Wendy Whiteley

Wendy Whiteley
Born
Wendy Susan Julius

1941 (age 82–83)
NationalityAustralian
EducationJulian Ashton Art School
Known forVisual arts
MovementAvant-garde
Spouse
(m. 1962; div. 1989)

Wendy Susan Whiteley OAM (née Julius; born 1941) is best known as the former wife of the Australian artist Brett Whiteley, and as the mother of their daughter, actress Arkie Whiteley (1964–2001). She has become a notable cultural figure, particularly since her ex-husband's death in 1992. She posed for Brett many times. Although they divorced three years before he died, she has control of Brett Whiteley's estate including the copyright to his works. She played an important role in the establishment of the Brett Whiteley Studio in Surry Hills, New South Wales which is now owned and managed as an art museum by the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Wendy Whiteley is also known for the restoration and landscaping of derelict railway land in Lavender Bay, Sydney, which she turned into a "magic garden" and where her ex-husband Brett and daughter Arkie Whiteley's ashes were scattered.[1]

  1. ^ Wendy Whiteley and the Secret Garden, Janet Hawley (Lantern) 2015, p.44