Brett Whiteley | 1939-1992 - Wategos Beach, Holiday Suite 7, 1989
Pencil on paper
55 x 73 cm
Provenance:
Private Collection, Sydney
Private Collection, Melbourne, acquired from the above
Sotheby's Australia (now trading as Smith & Singer)
Private Collection, Sydney, acquired from the above.
Exhibited:
Brett Whiteley: Recent Paintings, Drawings, Photographs, Ceramics and Wood Carvings from Byron Bay, Marrakesh, Japan, San Gimignano - Tuscany, Australian Galleries, Sydney, 1-26 March 1990, no. 16 (7), 'Wategoes [sic] Beach, Holiday Suite 7'.
Literature:
Lou Klepac, Brett Whiteley: Drawings, The Beagle Press, Sydney, 2014, p. 208 (illustrated)
Kathie Sutherland, Brett Whiteley: Catalogue Raisonné, Schwartz City, Melbourne, 2020, cat. no. 46.89, Vol. 4, p. 444 (illustrated), Vol. 7, p. 725.
Pencil on paper
55 x 73 cm
Provenance:
Private Collection, Sydney
Private Collection, Melbourne, acquired from the above
Sotheby's Australia (now trading as Smith & Singer)
Private Collection, Sydney, acquired from the above.
Exhibited:
Brett Whiteley: Recent Paintings, Drawings, Photographs, Ceramics and Wood Carvings from Byron Bay, Marrakesh, Japan, San Gimignano - Tuscany, Australian Galleries, Sydney, 1-26 March 1990, no. 16 (7), 'Wategoes [sic] Beach, Holiday Suite 7'.
Literature:
Lou Klepac, Brett Whiteley: Drawings, The Beagle Press, Sydney, 2014, p. 208 (illustrated)
Kathie Sutherland, Brett Whiteley: Catalogue Raisonné, Schwartz City, Melbourne, 2020, cat. no. 46.89, Vol. 4, p. 444 (illustrated), Vol. 7, p. 725.
Pencil on paper
55 x 73 cm
Provenance:
Private Collection, Sydney
Private Collection, Melbourne, acquired from the above
Sotheby's Australia (now trading as Smith & Singer)
Private Collection, Sydney, acquired from the above.
Exhibited:
Brett Whiteley: Recent Paintings, Drawings, Photographs, Ceramics and Wood Carvings from Byron Bay, Marrakesh, Japan, San Gimignano - Tuscany, Australian Galleries, Sydney, 1-26 March 1990, no. 16 (7), 'Wategoes [sic] Beach, Holiday Suite 7'.
Literature:
Lou Klepac, Brett Whiteley: Drawings, The Beagle Press, Sydney, 2014, p. 208 (illustrated)
Kathie Sutherland, Brett Whiteley: Catalogue Raisonné, Schwartz City, Melbourne, 2020, cat. no. 46.89, Vol. 4, p. 444 (illustrated), Vol. 7, p. 725.
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Brett Whiteley’s Wategos Beach, Holiday Suite 7 (1989) is a masterful example of the artist’s ability to infuse the ordinary with a sense of poetic grandeur. This meticulously detailed pencil drawing captures the iconic landscape of Byron Bay, with its sweeping coastline, lush foliage, and the ever-present Cape Byron Lighthouse perched elegantly atop the hill.
Whiteley's dynamic linework breathes life into the scene, drawing the viewer’s eye from the angular balcony in the foreground to the sinuous curves of the road and the dramatic interplay of textures within the vegetation. The work’s energy and movement are balanced by the tranquil presence of the sea and beach below, rendered with delicate precision. This piece encapsulates Whiteley’s intimate relationship with the Australian landscape, combining observation and imagination to create a composition that feels both real and dreamlike.
The artwork’s provenance is as distinguished as its creator. Initially part of a private Sydney collection, it later became part of a Melbourne collection before passing through Sotheby’s Australia (now Smith & Singer) and returning to Sydney. It was prominently exhibited in Brett Whiteley: Recent Paintings, Drawings, Photographs, Ceramics and Wood Carvings from Byron Bay, Marrakesh, Japan, San Gimignano – Tuscany at Australian Galleries, Sydney, in 1990, where it was catalogued as 'Wategoes [sic] Beach, Holiday Suite 7'.
Further solidifying its importance, the work is illustrated in Lou Klepac’s Brett Whiteley: Drawings (The Beagle Press, 2014, p. 208) and Kathie Sutherland’s Brett Whiteley: Catalogue Raisonné (Schwartz City, 2020, cat. no. 46.89), where it is documented and celebrated for its significance within Whiteley’s body of work.
With its striking balance of technical precision and lyrical interpretation, Wategos Beach, Holiday Suite 7 is an enduring testament to Whiteley’s genius and his ability to transform the familiar into the extraordinary.