The widow of renowned Australian artist Brett Whiteley will gift her collection of his work to the Art Gallery of NSW, valued at more than $100 million, making it one of the largest private art donations in the state’s history.
Wendy Whiteley also intends to utilize the proceeds from the sale of the couple’s gorgeous home to assist fund the operation of the Brett Whiteley Studio public gallery and museum.
Almost 2,000 pieces by the globally renowned painter and sculptor will be sent to the gallery as a result of her donation.
It was one of the largest art donations the NSW Art Gallery has ever received, according to director Michael Brand, and it demonstrated why Ms Whiteley was so ‘admired and cherished.’
Ms Whiteley, 81, also revealed that the heritage-listed house and studio she shared with her husband in Lavender Bay, on Sydney’s north shore, will be sold privately after her death, despite rumors that it would be turned into a museum.
Ms Whiteley told the Sydney Morning Herald, ‘This house needs a family again.’
‘Thinking of a creative family would be nice, but it would be enough if they loved it and lived in it.’
The Whiteleys bought the Federation-style estate in 1974 after living there for many years and sharing it with other artists.
Views of Lavendar Bay from Wendy and Brett’s house, which they moved into in 1969, appear frequently in Brett Whiteley’s expressionist landscapes.
Mr Whiteley’s ‘Henri’s Armchair,’ one of the pieces from his ‘Lavender Bay series’ painted around this period, surpassed the Australian auction record when it sold for $6.136 million in 2020.
As part of a gift named after Ms Whitely and the couple’s daughter Arkie, who died of cancer at the age of 37 in 2001, the house sale earnings will be used to preserve the Brett Whiteley Studio in the inner Sydney neighborhood of Surry Hills.
The bequest, which Ms Whiteley named after herself and Arkie, will be used to inspire future artists, she said.
‘The house, coupled with the yard and the studio, is a particular location for me.’ ‘They’ve all increased my ability to live a creative life,’ she remarked.
‘Through my bequest, I’d like to do that for others.’
After living there for many years and sharing the house with other artists, the Whiteleys bought the Federation-style mansion in 1974.
Views of Lavendar Bay seen from the house, which Wendy and Brett moved into in 1969, feature often in Brett Whiteley’s expressionist landscapes.
‘Henri’s Armchair’, one of the works Mr Whiteley painted around this time as part of his ‘Lavender Bay series, broke the Australian auction record when it sold for $6.136 million in 2020.
The house sale proceeds will be used to maintain the Brett Whiteley Studio in the inner Sydney suburb of Surry Hills as part of bequest named after Ms Whitely and the couple’s daughter Arkie, who died of cancer at the age of 37 in 2001.
Ms Whiteley said the bequest, which she named after herself and Arkie, would be used to inspire future artists.
‘The house is my special place, along with the garden and the studio. All have expanded my opportunity to lead a creative life,’ she said.
‘That’s what I’d like for others through this bequest.’
Next to the house is ‘Wendy’s Secret Garden’ which was a derelict piece of land owned by the NSW Rail Corporation that Ms Whiteley and Arkie took on as a project in the 1990s.
Over 15 years they spent milllions cleaning up the area and sculpting it along lines inspired by artists into a much-loved green space, now leased by the council.
Both Mr Whiteley and Arkie’s ashes are scattered there.
Ms Whiteley will also give the Art Gallery of NSW, which owns the Brett Whiteley studio, her archives of papers from the couple’s life together.
Brett and Wendy Whiteley were considered the epitome of an artistic bohemian couple and initially lived a globetrotting life after meeting as teenagers in 1957.
It was while living at Lavendar Bay in the 1970s that Mr Whiteley began to collect major art prizes.
He won the Archibald, Wynne, and Sulman prizes in 1978, the only time this has been done.
In the latter part of his life, Mr Whiteley became almost as famous for his alcohol and heroin addictions as his art.
Ms Whiteley also struggled with heroin addiction but after separating from Mr Whiteley declared herself clean in 1988.
Mr Whiteley’s inability to kick his habit was claimed to be the main reason for the couple’s divorce.
He was found dead from a heroin overdose aged 53 in a motel room north of Wollongong.
There was a legal struggle over his estate between his last partner Janice Spencer and Arkie but eventually his daughter won the court battle for the majority of it and left it to her mother upon her death.