Sidney Nolan studied design at the Prahran Technical College (1931) and attended classes at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School (1934-1936). His paintings in the 1930s reveal the influence of European abstraction but in 1940 he pursued a commitment to more figurative work and the depiction of the Australian landscape. Nolan sought to capture the flatness and isolation of the land and in 1945 he exhibited his first series of paintings of the life of Ned Kelly. The scale of the landscape in these works, as well the archetypical symbolism of the bushranger and the development of an extensive series of works, typified his practice for the rest of his life. This series established Nolan as a significant and innovative modern Australian artist. Other series by the artist include; Gallipoli (1955-63 and 1977) and his explorations through central Australia; the Eureka Stockade (1953).
Read MoreFrom 1953 Nolan lived as an expatriate in London. He was knighted in 1981 and his paintings have been included in numerous survey exhibitions of Australian art. Nolan’s work is held in the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Tate Gallery, London and the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
