Gauguin (also known as Portrait of Paul Gauguin on the Eve of His Attempted Suicide, Tahiti) 1968

BRETT WHITELEY (1939-1992)

Gauguin (also known as Portrait of Paul Gauguin on the Eve of His Attempted Suicide, Tahiti) 1968

oil, acrylic, charcoal, graphite, plastic, glass, wood & printed paper collage construction on panel
152.5 x 264.5 cm (irreg.)

signed, dated and inscribed lower right: portrait of Paul Gauguin on the eve of his attempted suicide, Tahiti/ Brett Whiteley 1968, N.Y.

Provenance:

The artist

Chelsea 23rd Street Corporation, New York, 1969

Sotheby's, New York, 15 May 2014, lot 227

Company collection, Melbourne

Menzies, Melbourne, 24 July 2014, lot 40

Company collection, Melbourne

Menzies, Melbourne, 21 September 2016, lot 37

Company collection, Melbourne

Exhibited:

Brett Whiteley: Recent Work, Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, New York, 1968, cat.4 (illus. exhibition catalogue)

Alchemy-Pop, Brett Whiteley Studio in association with the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 31 October 2014 - 15 March 2015

Whiteley and Vincent, Brett Whiteley Studio in association with the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 31 May - 20 October 2019

PRICE ON APPLICATION

Reference:

McGrath, S., Brett Whiteley, Sydney, Bay Books, 1979, pp.86, 87

Pearce, B., Brett Whiteley, Art and Life, Thames & Hudson and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1995, p.231 (illus. p.140, pl.83)

Wilson, A., Brett Whiteley: Art, Life and the Other Thing, Text Publishing, Melbourne, 2016, pp.148, 149, 152, 440 (illus. p.274, pl.1)

Sutherland, K., Brett Whiteley: Catalogue Raisonné, Schwartz Publishing, Melbourne, 2020, cat.27.68

Related Works:

Study for Gauguin, 1968, pencil, ink, collage and adhesive tape on paper, 35.5 x 56.0 cm, private collection, Sydney

The American Dream, 1968-69, oil, tempera, collage, photography, found objects on eighteen wood panels, 244.0 x 2196.0 cm, Art Gallery of Western Australia collection, Perth; illus. in Pearce, B., Brett Whiteley, Art and Life, Thames & Hudson and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1995, pp.134-139, pl.80a-f

Portrait of Arthur Rimbaud, 1970-71, oil, gold leaf, synthetic polymer paint, mummified lacquered cat’s head and collage on six wooden panels, 203.0 x 518.0 cm. Queensland Art Gallery collection, Brisbane; illus. in Pearce, B., Brett Whiteley, Art and Life, Thames & Hudson and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 1995, pl.122

Portrait of Baudelaire, 1970, oil, gold leaf, synthetic polymer paint, mummified lacquered cat’s head and collage on five wooden door panels, 203.0 x 478.0 cm, private collection, Melbourne; illus. in Pearce, B., Brett Whiteley, Art and Life, Thames & Hudson and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1995, pl.123

Vincent, 1968, oil, ink, mirror and razor on board, 220.0 x 164.5 x 38.0 cm, private collection, Australia; illus. in Pearce, B., Brett Whiteley, Art and Life, Thames & Hudson and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 1995, pl.116