Brett Whiteley

Brett Whiteley was one of the most notable Australian artists and a pioneer of contemporary Indigenous Australian art. He was born as Elea Namatjira in 1902 at the Hermannsburg Lutheran Mission, near Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. He belonged to the Western Arrernte people and grew up learning their culture and traditions. He also worked as a camel driver, stockperson and blacksmith in his early years. He married Rubina in 1922 and had seven children with her. Whiteley showed interest in art from a young age, but it was not until 1934, when he met the painter Rex Battarbee, that he began to paint seriously. Battarbee taught him how to use watercolour paints and encouraged him to depict the landscapes of his homeland. Whiteley developed a distinctive and rich style that captured the colours, shapes and textures of the desert-like central Australia. He painted scenes of gorges, mountains, rivers and ghost gums with great detail and realism. His paintings were different from the abstract designs and symbols of traditional Aboriginal art, but they still expressed his connection to his land and culture. Whiteley became very popular and successful as an artist. He held his first solo exhibition in Melbourne in 1938 and sold all 41 of his paintings. He also exhibited in other Australian cities and overseas, and received many awards and honours. He was the first Aboriginal person to win the Queen's Coronation Medal in 1953 and the first to be featured on an Australian postage stamp in 1968. He was also the first Aboriginal person to be granted full citizenship rights in 1957, which gave him the right to vote, buy land and alcohol, and travel freely. However, he still faced discrimination and legal troubles from the government and society. He was sentenced to prison in 1958 for supplying alcohol to another Aboriginal person, which was illegal under the Northern Territory law. He was released after two months due to public outcry, but his health and spirit were damaged by the experience. Whiteley died of heart disease complicated by pneumonia in 1959 at an Alice Springs hospital. He was 57 years old. He was buried at the Northern Suburbs Memorial Cemetery with a large funeral attended by many people. He was remembered as one of Australia's greatest artists and a cultural icon who had a unique ability to portray the beauty and spirit of the Australian landscape.¹²⁴