
Kate Vassallo draws the line
Kate Vassallo’s Ripple marks the conclusion of Artereal Gallery’s exhibition program, as the Sydney gallery is closing its doors after nearly two decades.
Sidney Nolan, Dimboola, 1944, enamel paint on canvas, 63.8 x 76.9 cm, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne,Gift of Sir Sidney and Lady Nolan, 1983 (A38-1983). © Sidney Nolan Estate. All Rights Reserved 2011 / Bridgeman Art Library.
Sidney Nolan, (Wimmera) 1942, coloured pastel (water added), 13.4 x 18.3 cm irreg. (image and sheet), National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Gift of Sir Sidney and Lady Nolan, 1983 A11-1983. © Sidney Nolan Estate. All Rights Reserved 2011 / Bridgeman Art Library.
Sidney Nolan, Landscape (Wimmera), 1942, oil on paper, 24.7 x 27.0 cm irreg. (image and sheet), National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Gift of the artist, 1982 (P17-1982). © Sidney Nolan Estate. All Rights Reserved 2011 / Bridgeman Art Library.
Sidney Nolan, Wimmera (1942); (1943) {dated}, enamel paint on cotton gauze on cardboard, 42.0 x 50.0 cm, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Gift of Sir Sidney and Lady Nolan, 1983 A25-1983. © Sidney Nolan Estate. All Rights Reserved 2011 / Bridgeman Art Library.
Happy 100th Birthday Sidney Nolan!
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Sidney Nolan’s birth the National Gallery of Victoria are currently displaying Nolan’s Wimmera paintings: 25 paintings and nine pastel drawings. The Wimmera paintings were gifted to the National Gallery of Victoria in 1983 by Sir Sidney and Lady Mary Nolan.
Conscripted into the Australian Army in 1942 and stationed in various Wimmera towns, this period represents some of Nolan’s first attempts at depicting the Australian landscape.
Despite the conditions under which the modernist paintings were created, there is little military influence to be found. Instead the paintings capture both Nolan’s unique interpretations of Australia’s landscape and point towards Nolan’s literary influences. As an avid reader, literature plays a crucial part in understanding Nolan’s thoughts and imagery.
Alongside the resonances of the regional landscape, Nolan also drew upon his knowledge of European and twentieth-century art. Through a combination of these widespread influences, plus Nolan’s quiet sense of observation, the artist created the Wimmera paintings.
Wimmera paintings
Sidney Nolan
National Gallery of Victoria – The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
April – July 2017