Lot 21

Overall discolouration and water spots particularly evident to right hand side, remnants of backing tape verso to top edge, please note the medium has been updated to ink on card. Please contact us for additional images.


The opinions expressed in the condition reports are a guide only and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Prospective buyers are encouraged to seek further information or request additional images during our pre-sale period where Leonard Joel staff are available for advice. Please note condition reports can be amended during the pre-sale period, so we strongly suggest any interested bidders check the published condition report available on the website before the auction commences. Leonard Joel makes no guarantee of the originality of mechanical or applied components. Absence of reference to such modifications does not imply that a lot is free from modifications.

Barry Stern Galleries, Sydney, 1978 (accompanied by original purchase receipt)
The Collection of William and Rosmarie Poate, Sydney

McGrath, S, Brett Whiteley, Bay Books: Sydney, 1979, p. 222
Sutherland, K., Brett Whiteley: Catalogue Raisonné, Schwartz Publishing, Melbourne, 2020, vol. 7, p. 294, cat. no. 19.74

Banjo Player is a quintessential example of Brett Whiteley's fluid draftsmanship and his innate ability to capture character with an economy of line. Executed in ink on paper, the work demonstrates Whiteley's lyrical command of gesture, where swift, confident strokes animate the musician and transform a simple subject into a study of
rhythm, atmosphere, and human presence. Music was profoundly significant to Whiteley, serving as a fundamental, constant, and immersive element of his creative process and lifestyle. He famously worked with music playing loudly in his studio, using it to set a mood, generate energy, and influence the emotional intensity of his paintings. Created in late December 1974, the drawing belongs to a richly productive period in which Whiteley explored expressive figuration with increasing freedom.

© Wendy Whiteley/Copyright Agency 2026