Sidney Nolan: “Ned Kelly“, 1946.
Enamel on composition board, 90.8 x 121.5 cm.
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Gift of Sunday Reed 1977
Major survey of Australian art at Royal Academy of Arts The most significant survey of Australian art ever mounted in the UK, ‘Australia’ spans more than 200 years from 1800 to the present day and features 146 artists with over 200 works. Royal Academy, 21 September – 8 December 2013.]]>
Source: Royal Academy of Arts, London
The story of Australian art is inextricably linked to its landscape: an ancient land of dramatic beauty, asource of production, enjoyment, relaxation and inspiration, yet seemingly loaded with mystery anddanger. For Australian artists, this deep connection with the landscape has provided a rich seam ofinspiration for centuries. In 1948, the Australian artist, and Royal Academician, Sidney Nolan (1917-92)said of his iconic “Ned Kelly” series that it was ‘a story arising out of the bush and ending in the bush’. Hebelieved strongly that an understanding of landscape was central to his work, giving meaning to place,and commented that he found ‘the desire to paint the landscape involves a wish to hear more of thestories that take place in the landscape’.
The exhibition maps the period of rapid and intense change; from the impact of the first settlers andcolonisation on the indigenous people to the pioneering nation-building of the nineteenth century,through to the enterprising urbanisation of the last century. Reflecting the vastness of the land and thediversity of its people, early, as well as contemporary Aboriginal art sits alongside the work of the firstcolonial settlers, immigrant artists of the twentieth century and the work of some of today’s mostestablished Australian artists.
Highlights include Frederick McCubbin’s “The Pioneer”, 1904 (National Gallery of Victoria); four paintingsfrom Sidney Nolan’s “Ned Kelly” series, 1946 (National Gallery of Australia); Rover Thomas’ “CycloneTracy”, 1991 (National Gallery of Australia); Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s “Big Yam Dreaming”, 1995(National Gallery of Victoria) and Shaun Gladwell’s video “Approach to Mundi Mundi”, 2007 (Art Gallery ofNew South Wales, John Kaldor Family Collection). Judy Watson has been commissioned to create “Fireand Water”, a new sculpture for the Royal Academy’s Annenberg Courtyard.
Related content
Mexico: A Revolution in Art, 1910–1940. Royal Academy (exhibition, 2013)
Follow us on:
