In July 1946 the Melbourne Herald published a story about an eccentric old woman called Mrs Carroll, and Nolan based this painting on a photograph of her that was printed in the newspaper. Mrs Carroll was an impoverished fringe-dweller who flouted convention and resisted authority. She lived in a tent for seven months, eventually saving enough money to acquire the land she squatted on in Melbourne. When Nolan painted this work Australia was still recovering from the effects of the Great Depression, and Mrs Carroll is emblematic of the hardships many people experienced during the post-war period. Although Mrs Carroll appears diminutive against the vast barren landscape the painting reveals her brave and indomitable spirit.

FOUNDATION COLLECTION

The Foundation Collection comprises 24 paintings which are the first of several donations made by the artist, Sir Sidney Nolan to the Australian Government from the mid-1970s.

Sidney Nolan (1917-1992) is one of Australia’s most widely acclaimed artists. He is best known for his iconic Kelly paintings which are based on the legendary story of Ned Kelly, Australia’s most renowned bushranger. The Foundation Collection comprises 15 paintings from the artist’s first Kelly series produced during the mid-1940s. It also encompasses paintings from the St Kilda and Burke and Wills series, and inspired by Nolan’s travels around Central Australia. Each of the paintings in this collection reflects the artist’s enduring interest in Australia’s landscape, history, and identity.