Sidney nolan ned kelly series in order. The kelly series is part of agwas current focus on free thinkers and ground breakers across three exhibitions rebels radicals and pathfinders. It is on loan from the national gallery of australia. Nolans starkly simplified depiction of kelly in his armour has become an iconic australian image.
4 stars sidney nolans ned kelly series. 1948 marries cynthia reed sister of john reed and adopts her daughter jinx. The ned kelly series.
All images from the ned kelly series 19461947. National gallery of australia. Sidney nolan was born in carlton at that time an inner working class suburb of melbourne on 22 april 1917.
He was sentenced to hang and was executed on 11 november 1880. Two of nolans paintings the abandoned mine 1948 and ned kelly 1955 were included in quintessence editions ltds 2007 book 1001 paintings you must see before you die. Ned kelly 1946 by sidney nolan.
Nolans paintings follow the main sequence of the kelly story. He is best known for his series of paintings on legends from australian history most famously ned kelly the bushranger and outlaw. Between 1946 and 1947 nolan painted his first series of works that commented on the life of the australian bandit ned kelly.
In these paintings kelly is represented by the forms of his solid black armour. 1 this characteristically pithy oneliner sums up the engagement with australian history. Art gallery of western australia perth.
1946 47 reads inner history of the kelly gang royal commission report and paints the first ned kelly series at heide melbourne. Deserting the army in 1944 nolan lived under the assumed name of robert murray and the following year began his iconic series of the bushranger ned kelly that portrayed events leading to the much mythologised outlaws demise. In 1961 sidney nolan told the writer colin macinnes that the main ingredients of the kelly series were kellys own words and rousseau and sunlight.
The final painting in nolans ned kelly series shows ned brought before the law. 1947 53 paints queensland and central australia fraser island and drought paintings. This was the first chapter of an epic poem for nolan that continued to absorb him until his last painting in 1992.
Sidney nolans ned kelly series is showing at art gallery of western australia until 12 november main image. Sidney nolans ned kelly series introduction sidney nolans 194647 ned kelly series is one of the greatest sequences of australian paintings of the twentieth century.