Sidney Nolan (1917 – 1992) is arguably one of Australia’s most important artists of the 20th Century, being an instrumental figure in the now infamous group of avant-garde artists called the Angry Penguins, which included Albert Tucker, Joy Hester, John Perceval, and Arthur Boyd. The group deliberately set out to change the face of modern art in Australia, Nolan going on to help reshape our cultural identity through his defiant use of paint to critique Australian society and its mythologies.
Through rich colour, bold compositions and a deliberately raw technique, Nolan created an original chapter of distinctive iconography, capturing Australian stories of loss, failure and resilience. This of course includes his iconic paintings Ned Kelly created be-tween 1946–47, which is now a ubiquitous symbol for Australian history and identity.
Often revisiting the same subject matter and locations, mining became another synonymous thematic for Nolan, drawn to its significance within Australian culture and politics. Nolan created numerous depictions of miners between the 1940s and 1970s, typically depicting a lone figure set against a desolate landscape, using thick textures to represent the gritty and harsh nature of the industry, barren environment and gruelling labour. Most distinctive were a series of works created between 1972–1973, directly inspired after a trip to the iron ore mines of Mount Tom Price in the Hamersley Range in North West Australia. Paintings reflected themes of industrialisation, isolation and masculinity, closely reminiscent of Nolan’s iconic depictions of the fated Ned Kelly. These works conveyed a true dystopian vision of the Australian outback, Thomas Rosenthal noting in his 2002 monograph ‘The miner sequence is, psychologically at least, the closest Nolan ever came to social realism’ [Rosenthal, T.G., Sidney Nolan, Thames and Hudson, London, 2002, p. 197].
Created from excerpts from the original paintings, these two works are part of a series of eight screenprints, published by Marlborough Graphics, London in 1973 and printed by Kelpra Studios, established by Chris and Rose Prater in 1957. The studio went on to become one of the most important print studios in Europe, renowned for working in close collaboration with artists to produce original prints. The full series of miner screenprints created by Nolan were donated to the permanent collection of the TATE by Chris and Rose Prater in 1957.
SIDNEY NOLAN
Miner And Train 1973
screenprint
76 x 76 cm [edition 36 of 70]
$5,650 [framed with artglass]
