John Wren (3 April 1871 – 26 October 1953) was an Australian businessman. He has become a legendary figure thanks mainly to a fictionalised account of his life in Frank Hardy's novel Power Without Glory, which was also made into a television series. Wren exercised considerable influence in Victorian politics and business, but he was not as powerful as subsequent legend has suggested. Wren's granddaughter, Gabrielle Pizzi, also achieved renown as an art dealer credited with raising the profile of Aboriginal art.
Read more about John Wren: Early Life, Racing, Boxing and Golfing Activities, Political Influence, Power Without Glory, Death and Posthumous Reputation
Famous quotes containing the words john and/or wren:
“I do not wish to see John ever again,—I mean him who is dead,—but that other, whom only he would have wished to see, or to be, of whom he was the imperfect representative. For we are not what we are, nor do we treat or esteem each other for such, but for what we are capable of being.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Herein is the explanation of the analogies, which exist in all the arts. They are the re-appearance of one mind, working in many materials to many temporary ends. Raphael paints wisdom, Handel sings it, Phidias carves it, Shakspeare writes it, Wren builds it, Columbus sails it, Luther preaches it, Washington arms it, Watt mechanizes it. Painting was called “silent poetry,” and poetry “speaking painting.” The laws of each art are convertible into the laws of every other.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)