drawings of Brett Whiteley

When he died in 1992 Brett Whiteley left behind decades of ceaseless activity—some works bound to a particular place or time, others that are masterpieces of light and line. Whiteley had arrived in Europe in 1960 determined to make an impression. Before long he was the youngest artist to have work acquired by the Tate. With his wife, Wendy, and daughter, Arkie, Whiteley then immersed himself in bohemian New York. But within two years he fled, having failed to break through. Back in Sydney, he soon became Australia’s most celebrated artist. He won the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes in the same year—his prices soared, as did his fame. Among his friends were Francis Bacon and Patrick White, Billy Connolly and Dire Straits. Yet addiction was taking its toll: Whiteley struggled in vain to separate his talent from his disease, and an inglorious end approached. Written with unprecedented behind-the-scenes access, and handsomely illustrated with classic Whiteley artworks, rare notebook sketches and candid family photos, this dazzling biography reveals for the first time the full portrait of a mercurial artist.

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.

"It was a cause celebre: the biggest case of alleged art fraud to come before the Australian criminal justice system, a $4.5 million sting drawing in one of the country's most gifted and ultimately tragic artists, Brett Whiteley, a heroin addict who died alone in 1992.It started with suspicions raised about artworks being produced in the style of Whiteley in a Melbourne art restorer's studio. Secret photographs were taken as the paintings took form.A jury finds two men guilty of faking Whiteleys, but a year later the appeal bench sensationally acquits them. The paintings are returned to their owners, leaving the legitimacy of the artworks in limbo. Whiteley on Trial investigates this remarkable case and exposes the avarice of the art world, the disdain for connoisseurship and the fragility of authenticity."

If we denounce the artist, then what becomes of the work that remains? The #MeToo movement is overturning a cliché that has forgiven bad behaviour for years: to be creative is to be prone to eccentricity, madness, addiction and excess. No longer can artists be excused from the standards of conduct that apply to us all