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Soldier and Girl c 1960

by Sidney Nolan (1917–92)

The wars of the twentieth century brought to the fore many issues around sexuality that had been simmering in Australia for decades. Attitudes to sex shifted further away from duty and procreation to pleasure and self-realisation. Australians grappled with complicated wartime relationships, endured long separations, infidelities, abuse, and abandonment. Unexpected children and sexually transmitted infections threw lives into turmoil. Same sex attractions and liaisons with exotic lovers opened new worlds.

ON LOAN COURTESY OF THE AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL ART91364


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