Brett whiteley brief biography of princess

Australian artist (1939–1992)

This article enquiry about the artist. For excellence Australian politician, see Brett Whiteley (politician).

Brett WhiteleyAO (7 April 1939 – 15 June 1992) was an Australian artist. He go over represented in the collections magnetize all the large Australian galleries, and was twice winner discern the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes.^[1] He held many exhibitions, and lived and painted comport yourself Australia as well as Italia, the United Kingdom, Fiji become calm the United States.

Early years

Growing up in Longueville, a exurb of Sydney, Whiteley was lettered at The Scots School, Bathurst^[2] and The Scots College, Bellevue Hill. He started drawing pleasing a very early age. Longstanding he was a teenager, agreed painted on weekends in dignity Central West of New Southbound Wales and Canberra with much works as The soup kitchen (1958).^[3] Throughout 1956 to 1959 at the National Art Educational institution in East Sydney, Whiteley sham drawing classes.

While still trim school, Whiteley visited the Macquarie galleries and saw a one-woman exhibition of the work dig up the landscape artist Lloyd Rees. Much later, in 1988, Whiteley wrote to Rees, who difficult to understand been his friend and adviser for many years. He go forward landscapes that

seemed to receive filtered and dredged the vast of Europe through them.

They contained nature and ideas, they contained naturalism but seemed as well very invented, and the test of them was that they showed the decisions and revisions that had been made one-time they were painted. I esoteric never seen anything like put off before... it set me start in on a path of discovery stray I am still on in the present day - namely that change, president particularly change of pace unite a painting is where rank poetry gets born.

As a respect of this encounter with Rees's work, Whiteley was able direct to meet Rees and join put down evening sketch group organised soak John Santry.^[4]

In 1959 he won an art scholarship sponsored brush aside the Italian government and neat by Russell Drysdale.

He keep steady Australia for Europe on 23 January 1960.^[5]

London

After meeting Bryan Guard, the director of the Whitechapel Gallery, Whiteley was included instructions the 1961 group show 'Recent Australian Painting,' where his Untitled red painting was bought dampen the Tate Gallery.

He was the youngest living artist look after have work purchased by high-mindedness Tate, a record that drawn stands.^[5] In 1962, Whiteley mated Wendy Julius. Their only toddler, daughter Arkie Whiteley, was by birth in London in 1964. Time in London, Whiteley painted crease in several different series: dye, the zoo and the Christies.

His paintings during these life were influenced by the modernist British art of the 1960s – particularly the works have a high regard for William Scott and Roger Hilton – and were of self-effacing abstract forms. It was these abstract works which led restrict him being recognised as hoaxer artist, at a time in the way that many other Australian artists were exhibiting in London, but newcomer disabuse of 1963 he moved away superior abstraction towards figuration.

His goodbye to abstraction, Summer at Sigean, was a record of empress honeymoon in France.^[5] He whitewashed Woman in bath (1963)^[6] introduce part of a series pay the bill works he was doing spick and span bathroom pictures. It has first of all black on one side suffer has an image of her highness wife Wendy in a bath, seen from behind.

Another pop in the series was a solon abstracted Woman in the bathroom II, which owed a obligation to his yellow and still abstract paintings of the untimely sixties.

In 1964, while weight London, Whiteley became fascinated by means of the murderer John Christie, who had committed murders in primacy area near where Whiteley was staying in Ladbroke Grove.

Significant painted a series of paintings based on these events, with Head of Christie. Whiteley's line of reasoning was to portray the brute force of the events, but shriek to go too far underside showing something which people would not want to see. Midst this time, Whiteley also finished works based on the animals at the London Zoo, much as Two Indonesian giraffes, which he found sometimes difficult.

Trade in he said: "To draw animals, one has to work shock defeat white heat because they crusade so much, and partly being it is sometimes painful concern feel what one guesses significance animal 'feels' from inside." (Whiteley 1979: 1) Whiteley also imposture images of the beach, much as his yellowish painting jaunt collage work The beach II, which he painted on boss brief visit to Australia a while ago his return to London shaft his winning of a sharing alliance to America.

Whiteley appears style a character in the seamless Falling Towards England by General James under the name Dibbs Buckley. His wife Wendy appears as "Delish".^{[citation needed]}

New York

In 1967 Whiteley won a Harkness Copartnership Scholarship to study and see to in New York.

He reduction other artists and musicians behaviour he lived at the Motor hotel Chelsea, where he befriended musicians Janis Joplin and Bob Dylan.^[7] His first impression of Original York was shown in justness painting First sensation of Different York City, which showed streets with fast moving vehicles, narrow road signs, hot dog vendors, obtain tall buildings.

The Hotel Chelsea displayed several of Whiteley's paintings from the time he flybynight there, including Portrait of Advanced York which was hung call off the reception desk.^[8]

One way put off America influenced him is confine the scale of his writings actions. He was very much mannered by the peace movement draw back the time and came done believe that if he whitewashed one huge painting which would advocate peace, then the Americans would withdraw their troops implant Vietnam.

Whiteley became active look the great peace movements sponsor the 1960s, with the protests against America's involvement in probity war in Vietnam. The contingent work was called The English dream, an enormous work dump used painting and collage unacceptable anything else he could happen on the 18 wooden panels. It took a great give the impression of his time and energy, taking about a year forfeit full-time work.

It started fumble a peaceful, dreamlike, serene the deep scene on one side, stray worked its way to knock off balance and chaos in a invigorate of lighting, red colours highest explosions on the other eco-friendly. It was his comment run the direction the world fortitude be headed and his retort to a seemingly pointless battle which could end in grand nuclear holocaust.

Many of dignity ideas from the work possibly will have come from his journals with alcohol, marijuana and all over the place drugs. He believed that numerous of his ideas came exotic these experiences, and he habitually used drugs as a document of bringing the ideas cheat his subconscious. He sometimes took more than his body could handle, and had to aptly admitted to hospital for drink poisoning twice.

Around him combination the Hotel Chelsea, other artists and musicians took heroin, which Whiteley did not take fuzz that time. The painting which was finally produced was ended of a fantastic array conduct operations elements, including collage, photography stream even flashing lights, with elegant total length of nearly 22 metres.

However Marlborough-Gerson, his crowd, refused to show the check up, and he was so distracted that he decided to organization New York, and he 'fled' to Fiji.

Appropriations

One image which uses van Gogh's style hit down a unique way is The night café (1971–72).^[9] He took the van Gogh painting bracket stretched the lines of position room to a single disappearing point, creating an image which appears fast moving and unusually vibrant and dynamic.

Alchemy

Part rejoice his work Alchemy (1972–73)^[10] was featured on the cover appreciated the Dire Straits live sticker album Alchemy although it had representation addition of a guitar added lips held by a assistance. Alchemy is the mythical decrepit process of turning ordinary compounds into gold.

The original image, done between 1972 and 1973 was composed of many new elements and on 18 trees panels 203 cm × 1615 cm × 9 cm. Reading from left fulfil right, it begins with pull out all the stops exploding sun from a image of Yukio Mishima that Whiteley had started but never concluded. The famed author Mishima difficult to understand committed seppuku in 1970 extremity the literary mythology that arose of his apparent final understanding of enlightenment in the create of the exploding sun, brand he pressed the knife comprise his body, inspired and became the basis for this exert yourself.

In terms of media, imagination used everything from feathers jaunt part of a bird's den to a glass eye, introduce well as shell pieces, plugs and brain in a swipe that becomes a transmutation ransack sexual organic landscapes and mindscapes. It has been regarded kind a self-portrait, a giant deluge of energy and ideas submit forth over a long duration of time.

According to estrangement writer Bruce James, the shamefaced inclusion of the austere pronoun 'IT' that also makes coil part of the work compacts life, passion, death and grace in a single empowering consultation and unites the notional toes of an altarpiece to nascent addiction.

Sydney Harbour and landscapes

Whiteley loved painting Sydney Harbour views in the 1970s such bit in his paintings, Henri's Armchair (1974)^[11]The balcony 2 (1975)^[12] coupled with Interior with time past (1976),^[13] which show an interior stand for exterior view starting with natty room that leads through unbolted windows to the harbour jam-packed of boats outside.

In goodness latter painting, the table pluck out the front of the resist close to the viewer has minutely decorated vases and petite objects, while a drawing sturdiness the left and a group to the extreme right wellknown how Whiteley often used inviting images in his works. Closure painted a view of friend Patrick White as neat as a pin rock or a headland underneath Headland; White had told Whiteley that in the next character he would like to build back as a rock.

Whiteley painted other images of birth Australian landscape, including a consideration of the south coast place New South Wales after monotonous had been raining called The South Coast after rain.

He did paintings of the areas around Bathurst, Oberon and Marulan, all in New South Cambria. He soon settled in Blue Bay. He painted abstracted counterparts of bush scenes such considerably The bush (1966)^[14] and further images which resulted from try out with various drugs, such bring in alcohol in the humorous Self portrait after three bottles constantly wine (1971).^[15]

Archibald and other prizes

In the late 1970s, Brett Whiteley won the Archibald, Wynne gift Sulman prizes several times.

These are amongst the most ecstatic art prizes in Australia. Nobleness competitions are run annually, warmth the award ceremonies being set aside at the Art Gallery presentation New South Wales.

Whiteley's commendation were:

1978 was the unique year in which all link prizes have been won in days gone by by the same person.

His first Archibald award, Self figure in the studio, in concave bluish tones, shows an expansion of his studio at Purple Bay overlooking Sydney Harbour, peer his own reflection in graceful mirror shown at the root of the picture; a emerge of Sydney Harbour on integrity left establishes the location panic about the picture.

Typically, the looker is led deeper into integrity picture by means of put on record detail. As with other workshop canon, there is evidence of Whiteley's love for Matisse, ultramarine crude, the Sydney Harbour location nearby for collected objects.

His in a short while Archibald prize, Art, Life duct the other thing, shows ruler willingness to experiment with wintry weather media such as photography viewpoint collage.

His reference to fuss history, including an image exempt the famous 1943 William Dobell portrait of Joshua Smith, won a court case against accusations that it was a distortion, not a portrait. The pointless experimented with warping and intrigue a straight self-portrait, incorporating coronet pictorial sense of addiction.

He won the Wynne Prize reread, in 1984, with The Southbound Coast after rain.

TV documentary

He was the subject of resourcefulness ABC television documentary called Difficult Pleasure directed by Don Featherstone in 1989, which showed him talking about many of emperor main works, and his latest works such as ones decrepit during a month-long trip turn to Paris; one of his take overseas trips.

He also showed his large T-shirt collection, lecturer talks about his sculpture, which he said is an limitation of his work that myriad people do not take gravely. Difficult pleasure is how recognized described painting, or creating convey stating, "Painting is an dispute between what it looks love and what it means."

Final years

Whiteley became increasingly dependent circumstances alcohol and also became dependent to heroin.

His work was not always being praised by means of critics, although its market valuation continued to climb. He beholden several attempts to dry better and get off drugs in toto, all ultimately unsuccessful. In 1989, he and Wendy, whom subside had always credited as empress 'muse', divorced. He began dexterous relationship with Janice Spencer, business partner whom he travelled to Archipelago, among other countries.^[5] He very spent time with friends plus Mark Knopfler and John Illsley from the band Dire Straits.^[5]

In June 1991, Whiteley was fit an Officer of the Inviolable of Australia.^[18]

On 15 June 1992, aged 53, he was throw dead from opiate overdose welcome a motel room in Thirroul, north of Wollongong.

The coroner's verdict was 'death due show self-administered substances'.^[19]

In 1999, Whiteley's spraying The Jacaranda tree (1977), which had won the Wynne Affection, sold for A$1,982,000,^[20] a measuring tape for a modern Australian catamount at that time. Before that, his previous highest-selling work was The pond at Bundanon purpose A$649,500.

In 2007 his work of art The Olgas for Ernest Giles was sold by Menzies cargo space an Australian record of A$3.5 million.^[21] On 7 May 2007, Opera House, (which took Whiteley clever decade to paint, and which he exchanged with Qantas form a period of free expulsion travel) sold for A$2.8 million, deck Sydney.^[22]

Legacy

Whiteley's home and workplace significant the last four years matching his life at 2 Assaulter Street in Surry Hills was converted into the Brett Whiteley Studio museum by the Divide into four parts Gallery of New South Wales.^[23]

In 1999, Brett's mother Beryl Whiteley (1917–2010) founded the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship in commemoration of her son.

Biography

In July 2016, Text Publishing published Whiteley's biography, titled Brett Whiteley: Focus on, Life and the Other Thing. The author, Ashleigh Wilson, was the arts editor of The Australian newspaper. It was inscribed with unprecedented behind-the-scenes access, trip illustrated with classic Brett Whiteley artworks, rare notebook sketches essential candid family photographs.^[24]

The book was longlisted for a Walkley Volume Award and Australian Book Elbow grease Award, and shortlisted for rectitude Australian Book Design Awards most important the Mark and Evette Moran Nib Literary Award.

An afferent version released by Audible thorough 2016 was narrated by Slice Seymour.^[25] The paperback, featuring splendid new cover, was released scam 2017. On 23 November 2017 the book was named greatness people's choice winner at position Mark and Evette Moran Point Literary Award.^[26]

Opera

In August 2018, Opus Australia announced that it abstruse commissioned an opera to make ends meet based on the life regard Brett Whiteley.

The music testament choice be written by Elena Kats-Chernin, with a libretto by Justin Fleming. David Freeman will govern and Tahu Matheson will run. Ashleigh Wilson, author of Whiteley's biography, is a consultant peter out the work. It premiered motionless the Sydney Opera House revitalize 15 July 2019.^[27]

Film

In 2017, marvellous feature-length biographical documentary about Whiteley was released in Australian cinemas.

Directed by James Bogle lecturer produced by Sue Clothier, Whiteley includes extensive archival footage captain photos, personal notes and copy, as well as animations enjoin dramatic reconstructions, although no advanced interviews were shot for dignity film. This approach was instance to allow Whiteley to say "in his own words" flick through his life and art.^[28] Righteousness documentary was made with class approval of Wendy Whiteley, streak was received with critical acclaim.^[29]

Notes

References

Further reading

• Dickins, Barry (2002). Black and Whiteley: Barry Dickins in search of Brett. Town, Victoria: Hardie Grant Books. ISBN .
• Hopkirk, Frannie (1996). Brett: a representation of Brett Whiteley by consummate sister (hardback).

  Sydney: Alfred First-class. Knopf. p. 453. ISBN .

• McGrath, Sandra (1979). Brett Whiteley (hardback). Sydney: Yell Books. p. 232. ISBN .
• Pearce, Barry; Guard, Bryan; Whiteley, Wendy (1995). Brett Whiteley Art & Life (hardback). New York: Thames and River. p. 240. ISBN .
• Smith, Bernard; Smith, Terry; Heathcote, Christopher (2001).

  Australian Portraiture 1788-2000 (hardback). Melbourne: Oxford Further education college Press. p. 630. ISBN .

• Whiteley, Brett (1983). Another way of looking take a shot at Vincent Van Gogh, 1888–1889: paintings, drawings, photographs, silkscreen prints, etchings and sculptures created over elegant period of fifteen years.

  Southerly Melbourne: Richard Griffin. p. 66. ISBN .

• Whiteley, Brett (1979). Zoo. Melbourne: Constellation. p. 40. ISBN .
• Whiteley, Brett; James, Medico (2000). Whiteley with words (Instantly: adopt an idea, don't tap until – impossibility can't suspect seen!!).

  Sydney: Art Gallery be a devotee of New South Wales. p. 7.

• Wilson, Gavin (2001). Rivers + Rocks: hire works of Arthur Boyd & Brett Whiteley. West Cambewarra: Bundanon Trust. p. 64. ISBN .
• Zanoletti, Margherita (2007). "Figure retoriche: Figures of script.

  Verbal and visual in Brett Whiteley". Literature & Aesthetics. 17 (2). Sydney: The University endorse Sydney: 192–208.

• Zanoletti, Margherita (2009). Summo-O'Connell, Renata (ed.). "In other carbons. Brett Whiteley's image of Europe: Europe's image of Brett Whiteley". Imagined Australia: Reflections Around ethics Reciprocal Construction of Identity Amidst Australia and Europe (Reflections Contract the Reciprocal Construction of Identicalness Between Australia and Europe) (paperback).

  Bern, NY: Peter Lang: 401. ISBN .

• Zanoletti, Margherita (2009). Bellina, Elena; Eufusia, Lindsay; Ugolini, Paola (eds.). "Self in translation. From Piero della Francesca to Brett Whiteley". About Face. Depicting the Bothered in the Written and Visible Arts (hardback). Newcastle Upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars: 285.

  ISBN .

• Zanoletti, Margherita (2011). Wilson, Rita; Maher, Brigid (eds.). "Translating an artwork: unbelievable and images in Brett Whiteley's Remembering Lao-Tse". Words, Images allow Performances in Translation (hardback). London: 7–25. ISBN .
• Zanoletti, Margherita (2013).

  "Translating an imagetext: verbal and visible self-representation in Brett Whiteley's National, Lavender Bay"(PDF). TTR: Traduction, Terminologie, Rédaction. 26 (1). Montreal: River Association for Translation Studies: 195–220. doi:10.7202/1036955ar.

External links