Pretty Polly Mine, 1948

Sidney Nolan: Pretty Polly Mine, 1948, Ripolin on hardboard, 91 x 122 cm, © AGNSW

Dr Michael Brand is Director at Art Gallery of New South Wales

“Pretty Polly Mine powerfully evokes the harshness of much of our landscape and how we tackled our often tenuous relationship with it in the post-WWII years. Yet there is also the quixotic human figure, looking both out of place and entirely at home. This is one of the first Nolans purchased by the Gallery - just a year after it was painted - and it is worth remembering that the then director was harshly attacked by the Board of Trustees for purchasing such a modern work.”