella Coslovich APRIL 1, 2026,
The Age Spectrum
On Finishing My Manuscript and the Father I Thought I Knew
My book The Secret Landscapes will be published in April. It is my experience as the daughter of artists John Brack and Helen Maudsley. I am one of four daughters.
The Secret Landscapes: On Not Pleasing Your Mother by Clara Brack
Clara Brack, daughter of Australian art royalty, audaciously reinvents her parents’ lives in The Secret Landscapes.
Books by Clara
The secret landscapes
On not pleasing your mother
How do the secrets of the artist find their way into the making of the work? The author is the daughter of artists John Brack and Helen Maudsley. Her father is known for his iconic work Collins Street 5pm. Her mother’s work is less well known. The author finds her own voice in flouting her mother’s rule that the private life of the artist is out of bounds. “Private is private. It is the work that counts.”
The eye sees not itself
Can we find a story in our travel photographs? A quiet, reflective journey through photographs taken in New York, this work explores how memory, upbringing, and artistic influence shape the way we see. Moving between observation and introspection, it blurs the line between viewer and subject, inviting us to question not just what we look at, but how we perceive the world around us.