SYDNEY.- In 2000, in association with the Olympics in Sydney, the Art Gallery of New South Wales staged a special display of its Australian collections under the title, Australian Icons. Central to the display was the work of Sidney Nolan, whom many consider to be the most influential painter in the history of 20th century Australian art. The selected Nolan works from the collection demonstrated that Nolan was inadequately represented in the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Thus the Gallery embarked on analysing, editing and enhancing that representation and identified a number of key works as potential acquisitions. First-class marksman was one of these. With the support of Art Gallery Society and the generous funding of the Nelson Meers Foundation, the Gallery has, over the last decade, greatly enhanced its Nolan representation. ‘The acquisition of this painting for Sydney fulfils a long-held