Riverbending
This is a work of the imagination written for Imagining in Excited Reverie, a 2017 Centenary tribute to Sidney Nolan. Riverbending takes the form of an imaginary text supposedly written by Nolan himself and not found among his papers after his death in 1992. Whilst obviously a work of fiction as to the words used and some opinions held, it is nevertheless largely based on fact and on Nolan’s own statements.1 After publication, plaudits received from Nolan...
Read MoreNolan’s Adelaide ladies: from English soil and Adelaide
In 1964 Sidney Nolan painted at least 59 large portrait style works, known generically as the Adelaide Ladies. In 2016, friend and fellow Nolan enthusiast Andrew Turley wrote and published A guide to the ladies: 59 works by Sidney Nolan – April 1964 to June 1964 which documents his research into this little known area of Nolan’s oeuvre. The Foreword, Introduction and Epilogue to Andrew’s book can be read here. This post reproduces the...
Read MoreAdelaide ladies
In 2016, friend and fellow Nolan enthusiast Andrew Turley wrote and published A guide to the ladies: 59 works by Sidney Nolan – April 1964 to June 1964 which documents his research into the so-called “Adelaide Ladies”, a little known area of Nolan’s oeuvre. Andrew’s comments about these paintings on the recent ABC film documentary Nolan has sparked an interest in them and a call for more information, which this website is pleased to provide. This posting on...
Read MoreParables of Sunlight: Sidney Nolan – the Religious, the Sublime and the Divine in his painting
This is a transcript of a lecture given by David Rainey on 25 July 2018 at the Anglican church of St. Mary-in-the-Valley, Canberra. It includes full references not given in the presentation. Nolan’s own words are frequently quoted and in this transcript are shown in bold. Please NOTE that the text remains as spoken and consequently follows, rather than precedes, the image to which it relates. Good evening all. Thank you for coming out on such a cold night – especially those of...
Read MoreNed and Sid, Sublime at AGWA
David Rainey’s preview of the upcoming exhibition at the Art Gallery of Western Australia of Sidney Nolan’s 26 Ned Kelly paintings from The National Gallery of Australia, has been written especially for SeeSaw, the Perth-based Arts Alert, Preview and Review website https://www.seesawmag.com.au Ned and Sid, Sublime at AGWA Ned Kelly is visiting the Art Gallery of Western Australia; or to be more precise, twenty six Kelly-themed paintings are making their first visit to the...
Read MoreNolan Centenary Update IV
What a pleasure to advise that a Nolan exhibition curated especially for his Centenary year, the first such in Australia, is about to open in MELBOURNE. Sidney Nolan: the Greek Series launches at the Hellenic Museum on 24 August 2017 and runs until 31 October. For more details check the website here. Another first, at least to my knowledge, is a recourse to crowdfunding which serves to highlight the parlous state of Arts funding. However it does give to all reading this, the opportunity to put...
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