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Australia Sidney Nolan

2006 Proof Five Dollar

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This five dollar silver proof piece is part of a set commemorating Australian Art of the Twentieth Century which is itself within the premier Masterpieces in Silver series. Eight of Australia's greatest artists have been showcased in this set with four released in 2006 and 2007. This 2006 piece commemorates the life and works of Sidney Nolan with the reverse featuring his painting 'Burke and Wills Expedition'. The reverse also includes the text "SIDNEY NOLAN BURKE AND WILLS EXPEDITION" and the denomination "5 DOLLARS". The obverse features the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II with the legend "ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 2006."

Sidney Nolan was one of Australia's leading artists of the 20th century with his depictions of Ned Kelly becoming iconic. (NSW Art Gallery, 2017) He was born in Carlton in 1917 and studied at the National Galley of Victoria's School of Art. From 1938 onward he was heavily supported by patrons Sunday and John Reed. He became a member of the Angry Penguins, an avant-garde painting group based out of his patrons house. In 1942 Nolan was conscripted into the Australian Army before deserting in 1944. Shortly afterwards he began work on a series that focused on bush-ranger Ned Kelly. He began travelling across Australia where he completed a number of additional works including his depiction of the Burke and Wills expedition as featured on this coin. Nolan was knighted in 1981 and made a companion of the Order of Australia in 1988 before his death in 1992.