Birds recur throughout Brett Whiteley’s work, functioning as both motif and metaphor. As a child, he would steal eggs from nests and as an adult, paint them in his work. Forever moving around, he often thought of the flight paths of birds, his representations of them tinged with yearning for freedom and domestic stability.

In 'Nectar', the artist creates an intimate and restrained etching of a bird drinking from a small flower. With simple mark-making, Whiteley's bird is infused with personality - his beady pupils dilate, his claws sink into the branch. With a title humorously referring to Paul Verlaine, a 19th century French artist known for his scandalous and addiction-heavy lifestyle, Whiteley ascribes this small bird with human-like characteristics and dependencies.

Whiteley’s work is represented across Australian public collections and internationally at the Tate Gallery in London and MoMA in New York. An adjunct of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, his studio has become a permanent public gallery. For collector’s of important Australian art, Whiteley is a prize.

Brett WHITELEY (1939 - 1992)
'Nectar (addiction), Portrait of Paul Verlaine' 1979
etching on paper
Edition of 75
Image Size: 60 x 45 cm
Dimensions: 84 x 67 x 3 cm
Signed: Signed and editioned in margin: 44/75 brett whiteley

Comes with Letter of Provenance

Condition:Very Good: Describes a work of art's image as Excellent, but may show some small signs of surrounding wear to paper or frame. There are no tears to paper margin or disruption to the paint surface.

(c) Wendy Whiteley / Copyright Agency