Creative couples: see inside Patrick and Tamsin Johnson’s art-filled home

A new book profiles Australian art collectors at home.

Collecting: Living With Art by Kym Elphinstone. Tamsin and Patrick Johnson with painting by Clara Adolphs. Picture: Dave Wheeler

Tamsin and Patrick Johnson are deeply immersed in the creative world, as an interior designer/antiques dealer and a tailor, respectively. Tamsin explains. “Naturally, we’re invested in the nature of our own home, and the art that fills it is a big part of our life.”

Home is a three-storey red-brick mansion in Sydney’s Darling Point. In 2020, when they moved in, they became only its third owners since 1928. “The house has great bones. Its own strong and charming character is worth preserving and working with,” she says. Those characters include lead lighting, joinery and several other Anglo-Tudor-like features they have thoughtfully restored.

Collecting: Living With Art by Kym Elphinstone. Painting by Dale Frank and floor sculpture by Sanné Mestrom in downstairs living. Picture: Dave Wheeler

Part of the home’s appeal, beyond its location and natural light, was its layout and proportionality, and the many possibilities that held for their evolving collection of contemporary Australian art. One of the few non-contemporary works they own is the first piece they purchased together – a painted portrait of a man smoking a cigarette, which still hangs in their kitchen. “The artist is unknown but Patrick and I both fell in love with it immediately while perusing a Paris flea market,” Tamsin says.

Art is central to the couple’s passion and knowledge of fashion and interiors, and they bring an artistic sensibility to their work that is enhanced by their friendships with a number of artists they collect. “It gives us joy to support Australian artists in their journey, which can be a pretty long, hard-fought one from art school to the National Gallery! They inspire us. They’ve helped us evolve our thoughts and direction in our own work, too. It’s a kindred thing – they understand us and our motivations, which sometimes get viewed as decorative, which isn’t the case.”

Photographer Bill Henson is one such friend – a work from his Paris Opera series hangs by the front door. “We love Bill. I can’t think of a more powerful intellect in Australian art. We had always dreamed of having one of his works. We’re now lucky enough to have several. Patrick (who owns the P. Johnson tailoring business) makes much of Bill’s wardrobe, too.”

A salon-style hang in the stairwell features works by Huseyin Sami, Pinos Manos and Tom Mackie, as well as an antique Venetian chandelier Tamsin found in Murano 15 years ago. There is a second antique chandelier in the living room, but the object that takes pride of place is a triptych of seeming religious iconography by Indigenous artist Daniel Boyd. “We know Dan well and this is a very powerful piece. It’s magisterial and commanding, so we had to placate it by disguising its bottom third with a sideboard. It really works well like this, emerging and restrained. The power and content of the work is gnawing and you can bury into it for hours while couch loafing,” she says.

Collecting: Living With Art by Kym Elphinstone. Painting by Clara Adolphs in the lower level living. Picture: Dave Wheeler

Collecting: Living With Art by Kym Elphinstone. Photograph by Massimo Listri in daughter’s bedroom. Picture: Dave Wheeler

Tamsin’s work in interiors means she’s able to meld contemporary art at every scale, using ceramics, textiles and antique furniture and objects in ways that feel considered. “I think about the placement of the pieces amongst each other, of course, but it’s hard to be concise about it. The truth is that good art always holds its own, despite its neighbours and surrounds. Good art creates rather than detracts, so there is always harmony. But some conflict is good – it adds energy.”

Lillian O’Neil’s large-scale collage – one of the earlier works the couple purchased together – is a bringer of energy and can always be counted on to start a conversation. “It faces you as you walk in the front door and it’s immediately captivating. It’s explosive and calamitous and seeks attention, drawing you in. It sings.”

Collecting: Living With Art by Kym Elphinstone. Painting by Michael Georgetti in lower living. Picture: Dave Wheeler

Collecting: Living With Art by Kym Elphinstone. Triptych painting by Daniel Boyd, wall sculpture by Brendan Huntley and lamp by Ben Mazey in the formal living. Picture: Dave Wheeler

Works that aren’t on display in the Johnsons’ home can be found across their offices and multiple showrooms, although some are also in storage, waiting to be cycled through. “We’d prefer that everything is hung but that’s not always possible.” Amid their busy life, with children, two businesses and regular travel, home is the constant. And the art they live with reflects their tastes, travels, friendships and aspirations.

“Subliminally, I hope the art influences us. It certainly inspires us as designers and infuses our work and sense of self. Without it, our hearts wouldn’t beat as fast,” Tamsin says.

On trusting your instincts

‘Buying great art is about ignoring noise and trusting your natural response.

If that response is authentic, it typically isn’t a product of some other influence.

We buy from great gallerists that we know and we trust their passion for artists

and art. Art shouldn’t be bought because it is popular. It should be bought because it’s loved.’

Tamsin Johnson

On what their collection says about them

I’m not sure our collection says anything about us other than we adore art and it’s part of our life. It’s about the artists. It is a privilege to enter their world through their art - it’s so personal. Everyone sees and feels things differently. Sometimes we see different perspectives that we could never have imagined, and at other times we adore a work because it is clear we feel the same way as the artist - there’s a mutuality.“

Tamsin Johnson

Collecting: Living With Art by Kym Elphinstone.