Brett Whiteley’s oeuvre is characterised by chaos and rest. There are bursts of expression alongside mediations, a yin and yang of noise and quiet. ‘View of the Garden’ is an example of the latter, an image of Sunday morning stillness.

Perhaps the garden referenced is that tended by Wendy Whiteley in Lavender Bay. Indeed, the surroundings of Whiteley’s studio and home constitute some of his most iconic imagery, sensuous visions of the Sydney landscape that have entered the national imagination. In ‘View of the Garden’, domestic bliss rules. Plants fall through an open window; the artist’s coffee lies in wait, cut flowers in a vase recall the transience of life.

After Brett’s death in 1992, Wendy found solace as a “guerrilla gardener” — cleaning up the government-owned land around her home that had become a dumping site. ‘View of the Garden’ is too about the medicinal quality of gardens. With chaos all around, this space stabilises — it is a window into beauty for weary eyes.

With an impression represented at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Whiteley’s ‘View of the Garden’ is a prize piece for collectors of Whiteley and important works on paper.

Brett WHITELEY (1939 - 1992)
'View of the Garden' 1977
lithograph on paper
Edition of 75
Image Size: 75 x 55 cm
Dimensions: 95 x 75 x 2 cm
Signed: Signed and editioned in margin
 
Comes with Letter of Provenance
 
Literature: Sutherland, K, Brett Whiteley: Catalogue Raisonne, Schwartz Publishing, Melbourne;
Chris Deutscher, Brett Whiteley: the graphics 1961-1992, ‘Part one: editioned prints (1-111)’, pg. 11-99, Melbourne, 1995, 47 (colour illus.). cat.no. 37.

An impression of this work is represented at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Accession No: 212.2012.
 
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) Brett Whiteley / Copyright Agency