Sidney Nolan : A Life

Art, Design & Photography Biography & Memoir

Sidney Nolan: A Life by Nancy Underhill is the 2016 illustrated hardcover telling the sweeping biography of Australia’s most celebrated modernist painter. Newsouth Publishing’s 408-page, jacketed edition tracks Nolan’s journey from St Kilda street kid to the international artist who re-imagined Ned Kelly and the outback in bold, mythic forms.

Underhill’s narrative blends fresh archival finds with crisp art-historical insight, mapping how Nolan’s restless life fed canvases now lodged in the world’s major museums. Generous colour plates let readers study the brushwork, while black-and-white photographs place the artist among friends, lovers and critics who shaped twentieth-century Australian culture.

Collectors seeking a clean, carefully handled copy will appreciate this smoke-free, unmarked volume. The tight binding and crisp dust jacket promise shelf presence, and the generous page margins invite leisurely reading or research. No previous owner notes, dog-ears or tears—just a ready-to-enjoy biography of an enigmatic figure whose work still defines Australian art history.