Collection: Sidney Nolan   1917 - 1992 

Nolan is widely considered one of Australia’s most important artists, renowned for his images of the infamous outlaw Ned Kelly. Born in 1917 in the Melbourne suburbs, he began to produce his own works aged 20 and held his first solo exhibition in 1940. Though he was conscripted in 1942, two years later he deserted stating that his ‘conduct as an artist and as a soldier have finally proved incompatible.’

After the war, Nolan was drawn to Australia’s legendary outlaw Ned Kelly. Completing his first Kelly images in 1945, Nolan’s constant return to the theme produced the paintings for which he is most celebrated. By 1953 Nolan had moved to London permanently and in 1963 he was awarded an O.B.E.. Major retrospectives of his work were held at the Whitechapel in London, Dublin, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth. Nolan died in 1992.