Brett Whiteley
Summer at Carcoar
(1977)
244.0 x 199.0
oil and mixed media on pineboard
presented in 1977 by Dr William Bowmore AO, OBE through the Newcastle Region Art Gallery Foundation
reproduced courtesy of Wendy Whiteley OAM
Summer at Carcoar
One of the first works to grace the walls of this gallery when it was opened in 1977 was Brett Whiteley’s Summer at Carcoar 1977.
Arguably the Gallery’s most loved painting, Whiteley was commissioned to produce this work by former Newcastle resident collector Dr William Bowmore who then gifted the work to the Gallery. Radiating with the heat of an Australian summer, this massive painting condenses all of Whiteley’s stylistic trademarks and influences. In 1978 Whiteley won the Wynne Prize with Summer at Carcoar, along with the prestigious Archibald and Sulman prizes in the same year. Today, this painting is one of the most valuable works of art in the collection.