Sidney Nolan, arguably the greatest ever Australian artist in the Western tradition, is best known for his 1940s and 50s paintings of Ned Kelly, iconic outlaw of the Australian outback. In these powerful and original paintings the extraordinary Australian landscape itself plays a formidable part. But the Kelly series formed just a fraction of Nolan's prodigious output. He was an impassioned artist who worked almost up to his death in 1992, still experimenting, still intellectually curious, still playful.
This book, with its wealth of illustrations - 270 in full colour, including five polyptychs on foldouts - is the first to cover Nolan's whole career, from his early paintings through to the enormous, multi-panelled works known collectively as 'Oceania'. Some major series, like Ned Kelly, centre on the heroic and tragic figures of Australian history - the shipwrecked Mrs Fraser, the explorers Burke and Wills, the soldiers at Gallipoli, the miners of the Eureka Stockade - and others centre on such ancient myths as Leda and the Swan or Oedipus and the Sphinx.
Nolan, restless in mind and body, was a constant traveller, and he had a remarkable visual memory. Reproduced in this book are paintings from his journeys in Australia, Europe, the USA, Africa, Antarctica and Asia, including some from among the fourteen large oils of Chinese landscapes now in Hong Kong. This is also the first book to deal fully with Nolan's multi-faceted work as a painter of literary themes, and as a book illustrator, theatre designer and even, briefly, sculptor.
The art critic and broadcaster TG Rosenthal, who knew Sidney Nolan well from 1960 until his death, guides the reader with assurance through the art produced during the long and brilliant career of this witty and deeply intelligent painter.
With 373 illustrations, 270 in colour including 5 polyptychs on foldouts.
