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

Stamps in this issue

$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.

Additional collectables:

This content was produced at the time of the stamp issue release date and will not be updated.