Brett Whiteley died in 1992 at the age of fifty-three, ending one of the most prodigious careers in the history of Australian art. He attended Julian Ashton's school in Sydney during the late 1950s while working at the advertising agency Lintas, and then made an impact on the Australian art world just as it was receiving unprecedented international attention. Whiteley achieved wide recognition, spending a long period abroad, exhibiting paintings, drawings and sculpture in Britain, Europe and the United States, before returning to Sydney permanently at the end of 1969. His years in London were particularly formative, when he came into contact with many of the art world's most influential figures, including members of the Abstract Expressionist and Pop Art movements. Whiteley's early paintings startled critics and fellow artists with their sensuality of color and erotic under-drawing. At the root of all Whiteley's work was a draftsmanship of stunning virtuosity, capable of capturing all the poetic arabesque of a river in a single sweeping line of brush and ink, or the erotic curves of the human body in a few searching strokes of charcoal. This book, published to coincide with an exhibition at The Art Gallery of New South Wales - the first major retrospective of the artist's work - presents an illuminating evaluation of Whiteley's achievement. Works dating from the 1950s until the last years of his life, illustrated in 180 color plates, allow Whiteley's fascinating career to be surveyed in its entirety.

Brett Whiteley: Art & Life

Pearce, Barry

Whiteley, Brett

Whiteley, Wendy

Robertson, Barry

Hayman, Charlotte

Biographies & Memoirs

Thames&Hudson

Elioth Gruner, 1882-1939

Art Gallery of New South Wales

Brett Whiteley was one of the most dynamic and talented artists in the history of Australian art, an artist whose recognition had spread worldwide before his untimely death in 1992. Early in his career he established a name for himself in London, exhibiting at the Whitechapel Art Gallery and coming into contact with many British painters - Francis Bacon and David Hockney among others. His early paintings startled critics and fellow artists, but even at that point, two basic subjects were evident: the landscape and the nude, elements which became the mainstay of his oeuvre. At the root of all Whiteley's work was a draughtsmanship of stunning virtuosity, capable of capturing all the poetic arabesque of a river in a single sweeping line of brush and ink, or the erotic curves of the human body in a few searching strokes of charcoal. This volume presents an illuminating evaluation of Whiteley's achievement. Works dating from the 1950s to the last years of his life, illustrated in over 180 colour plates, allow Whiteley's career to be surveyed in its entirety. Barry Pearce, Head Curator at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, provides a comprehensive overview of Whiteley's life and art; Bryan Robertson offers an impression of the artist's years in London; and Wendy Whiteley, the artist's wife and companion for over three decades, contributes an intimate portrait of the man behind the work. Superbly illustrated and produced, Brett Whiteley: Art & Life is a fitting tribute to one of Australia's most significant artists, a man whose outstanding work excites, amazes and impresses us no less now than it did when first created.

Brett Whiteley: Art & life

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

The Art Gallery of New South Wales

Margaret Olley

William Dobell, 1899-1970: The painter's progress

KOLENBERG, Hendrik

Dobell, Sir Will

Catalog of a traveling exhibition held at Art Gallery of New South Wales and 3 others between 15 Dec. 1993 and 20 Nov. 1994.

Arthur Boyd: Retrospective

Antique Collectors’ Club Ltd

Jeffrey Smart is without doubt one of the most outstanding Australian painters of the modern age. Over the past five decades he has produced a body of work which reflects and comments on modern life in an instantly recognizable style. This sumptuously produced book documents both the life and work of Jeffrey Smart from the earliest works to the most recently completed paintings. Proudly published by The Beagle Press, Australia's foremost independent publisher of fine art books. The perceptive text by Barry Pearce, 256 pages, and more than 160 full-colour plates and photographs make this the most extensive and definitive work ever published on this iconic Australian artist.

Jeffrey Smart

Beagle Press

Jeffrey Smart: Paintings and Studies 1988 - 1995

Australian Galleries

A century of Australian landscape: Mood and moment

Published for the International Cultural Corporation of Australia Limited by the Beagle Press

Sidney Nolan, 1917-1992

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Books by Pearce, Barry