Sidney Nolan is best known for his 1940s and '50s paintings of Ned Kelly, iconic outlaw of the Australian outback, in which the extraordinary Australian landscape itself plays a formidable part. But the Kelly series formed just a fraction of Nolan’s prodigious output.

This book, with its wealth of illustrations – 270 in full colour, including five polyptychs on foldouts – is the first to cover Nolan’s whole career, from his early paintings through to the enormous, multi-panelled works known collectively as Oceania. This is also the first book to deal fully with Nolan’s multi-faceted work as a painter of literary themes, and as a book illustrator, theatre designer and even, briefly, sculptor.

Restless in mind and body, Nolan was a constant traveller. Reproduced in this book are paintings from his journeys in Australia, Europe, the USA, Africa, Antarctica and Asia, including some from among the large oils of Chinese landscapes now in Hong Kong.

The art critic and broadcaster T.G. Rosenthal, who knew Sidney Nolan well from 1960 until his death in 1992, guides the reader with assurance through the art produced during the long and brilliant career of this witty and deeply intelligent painter.