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Lot 87^W

Sidney Nolan
(Australian, 1917-1992)
Landscape 122.3 x 122 cm. (48 1/8 x 48 in.)

Amended

Modern British and Irish Art

28 May 2014, 14:00 BST

London, New Bond Street

£15,000 - £20,000

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Sidney Nolan (Australian, 1917-1992)

Landscape
signed and titled 'LANDSCAPE S.Nolan' (on the stretcher) and dated '22 May 1960' (verso)
ripolin on board
122.3 x 122 cm. (48 1/8 x 48 in.)

Footnotes

Exhibited
Probably London, Mathiessen Gallery, Sidney Nolan: Leda and the Swan and Other Recent Work, 16 June-16 July 1960, cat.no.22

By the end of the 1950s there was significant interest in Australian art within London. Bryan Robertson, the dynamic director of the Whitechapel Art Gallery, was a leading promoter and along with the influential Kenneth Clark formed a strong bond with Sidney Nolan. Robertson had already established himself as an excellent entrepreneur by organising an important exhibition of Mark Rothko's work in the East End. It is of little surprise therefore that Nolan jumped at the opportunity when offered a retrospective at the prestigious Whitechapel in 1957. With daily attendance often reaching 500 and positive responses from the leading newspapers such as John Russell in the Sunday Times, the exhibition was a success.

After a prolonged period in the USA, Nolan would not exhibit again in London until 1960 when the present work was included in his show at the Mathiessen Gallery. Nolan had recently re-visited Robert Graves and the myth of Leda and the Swan provided him with a strong theme for the exhibition. Conscious that he had been away from the England for some time, the artist wanted to connect with the landscape and ambiance of the country which led to more muted tones of colour as can be seen in the present work. The dazzling colours of the Mediterranean and fierce light of the Australian outback were replaced with a darker palette which provide an altogether more poetic mood and what Nolan himself described as 'a sometimes swooning atmosphere'.

Saleroom notices

Please note that this work is additionally signed with initial 'N' (lower right).

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