Beschreibung:

SIDNEY NOLAN (1917-1992) Beggar 1963 oil on board signed lower right: N (reversed) artist's name, title and date inscribed verso artist's name and alternate title (Silk Road Monk) on Holdsworth Galleries label verso 122 x 142cm PROVENANCE: The Collection of Gisella Scheinberg (proprietor of Holdsworth Galleries, Sydney), 1997 Private collection, Sydney EXHIBITIONS: African Paintings by Sidney Nolan Bonython Art Gallery, Adelaide, March 1964 (in conjunction with The Third Adelaide Festival of Arts), no.4 Silk Route: An Exhibition of New Paintings by Sir Sidney Nolan Nolan Gallery, Lanyon, Tharwa, ACT, July-September 1987, no. 28 (probably) Sidney Nolan Holdsworth Contemporary Galleries, Sydney, 5 January - 4 February 1988 LITERATURE: Rosenthal, T G, Sidney Nolan Thames & Hudson, London 2002, illus p.12 Pearce, B, Sidney Nolan 1917-1992, Beagle Press for AGNSW 2007, illus p.252 Underhill, N, Nolan on Nolan, Penguin Group, Victoria, Australia 2007 illus p.4 of photographs "At the Rodd barn 1986" This work is to be included in the forthcoming book Nolan's Africa, by Andrew Turley OTHER NOTES: "The secret of Nolan's Africa is that it is the most unique and intensely creative series ever completed by Sidney. His two and a half month personal experience - fuelled by the literal, literary and artistic - ended in works broader, deeper and richer than anything he had created before." (Andrew Turley, 2017) (1) The vibrant paint work in Beggar recalls the shimmering heat of an African day, the central figure hovering inside a technicolour cave. In 1962 Sidney and Cynthia Nolan travelled to Africa for the first time where they experienced crossing the Seronera River, visiting Uganda's capital Kampala and witnessing the Ethiopian Emperor's coronation day celebrations in Asmara, amongst many other adventures. Following this trip Nolan created approximately 90 paintings as part of his African series, 35 of which were exhibited in May 1963 at Marlborough Fine Art, London, and publicly lauded. The Queen made a purchase for the Royal collection and Francis Bacon praised their colour. (2) Beggar was executed in London as part of the African series and shipped to Adelaide for the Bonython Galleries African Paintings exhibition in March 1964. Here it features in grainy footage from the opening held in conjunction with The Third Adelaide Festival of Arts. After this the painting disappears for over twenty years until it re-emerges back in the UK in a black and white photograph side by side with Nolan at his family home The Rodd, Presteigne, around 1986. It was during this time that Nolan was working on his series of Silk Route paintings inspired by his multiple trips to China, the first of which occurred in 1965. In 1987 the Nolan Gallery in Lanyon, ACT, exhibited his Silk Route paintings which included a painting titled Cave (Beggar) and this inscription can be found on the verso of the present lot. This interconnecting of themes across periods of his work was not unusual for Nolan whose ideas flowed from one work to the next, weaving colours and patterns in and out. From Canberra Beggar travelled up to Sydney where it likely was included in an exhibition at Holdsworth Galleries and underwent a further title transformation to Silk Route Monk. This impressive painting not only connects the tales of Nolan's travels to Africa and China but has also been on a remarkable journey of its own. Madeleine Norton | Senior Fine Art Specialist (1) Turley, A, "Sidney Nolan's African Journey", Issue 41 Artist Profile Magazine, Australia Nov 2017, excerpt p. 124 (2) Turley, "Sidney Nolan's African Journey", p. 122 We are grateful to Andrew Turley, author of 'Nolan's Africa', for his assistance with this catalogue entry. © The Sidney Nolan Trust. All rights reserved, DACS/Copyright Agency, 2022 Estimate $20,000-30,000 Condition: (125 x 155cm framed) The opinions expressed in the condition reports are a guide only and should not be treated as a statement of fa