Sidney Nolan

Sidney Nolan (1917-1992) is an Australian artist who grew up in a conservative, colonial society in the grips of a savage depression. He became one of the most celebrated and influential modern artists of his generation. Between 1946 and 1947 he painted his first series of works that commented on the life of the Australian bandit Ned Kelly. This was the first chapter of an Epic Poem for Nolan that continued to absorb him until his last painting in 1992. He painted in series like visual poems which are at their most profound when exhibited together – and the poems are complete. He speaks to the world of the imagination, offering a different interpretation of life so that the viewer can engage with the subject emotionally. Sidney Nolan was knighted in 1981 and awarded the Order of Merit in 1983. He was also made a Companion of the Order of Australia, elected an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a member of The Royal Academy of Arts in the UK.