Nolan: Origins explores the astounding creativity and poetic power of Sidney Nolan in this in-depth survey of the artist’s formative years in Australia. From indelible visions of the outlaw Ned Kelly to epic portrayals of Central Australia, Nolan redefined perceptions of place and nation in Australia’s cultural imagination.

Including his infamous series of paintings on bushranger Ned Kelly (1946–47), the exhibition and the associated publication brings together around 140 major works produced before Nolan relocated to the United Kingdom in 1953 – years in which he forged a reputation as one of this country’s most distinctive modernist artists.

Along with an in-depth essay by exhibition curator Denise Mimmocchi, the book features new writing by Lesley Harding, Scott Elliot, Kendrah Morgan, Deborah Edwards, Peta Clancy, Daniel Browning, Paul Daley, Monique Leslie Watkins and Justin Paton. The writers examine the artist’s engagement with the places he painted as he evolved his singular, enigmatic visual language, including St Kilda, Wimmera, K’gari (also Fraser Island), Central Australia and the landscapes of Ned Kelly’s story in north-eastern Victoria.

Published in association with a major exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, Nolan: Origins features over 140 works from 1936 to 1953.