3 Great Australian Artists

For a country less than 250 years in the making Australia has a wealth of great art. Our galleries might not be full of old masters but they are full of great talent.

The aim of this page is to bring 3 prolific and awarded artists to your attention. Watch the videos, follow the links to their works online and learn just a little bit more about some very talented painters.

creative commons image "The Trial" one of the Ned Kelly series by Sidney Nolan

My favourite Brett Whiteley work. You can view this work at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Read more about Brett Whiteley's art and life

• Brett Whiteley was born in Sydney in 1939.
• The Dire Straits album Alchemy featured part of Whiteley work by the same name.
• He traded his 1971 painting Opera House to Qantas airlines for a period of free travel.
• Whiteley won 2 Archibald prizes - Australia's most prestigious portrait prize. He also won 2 Sulman and Wynne prizes. One of only 2 artists to do so.
• Brett died from a heroin overdose in a motel room in Thirroul in 1992. He was only 53 years old.
• The studio, in Surry Hills where Whiteley worked 4 the last year of his life is now a museum. managed by the NSW Art Gallery.

• Nolan was born in Melbourne in 1917
• He was a WW2 deserter
• Nolan married 3 times
• He's best known work is the Ned Kelly series - there are 27 paintings in the series.
• He also painted other famous Australians such as explorers Burke and Wills and Eliza Fraser
• Two of his paintings are included in the book 1001 painting you should see before you die

see more of his works at the Art Gallery of NSW website.

1. He was born in Newcastle NSW in 1928
2. Lived grew up in Bondi and now lives in Bowral NSW
3. He won the Archibald prize in 2005 for a self portrait
4. His son Tim owns a respected gallery in Sydney

1. Grace Cossington Smith
2. Margaret Preston
3. Fiona Hall
4. Fredrick McCubbin