The Art Gallery of New South Wales has been revealed as the purchaser of Australia's most expensive painting sold at auction, Sidney Nolan's First Class Marksman.  The painting was knocked down to a telephone bidder on Thursday night - 25th March - at the Menzies Art Brands auction for a hammer price of Aus$4.5 million ($5.4 million including buyer's premium) against an estimate of $3 - 5 million.

This iconic painting was made by Nolan on 12 December1946.  It is one of the 27 paintings that formed Nolan's seminal Ned Kelly series that was exhibited in Europe in 1949.  However, it was the only painting out of the group of 27 that was not gifted to the National Gallery of Australia by Sunday Reed in 1977.  Instead, it was returned to Nolan who sold it to Lord Alistair McAlpine in the mid 1970s.  The painting was purchased by the Vizard Trust in 1992 (for a reported $400,000) and has been on loan to the National Gallery of Victoria since then.

The assumption was made by the market at large that the National Gallery of Australia would purchase the work to complete their collection, particularly since they have just completed renovations to a gallery specifically constructed to house this series.

However, it was the Art Gallery of New South Wales who finally had the deepest pockets thanks to its Gallery Society and money from the estate of Australia's leading surrealist artist James Gleeson and his partner Frank O'Keefe.

An important factor to note with this sale is that it reorganises the art market's "Best Seller" list for Australian artists.  The last 10 years have seen the top position switch back and forth between Brett Whiteley and John Brack.  However, no work of an equal calibre by Nolan has appeared on the auction market until now.  This sale well and truly confirms Sidney Nolan's deserved position as Australia's Number One.