The gallery has acquired a significant 1962 painting by renowned Australian artist Sidney Nolan thanks to the National Cultural Heritage Account.

Sidney Nolan, Soldier on the Beach, 1962. Collection of Bendigo Art Gallery.
Sidney Nolan, Soldier on the Beach, 1962. Collection of Bendigo Art Gallery.

The Bendigo Art Gallery recently purchased Sidney Nolan's Soldier on the Beach with support from the National Cultural Heritage Account, representing a major acquisition for a regional Australian gallery. The work has recently returned from overseas to join the collection.

The painting is of national significance both in scale and theme. Painted in a single day in 1962, and on the largest single board used by Nolan, it reflects the artist's interest in how history and modernity intersect and the symbolic origins of modern Australian nationhood.

The work explores the uniquely Australian narrative of the fallen Digger on the beach of Gallipoli within a classical tradition which transcends time and location. Gallipoli was one of the major subjects that marked Nolan's work, along with Ned Kelly, Burke and Wills, and Eliza Fraser.

The painting shows Nolan at the height of his artistic powers and was created during a period in which the artist summarised his major subjects into a handful of large-scale masterpieces. Nolan chose not to part with this painting and kept it in his personal collection for his entire life.

It is the first major work by Sidney Nolan that the Bendigo Gallery has acquired, and also the first major work concerned with the Gallipoli and Anzac story.

The painting is now on display and will also be a centrepiece of the Gallery's re-opening displays after major development works scheduled for 2028.

The National Cultural Heritage Account assists Australian cultural organisations to acquire important pieces of Australian history to ensure they remain in Australia and can be enjoyed by the public. Organisations can apply for funding at any time.