Sidney Nolan is regarded as one of Australia’s greatest and most influential artists. While he is widely celebrated for the mythic narratives that shaped his career—Ned Kelly’s spectral figure in the outback, the tragedy of Burke and Wills, the memory of Gallipoli—Nolan’s early landscapes reveal the foundation on which these legends were built.

Painted in 1940, 'Head of Woman' belongs to a formative period in Nolan’s practice, when he was developing his bold visual language. This painting captures his graphic and abstracted artistic sensibilities that he would become so famous for. With a round face, structured face and exaggerated facial features, the figure in Head of Woman appears as an early precursor to Nolan’s later archetypal characters, including the ‘Moonboy’ and the iconic ‘Ned Kelly’ series.

Nolan’s importance is reflected in his presence in every major Australian state gallery, as well as internationally at New York’s Museum of Modern Art and London’s Tate. 'Head of Woman' is a striking and compelling acquisition for any collection of important Australian art.

Sidney NOLAN (1917 - 1992)
'Head of Woman' 1940
Oil on hessian on board
Image Size: 50 x 45 cm
Signed: Titled and dated lower centre 'Head Of / Woman 40' signed and inscribed verso: 'Nolan / painted in Russell Street Studio Melbourne'

Comes with Letter of Provenance

Condition: Very Good

(c) Sidney Nolan / Copyright Agency