Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 8 : Pressclippings, 1977-1981

A WORK by Sydney artiat Brett Whiteley ia an ahow at the Queenaland Art Gallery. The complete painting is shown above right . Its detail includes a moray eel sipping from a glass, above, a withered cot's h•od, right, and a collage of guns, axes and on execution, below, Gallery director (Mr. Rooul Melli,h) said yesterday that the piece, " Portrait of Rimbaud", cost $20,000. Mr. Whiteley, 39 lost week become th• first art ist to win the Archibold, Wynne and Sulmon prizes in ona year. Th• 203 cm by 518 cm Portrait of Rimboud Is made up of six wooden panels in mixed mediums of oil , gold l•of, acrylic and collog•. R,mboud was a French poet who lived from 1854 to 1891 and explored drugs to try lo brook down restroinrs end free himself in mind and spirit, Mr. Mellish said that whil• Whit•ley's work hod a likeness of the poer it was very much about his ossortnient of writings as he explored different device5. "h •s one of his major pieces and one of our major purcho!ies durmg the year," Mr. Mellish so,d. " If people wont to see a real hve Whiteley we hove one here ,n capt ivity." . Queensland Art Gollory Is an the fifth floor of the MIM building in Ann St.