Lavender Bay in the Rain – No. 3 of 75 (1987) – SOLD

I’m delighted to announce the recent arrival of this elegant Brett Whiteley image, “Lavender Bay in the Rain, a collectable and very sought after colour screen-print produced in 1987 in a very small edition of only 75 prints.

When we think of Whiteley’s art, Sydney and the idyllic location of Lavender Bay, come foremost to mind as one of Whiteley’s best-known, most widely acclaimed, and most loved subjects.

Portraying his brilliance with colour and sensuality of line, in “Lavender Bay in the Rain” Whiteley uses a masterful palette of four gentle colours to evoke the muted soft light and tranquil ambience of Lavender Bay on a rainy, pearl-grey day. Rain falls softly over the boats, with the familiar sight of the jetty and the palms revealed as the view from Whiteley’s window above the bay.

Whiteley’s affection for the views of Lavender Bay began after he returned to Sydney in 1969.  Early in 1974, a large and successful exhibition of his drawings enabled Brett and his wife Wendy to purchase the three storey Victorian house they had been renting on the shores of Lavender Bay, solidifying Whiteley’s emotional bond with Australia.

As Wendy later recalled: ‘… in a sense Lavender Bay was Brett’s return to paradise, having come from a very anxious situation’- and it is paradise. He said some quite tender things at the time, like ‘I’m at home at last’.

From his living room window above the bay, Whiteley enjoyed sweeping views of Sydney Harbour with its boats, the Harbour Bridge, the tall palms, the jetty below the garden, and the Moreton Bay fig trees that grew nearby – a location that was beautiful in any weather.

These idyllic views were for the next two decades an abundant source of inspiration and joy for Whiteley, as he captured the Bay’s views and many moods in a varied palette of colours and from many perspectives.  He revelled in the beauty of his surroundings and the romanticism and optimism of the panoramas from his home – in his own words, the ‘optical ecstasy’ of Lavender Bay.

 Whiteley’s Lavender Bay works are his most celebrated and these images have contributed to creating and immortalising an important national iconography that celebrates the unique beauty of Sydney Harbour.  Whiteley’s Lavender Bay works are considered the crowning achievement of his career, evidenced by his winning of three of Australia’s most coveted art awards, all with Lavender Bay subjects – the Archibald Prize in 1976, the Sulman Prize in 1976, and the Wynne Prize in 1977.