Sidney Nolan's Odyssey

Sidney Nolan's Odyssey is a definitive portrait of Australia's most famous artist, drawing on many hours of candid, recorded conversations with the artist. Brian Adams created two major televison documentaries with Nolan as well as a biography, and this expanded work gives a more personal insight from the artist's own reflections and observations.The many books describing his art often fail to catch the character of this complex man, to see behind the myths and shadows. Nolan was as passionate about words as he was about crayon, ink and paint. He was showered with accolades from around the world, yet remained at heart the questing lad from working-class Melbourne. The young adult phase of his life was defined by his bohemian ménage à trois and the great narrative series of Ned Kelly; but his odyssey was only beginning. He was an inveterate traveller, constantly looking for ideas and stimulation, from Antarctica to Mao's China and everywhere in between. He chose rural England as a place to live believing he could view his homeland more clearly from a distance. Although he was born into an Irish-Australian family with no obvious connection to art or culture, he ended his life as part of the cultural elite on all continents. The centenary of Sidney Nolan's life falls in 2017.