Skip to main content
Menu
What's on Prizes The Portraits Watch
The Gallery Governance & Board Circle of Friends
Learn Access Search the website
close close
What's on The Portraits The Gallery Learn Watch More O

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

Nolan Heads

Previous exhibition
from Friday 3 August until Sunday 30 September 2001

Nolan Heads will focus on the portraiture of one of Australia's most original painters and one of the few to have achieved an international reputation.

Self portrait
Self portrait, 1988 Sidney Nolan. © Sidney Nolan/Copyright Agency, 2024

The exhibition will span 50 years of Nolan's work, from his abstracted heads of the late 1930s to his last self-portrait, painted in 1988 - a painting as yet unseen in Australia. Also included: a series of 1947 portraits of friends and fellow artists, and the notorious painting of Patrick White, Nightmare, along with related drawings from the Dante series.

Myself, 1988 by Sidney Nolan
Myself, 1988 by Sidney Nolan.
Home Contact Media Privacy statement User agreement Social media and community guidelines
© National Portrait Gallery 2025
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency