Brett Whiteley
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Template:Alternateuses Brett Whiteley (April 7, 1939, Sydney, Australia - 1992) was an Australian artist. In 1960, Whiteley won a Travelling Scholarship from the Italian Government, and moved to Europe. He married Wendy Julius in 1962, and their only child, daughter Arkie Whiteley, was born in London in 1964. In the early 1970s he returned to Australia, an established and collected artist.
In 1976-1977 he won the Archibald, the Sulman, and the Wynne prizes - all three of Australia's most pretstigious art prizes - and he was at the peak of his career. Increasingly dependent on alcohol, and then addicted to heroin, Whiteley's work output declined, although its market value continued to climb. He made several attempts to dry out and get off drugs completely, all ultimately unsuccessful. In 1989, he divorced Wendy, whom he had always credited as his 'muse', and in 1992 he died of a heroin overdose alone in a motel in Thirroul, north of Wollongong, New South Wales. Among his works are a series of paintings and drawings of the British murderer, John Christie.
His work Alchemy-1974 was featured on the cover of the Dire Straits live album Alchemy
External links
- Brett Whiteley Studio (http://www.brettwhiteley.org) - website of the artist's home in Sydney, Australia, now preserved as a museum. Website includes biographical details and an image gallery
- Brett Whiteley Profile (http://www.artquotes.net/masters/whiteley.htm) - Includes a selection of paintings, artist quotations, biography and links to more resources on the artist.
- http://www.cookshill.com/hmri/artists/brett_whiteley_bio.html