The Putney Society unveiled a blue plaque on Monday in honour of the late artist Sir Sidney Nolan at his former residence in east Putney.
Lucy Trench, the chair of the Sidney Nolan Trust, fronted the launch at 79 Deodar Road where the Australian artist lived between 1960 and 1976.
It is the latest instalment in the Putney Society’s ‘Blue Plaques Scheme’, which celebrates important people that have a strong connection to Putney.
“We want to draw attention to the many interesting people who have made this corner of southwest London their home,” said Judith Chegwidden, the convenor of the Putney Society’s open spaces panel.
Nolan is the second artist to be recognised by the scheme after war painter Carel Weight, who documented the end of the Second World War.
Members of the society can put forward names of people worth recognising and these suggestions are then ranked by the executive committee.
Chegwidden added: “Nolan was a very clear front runner. He was probably more famous in the 60s and 70s when he ranked with leading artists such as Francis Bacon.
“Many people of my generation will be very familiar with his art and many of us were aware that he spent these very creative years in Putney.”
Nolan is best known for a series of paintings covering the life of the 19th century Australian bushranger Ned Kelly.
In the images, the famous outlaw wears a black square helmet with only his eyes visible beneath head gear.
The style was striking and was intended to represent the infamous suit of bulletproof armour Kelly wore during a final shootout with police.
Everything from Kelly’s domestic life to battles with the law were depicted in the series, earning Nolan much acclaim as he was soon considered an important modernist artist of the time.
During his career Nolan travelled around Australia, Asia and Africa and used the various landscapes he visited to inform his own work but he still remained a UK resident until his death in 1992.
And he was not the only artist to reside in Putney with a view of the Thames.
“Deodar Road was a mecca for artists, particularly those working in stained glass and sculpture,” Chegwidden said.
At different points in the 20th century, the street was home to Joan Howson and Margaret Edith Rope, who both specialised in stained glass, and the sculptors Ellen Mary Rope and Freda Skinner.
Feature photo credit: Stefan Frost
