NOLAN, SIDNEY (Australian, 1917-1992)

He first studied at his hometown Prahran Technical College, Melbourne, and continued at National Gallery School, 1934-6.
After World War II service in Australian Army Nolan worked as a designer and an illustrator, emerging as a full-time painter in Sydney, at the start of 1950s, after which he moved to Europe to paint.
His first one-man show was held in his studio in Melbourne in 1941, since when there were many globally, in Britain notably at Redfern Gallery, Marlborough Fine Art, Tate Gallery and ICA in London, and Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
While living in England, Nolan visited Australia for special projects, such as the series of pictures connected with the film “Burke and Wills”.
He travelled widely, including Africa, Greece and Antarctica.
A retrospective exhibition of works on paper done over 40 years toured Australia in the early 1980s, a vast retrospective visited state galleries there in 1987-8 and there was a review exhibition from the estate at Agnew in 1997.
Nolan has been called a painter’s painter, whose work often took the form of a personal diary. He was able to work intensively over short periods and was noted for series of pictures with a single theme, such as the Ned Kelly paintings and drawings, amongst his most memorable images.
He was knighted in 1981, gained Order of Merit in 1983 and was elected Royal Academician in 1991.

Public collections include:
Museum of Modern Art, New York
National Gallery, Canberra
National Gallery, Melbourne
Tate, London
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool