Hundreds of never-before-seen Sidney Nolan artworks up for grabs

Hundreds of works by the late Australian artist Sidney Nolan, most unseen after years in storage in Wales, will be auctioned in what’s being touted as the largest-ever sale of the Melbourne-born painter’s art.

The artworks are not expected to fetch the eye-watering prices of Nolan’s more famous paintings, some of which have sold for more than $1 million. Organisers describe the pieces on offer as “modestly priced”, with some starting as low as a couple of hundred dollars.

Olivia Fuller, head of art at Leonard Joel auction house, with Sidney Nolan’s Kelly on Horseback.Credit: Eddie Jim

“These are not his most expensive works, but they’re all original works. They’re not prints,” said Mark Fraser, an art consultant and manager of the Nolan estate. “They’re original paintings by the artist.”

Fraser said most of the works had been stored in the Nolans’ former residence, The Rodd, in Wales.

He said while the estate of Nolan’s late widow Mary Nolan had overseen previous sales of artworks, there had been “nothing of this magnitude”.

“It’s certainly the biggest-ever sale of Sidney Nolan’s work,” Fraser said.

Several Nolan pieces have attracted prices in the millions of dollars, and in 2010, First-Class Marksman – one of his acclaimed paintings on the theme of bushranger Ned Kelly – fetched more than $5 million at auction.

There are 228 lots at this auction, which will be held on May 29 at Leonard Joel in Melbourne’s South Yarra.

Fraser said Nolan’s work was often bought and sold overseas, and international bidding was expected.

Leonard Joel head of art Olivia Fuller said the pieces of interest included a mixed media on paper called Kelly on Horseback, on the bushranger theme, which had an estimated price range of $7000 to $10,000.

Fuller with some of the paintings up for grabs, including ANZAC Soldiers Gallipoli.Credit: Eddie Jim

The mixed media on paper Rite of Spring, inspired by the ballet of the same name and by Indigenous dancers, has an estimated price between $4000 and $6000.

A group of World War I diggers is depicted in ANZAC Soldiers Gallipoli, which is expected to fetch $6000 to $9000, while a female nude entitled Figure on the Beach has an estimate price of $800 to $1200.

One of the auction’s highest-valued paintings, inspired by Nolan’s 1964 visit to Antarctica, is the oil-on-board painting Antarctic Coastline. It has a price estimate of $40,000 to $60,000.

Fuller said many of the pieces were small in scale and “looser” works.

Cow and Tree by Nolan.

“Who knows what they might sell for, but we can at least let everyone feel they can have a chance of bidding and buying.”

Fuller said interest in Nolan’s works was still strong, 31 years after his death.

“There are only a small number of Australian artists that would be recognised as the greats – John Olsen, who recently passed, would be another one,” Fuller said.

“But Sidney Nolan is probably one of the most highly regarded, internationally recognised Australian artists. And not many get to that level.

Rite of Spring was inspired by the ballet of the same name and by Indigenous dancers.

“So realistically any auction that is presenting works of Sidney Nolan is going to be major, because it’s so wide-reaching, there’s so much demand for his work.”

The auction catalogue is online and in-person viewings will be held from May 26 to 28 and by appointment on May 29, before the auction that day at 6pm.

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