Black + Whiteley: Barry Dickins in Search of Brett

Title: Black + Whiteley: Barry Dickins in Search of Brett
Author: Barry Dickins
Subject: Brett Whiteley
Publisher: Hardie Grant Books
Year: 2002
ISBN: 1-74064-001-2
Binding: Paperback

Condition: Good second-hand condition. Some light shelf wear and minor marks to covers, with slight waviness to a few pages from age or storage. Binding remains solid and readable throughout.

Part biography, part memoir, part meditation on Australian art and celebrity, this unusual book follows writer Barry Dickins as he searches for the real Brett Whiteley behind the mythology.

Rather than a traditional chronological biography, Dickins approaches Whiteley through memories, conversations, Sydney nightlife, art culture, addiction, fame, and personal encounters. The result is a fragmented and deeply Australian portrait of one of the country’s most iconic and tragic painters.

Written with humour, melancholy, and fascination, the book captures both the glamour and exhaustion surrounding Whiteley’s life and artistic legacy.