Footnotes

PROVENANCE
Private collection
Bridget McDonnell Gallery, Melbourne (label attached verso)
Private collection
Sotheby's, New York, 31 October 1984, lot 143
Severn Family Foundation Collection


Throughout the 1960s Nolan reprised the Kelly narrative, frequently painting the enigmatic bushranger as an ambiguous figure consumed within a vast landscape. The 1960s saw an explosive surge of artistic creativity from Nolan, with his reputation well set in the international art scene with numerous exhibitions, retrospectives and biographies dedicate to his work. He sustained this extraordinary artistic output by delving into other historical narratives that captured the collective imagination, with series dedicated to the Antarctic expedition of Shackleton, Scott and Mawson (see lot 54), Burke and Wills'
navigation of Australia as well as continuing the ever-evolving Ned Kelly theme.

In August 1962, Nolan embarked upon what was to be a very small though important series of Ned Kelly paintings often set within dreamlike landscapes or scaled back to place prominence on the figure itself, often acting out facets of the historical narrative. In a number similar examples Nolan explores Kelly's posing figure, frequently displayed against an empty background, whether its kneeling with his rifle cocked or prone, preparing for an unseen imminent threat. The distinguishing similarity within this series is Nolan's use of vertical coloured stripes to depict the helmet. Nolan had employed this motif in his first Kelly series painting The Chase, 1946, in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

Nolan also reveals the identity of Kelly by depicting his face, a rare glimpse of the true self which is usually concealed by the iconic square helmet. The present work portrays the wounded Kelly resting on his haunches, rifle in hand, determined to forge on. A stoic yet sorrowful gaze intimates his understanding of how forsaken his circumstances are. The swiftly executed, desolate landscape surrounding the figure emphasises the sense of isolation in his last moments and set it clearly within the narrative of Kelly's last stand.