Core to Sidney Nolan’s legacy is how he merged myth with modernism. He was interested in stories of loss, failure, capture and redemption from both Australian history and beyond, with his best known subject being the bushranging Kelly Gang. Indeed, Nolan’s Kelly has become a symbol of Australian identity.
As evident in ‘Landscape’, Nolan’s practice was unbridled by medium, mood or theme, with his work constantly innovating. Here, a piece of plywood is enlivened by the painted image of a coastal landscape. Enriching, deep blues surround an abstracted shore, providing a new way of viewing the Australian landscape. This painting was created four years before his iconic Kelly rode into it the gold and blue landscape to make one of the most iconic paintings in Australian history.
Nolan is represented in every state gallery and internationally at New York’s Museum of Modern Art and London’s Tate. Elegant and enigmatic, his work is a prize for collectors of important Australian art.
Sidney NOLAN (1917 - 1992)
'Landscape' 1942
oil on plywood
Image Size: 48 x 48 cm
Dimensions: 50 x 50 x 4 cm
Signed: Titled, dated and initialed lower right.
Comes with Letter of Provenance
RELATED WORKS:
House by the Sea, dated 26.8.42, oil on plywood, 43 x 43 cm, illustrated in Nolans Nolans: a reputation reassessed, Agnews, London, 1997, cat. 7.
Condition: Very Good: Describes a work of art's image as Excellent, but may show some small signs of surrounding wear to paper or frame. There are no tears to paper margin or disruption to the paint surface.
(C) Sidney Nolan / Copyright Agency 2023