Overview
In January 1964, Sidney Nolan travelled with writer and fellow Australian Alan Moorehead to Antarctica, with a routine US Navy resupply operation. The pair visited the continent for eight days, during which time Nolan made around 200 watercolour sketches, which have since been lost, and photographed the deeply unfamiliar and awe-inspiring environment.
Returning to London, via New Zealand, the South Pacific and Australia, Nolan immediately set to work; the watercolour sketches and photographs, along with his memory, were the foundation for the paintings he made. Working at speed, he produced the Antarctica series of 68 paintings in oil on composition board between April and September that year, while also working on other paintings. The series comprises works depicting the landscape, explorers, scientists and more. The paintings represent not a passive white landscape, but one full of muscular forms, dynamic elements and intense and often-brooding colours. Shown in the UK, US and Australia between 1964 and 1967, the Antarctica series secured Nolan a significant measure of international critical acclaim.
Technical specifications
- Issue date
- 14 March 2013
- Issue withdrawal date
- 30 September 2023
- Denomination
- $1.20 x 2, $2.40 x 2
- Stamp design
- Sonia Young, Australia Post Design Studio
- Product design
- Sonia Young, Australia Post Design Studio
- Paper: gummed
- Tullis Russell 104gsm Red Phos.
- Printer
- RA
- Printing process
- Offset lithography
- Stamp size (mm)
- 26 x 37.5
- Minisheet size (mm)
- 130 x 80
- Perforations
- 14.6 x 13.86
- Sheet layout
- Module of 50
- FDI Postmark
- Kingston TAS 7050
- FDI withdrawal date
- 12 April 2023
$1.20 Volcanic Ridge
April 1964, oil on composition board, 122 × 122 cm, private collection
Photo: courtesy Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
$1.20 Bird
14 September 1964, oil on composition board, 122 × 122 cm, private collection
Photo: courtesy Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
$2.40 Antarctica
27 August 1964, oil on composition board, 122 × 122 cm, Nathan & Camit Cher Collection
Photo: courtesy Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
$2.40 Explorers
[20 September] 1964, 121.9 × 152.5 cm, oil on composition board, private collection, courtesy Pyms Gallery, London
Photo: courtesy Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
All © The Sidney Nolan Trust. All rights reserved. DACS/Copyright Agency, 2022
Shop our stamp collectables
Set of stamps:
Set of Sidney Nolan's Antarctica Gummed Stamps
This set of stamps contains all four stamps from the AAT: Sidney Nolan's Antarctica stamp issue.
Stamp pack:
Sidney Nolan's Antarctica Stamp Pack
The AAT: Sidney Nolan's Antarctica stamp pack contains all four stamps and minisheet from the stamp issue presented in a high-quality folder.
Minisheet:
Sidney Nolan's Antarctica Minisheet
The AAT: Sidney Nolan's Antarctica minisheet consists of the four stamps from the issue incorporated into a miniature stamp sheet
Maxicard set:
Set of Sidney Nolan's Antarctica Maxicards
This maxicard set contains the four maxicards from the AAT: Sidney Nolan's Antarctica stamp issue.
- Set of stamps
- Stamp pack
- Minisheet
- Maxicard set
Additional collectables:
- Gutter Strip of 10x $1.20 Volcanic Ridge Stamps
- Gutter Strip of 10x $1.20 Bird Stamps
- Gutter Strip of 10x $2.40 Antarctica Stamps
- Gutter Strip of 10x $2.40 Explorers Stamps
- Pictorial Envelope for the Sidney Nolan's Antarctica Stamp Issue
- Sidney Nolan's Antarctica First Day Cover (Gummed Stamps)
- Sidney Nolan's Antarctica First Day Cover (Minisheet)
This content was produced at the time of the stamp issue release date and will not be updated.
