In 1974 a particularly successful exhibition at Bonython Gallery enabled Brett Whiteley and his wife Wendy to buy a house in Sydney’s Lavender Bay. The move cemented Whiteley’s bond with Australia; it was “a centring, as it were, of his universe” and the inspiration for a series of works that are so iconic that they now feel innate to the Australian consciousness.

A limited edition archival print, ‘Lavender Bay’ is one such image. It is rare to market, superbly framed and ready to hang, and accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity, a vision of the “optical ecstasy” of Sydney Harbour. Cast in a warm beige, the harbour sprawls up the page, dotted with boats and streaks of rain. In the work’s corner, Whiteley writes “To water or see in secret; to spy, to peep, to pry into; the rain”. 

The Lavender Bay series represented a divergence from Whiteley’s more politicised work. It was an attempt, in the artist’s words, to produce “...an art of balance, purity and serenity, devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter, an art which might be something like a good armchair in which to relax from physical fatigue.”

Like the harbor itself, ‘Lavender Bay in the Rain’ is an object of meditation; awash in rain, it is the poetry of a storm after a long summer, a revelation for collectors of Whiteley, iconic Australian art and Sydney-siders.

After Brett WHITELEY (1939 - 1992)
'Lavender Bay in the Rain'
archival pigment print on paper
Edition of 250
Image Size: 84 x 83 cm
Dimensions: 119 x 122 x 4 cm
Signed: Embossed with the Brett Whiteley Estate Stamp lower left
 
Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity from Digital Art Directory Fine Art 

COA states: All our fine art reproductions are captured from the original artwork, color-matched, and proofed in consultation with the artist or original copyright holder. The archival fine art reproductions are printed using pigment inks on 100% cotton fiber mouldmade watercolor paper, available in either 256 or 300 gsm stock, which is pH neutral and lignin-free. This bright white paper contains calcium carbonate as a buffer for atmospheric conditions. Imaging Research, Inc. of Grinnell, Iowa, USA, has conducted print permanence testing (conducted at 75°F and 60% RH, with Wilhelm Imaging Research standards at 450 lux, in standard indoor display conditions for 12 hours per day) on this paper stock, confirming a minimum print life of at least 120-130 years before any noticeable fading occurs under these conditions.
 
Condition: Excellent
 
(c) The Artist or Assignee