Sidney Nolan: The Greek Series; Hellenic Museum, Melbourne

"61 works currently on loan from the Estate of Lady Nolan, have never before been exhibited in Australia as a single body of work, making Sidney Nolan: The Greek Series a truly unique exhibition".

An article about the exhibition, by Dean Kalimniou, Diatribe.

Hellenic Museum, Melbourne

"In November 1955, two years after leaving Sydney, and hungry for inspiration after finishing the two iconic series, Ned Kelly and Burke and Wills, Sidney Nolan and his wife, writer Cynthia Reed, travelled from London to the Greek island of Hydra. Immersing himself in the timeless beauty of the Greek landscape and culture, Nolan started a new series of works exploring both the contemporary and mythological world. Staying with Australian friends, authors George Johnston and Charmian Clift, who were at the centre of a creative expatriate circle living on the island, Nolan had intended a brief visit before beginning a scholarship in Rome, however remained in Hydra until the following May".

Sidney Nolan: The Greek Series at the Hellenic Museum, Greek Reporter


Google, some of Nolan's Hydra images

From Sidney Nolan, Such is Life, a biography by Brian Adams, 1987

"The Greek language remained a mystery to Nolan and one of the few phrases he managed to master was the New Year greeting kali chronya, which he used incessantly. The locals put up with it until the following Easter, when finally an old sponge diver pointed out that 1956 was well advanced and it sounded foolish to be wishing everyone  'Happy New Year'."

See also, Warren Curry, another Australian artist with a love of Greece

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