Restoration works at Brett Whiteley's former studio and home in Sydney's Surry Hills have uncovered seven of the artist's most treasured items. The studio, which has been a museum and gallery since 1995, was closed for two years for the works. Curator Nick Yelverton shared the belongings that shine new light on Whiteley's life and practice. The museum's new free exhibition, Brett Whiteley Coming Home, opens on 25 July.
Note from Paul Kelly
In the mid-1980s, singer-songwriter Paul Kelly gifted a copy of his 1985 album Post to Brett Whiteley. Inside the record sleeve, Kelly enclosed a handwritten letter discussing the album's tone and reception. 'Some people have called the record down and druggy,' wrote Kelly. 'It's that maybe, but it's also light, clean and airy.'
Hat Box of Hair
Locks of human hair stashed in an old hat box were found in the studio. Whiteley occasionally glued tufts of his curly, strawberry blond hair onto painted and drawn self-portraits, adding three-dimensionality and reality to the works.
United States Flag
A US flag caused a stir during Whiteley's stay in Fiji in 1969. Draped over his apartment balcony in Suva where he was staging an exhibition, the flag caught the attention of the Fiji Times. Whiteley explained to a reporter, 'The flag is one of the few things that I take with me wherever I go … and it serves as a bedcover.' The incident prompted local authorities to search his apartment, where they discovered opium in a drawer. Whiteley was subsequently arrested for drug possession and prohibited from returning to Fiji.
Hand Mirror
Whiteley used a hand mirror to depict his likeness in his work Self portrait in the studio (1976). Painted while he was battling heroin addiction, the portrait shows the artist taking a long hard look at himself. The painting won the Archibald Prize in 1976 and was purchased by the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 1977.
Travel Trunk
In 1967, Whiteley hauled a green steamer trunk from London to New York, where he lived for two years. He and his family checked into the penthouse at the Chelsea Hotel, a bohemian hotel frequented by artists and musicians including Leonard Cohen, Janis Joplin and Carolee Schneemann. In November 1969, following a spell in Fiji, Whiteley brought the trunk home to Australia, where it eventually ended up in his Surry Hills studio.
Honeymoon Photo
Intimate snapshots of Brett and Wendy Whiteley taken during their 1962 honeymoon in southern France were discovered in the studio archive during restoration. The black-and-white images show the young couple flirting, sunbaking and posing inside Brett's studios, offering a glimpse into one of the great love stories in Australian art history.
Wall Quote Attributed to Jean Cocteau
Whiteley's influences and perspectives on life and death are writ large on the white brick walls of his studio, defaced with handwritten quotes and aphorisms. A morbid quote attributed to French writer Jean Cocteau was uncovered in the downstairs cleaner's closet during building works and is now on public view. The inscription reads: 'Every Time I Look In The Mirror/ I See Death At Work.'
Exhibition Details
Brett Whiteley: Coming Home, opening on 25 July, contains 80 paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, prints, photographs and sketchbooks from the collections of the Art Gallery of NSW and the Brett Whiteley Studio. At the reopening of the studio, art patron Wendy Whiteley said: 'For me, it's like Brett's come home again.'
