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the sydney jewish report | July 2022
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Sir Sidney Nolan’s Auschwitz
SYDNEY JEWISH MUSEUM Sir Sidney Nolan’s Auschwitz This month, the Sydney Jewish Museum will display a collection of 50 artworks by famous Australian artist, Sir Sidney Nolan, that have never been seen before in Australia. The series was painted with great intensity in late 1961, during the trial of the infamous Nazi Adolf Eichmann, as Nolan prepared to visit Auschwitz on an art commission. Until recently, these paintings remained mostly hidden away, their stories untold for over half a century. Yet, they reveal a darker side of the late artist, who was best known for his depictions of the mythology of bush life in Australia, including his paintings of bushranger Ned Kelly. Nolan first painted images of concentration camps as early as 1939. Yet, his preoccupation with the camps was heightened in 1961. That is when he was invited to Poland to accompany a journalist from London’s Observer newspaper to illustrate an article about Auschwitz. In the months leading up to the visit, Nolan grappled with how he might paint the camps, agonising over whether the incomprehensible horrors of the Holocaust could ever truly be the subject of art. Then, in April 1961, the Adolf Eichmann trial began. Nolan, like the rest of the world, was captivated by the global televised coverage. Eichmann – who was responsible for the ruthlessly efficient
railway system that used passenger trains and livestock carriages to transport Jews to the concentration and death camps – was being brought to justice. The trial reignited international awareness of Nazi atrocities and brought the voices of Holocaust survivors to the fore. It also compelled Nolan to paint. In the final weeks of the trial, between November 27th and December 10th, Nolan created about a dozen portraits of the war criminal – each with subtle variations on the last – some in simple outline and others fully formed. The images depict Eichmann’s receding hair, thick rounded glasses, thin lips and buttoned shirt, mirroring the newspaper photographs of the Nazi behind bulletproof glass. In late 1961, Eichmann was found guilty of crimes against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity and war crimes. He was sentenced to death.
The verdict seemed to give Nolan the release he needed to switch focus from Eichmann to the faces of victims of the Holocaust. He painted prisoners screaming and shrouded in smoke, and crucified on smoking crosses. He depicted some as skeletons on overfull wheelbarrows and others as bodies laid out in rows of death. In January 1962, Nolan saw Auschwitz for himself. He arrived ready to paint, but what he witnessed changed him. He saw the crematoria, the mountains of shorn hair, discarded spectacles, suitcases and artificial limbs, and rows of bunks where prisoners slept. The experience shook him so completely that he decided never to paint Holocaust imagery again. “Nolan grappled to find a language to convey the horror and inhumanity of the Holocaust and wrestled to find meaning amongst the pain,” the Sydney
Jewish Museum’s Head Curator, Roslyn Sugarman, said. She said it is a visceral and emotional exhibition, which puts an unparalleled lens on history, drawing us beyond facts … filling the gap where imagination can’t stretch. “The Museum’s expertise in giving history a voice provides the perfect backdrop to exhibit these artworks. “Our 30 years of Holocaust storytelling is an ideal platform to take this art, contextualise it and engage audiences through powerful imagery. “This is an exhibition that will change you,” Ms Sugarman said. Shaken To His Core: The Untold Story Of Nolan’s Auschwitz will be on display at the Sydney Jewish Museum until 23rd October, 2022. To book, go to: link.sjm.com.au/ nolantickets or scan the QR code.
The Untold Story of Nolan’s Auschwitz On now until 23 Oct 2022 Sidney Nolan’s Auschwitz paintings have remained largely unseen; their stories untold for nearly 60 years. This exhibition showcases 50 works by the artist from a series that has never before been seen in Australia.
Detail of NPGx88816 © National Portrait Gallery, London
sydneyjewishmuseum.com.au
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