Kelly and horse

Nolan created several works depicting Ned Kelly on his horse, all of them different. In the Foundation Collection, there are two paintings created a year apart that share the same title. In the earlier painting, created in 1945, Kelly appears behind a shroud of saplings, and notably his back is to the viewer. There is a sense of comic absurdity as we see the bushranger, weighed down by his home-made armour, struggling to gain a foothold to mount his horse which patiently stands by.