Brett Whiteley
An Australian painter whose turbulent, sensuous works captured the hedonism and torment of the creative life with raw, electrifying beauty.
1939–1992 (age 53)·Australian artist·Birthday: April 7·The Silent Generation
Biography
Brett Whiteley burst onto the Australian art scene as a wunderkind, winning a travelling art scholarship to Europe in his early twenties. His work was never quiet; it throbbed with a lyrical, sometimes frantic energy, whether depicting the Sydney Harbour or the interior chaos of addiction. He lived hard and painted with equal intensity in London, New York, Fiji, and finally his studio in Surry Hills, Sydney. Whiteley's art was a direct line to his psyche—his celebrated portraits were psychological excavations, and his landscapes pulsed with a visceral, almost erotic connection to place. While his personal struggles with heroin were a public tragedy, his artistic output remains a towering, unabashedly passionate exploration of what it means to feel and see deeply.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Brett was born in 1939, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Brett Was Born
The biggest hits of 1939
#1 Movie
Gone with the Wind
Best Picture
Gone with the Wind
Brett's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1939Born
World War II begins; The Wizard of Oz premieres
Gas: $0.19/galMin wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Over the Rainbow" — Judy GarlandBest Picture: Gone with the Wind
1944Started school
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1952Became a teenager
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1955Could drive
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1957Could vote
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1960Turned 21
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1969Turned 30
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1979Turned 40
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1989Turned 50
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1992Died at 53
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
Key Achievements
- Won the Archibald, Wynne, and Sulman Prizes all in the same year (1978), a rare 'triple crown' of Australian art.
- His monumental painting 'The American Dream' is a key work of 20th-century Australian art, critiquing consumerism and violence.
- His 1976 portrait 'Self portrait in the studio' is one of the most recognizable and valuable self-portraits in Australian history.
- Awarded an Order of Australia (AO) in 1991 for his service to the visual arts.
Did You Know?
He once traded a drawing for a guitar from George Harrison.
His studio at 2 Raper Street in Surry Hills, Sydney, is now a museum managed by the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
He was deeply influenced by the drawings of Vincent van Gogh, whom he considered a 'brother'.
As a teenager, he was expelled from his boarding school for drawing in class.
“Style is the answer to everything.”
