Brett Whiteley was known for a few things: his boldly colourful, world-conquering paintings; his provocative sculptures; and not least, his often tumultuous personal life. But despite the fact that he could sometimes be divisive, the art world is pretty united in its opinion of his drawing skills: he was one of the best.
This exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW celebrates the central role of drawing in pretty much everything he did, including in paintings and sculptures. Thanks to his long association with the gallery – which continues through his wife and creative partner Wendy Whiteley – there'll be an absolute treasure trove on display, starting with his earliest sketches and traversing the many decades of his career, taking in landscapes, portraits and nudes.