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Wendy Whiteley

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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Wendy Whiteley by Janet Hawley explores the life, art, and garden of Wendy Whiteley, the widow of the famous Australian artist Brett Whiteley. The book delves into her personal transformation and the creation of her lush, secret garden in Sydney, which has become a public treasure. Through interviews and stories, it reveals her journey of resilience, creativity, and passion for nature, making it a rich portrait of an extraordinary individual.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$5500
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

If you love exploring the intersection of art and nature, this book offers an insightful glimpse into Wendy Whiteley's transformational work in creating a stunning garden from an abandoned and overgrown area. Ideal for those with an appreciation for creativity, restoration, and the nurturing of beautiful spaces, it delves into the fascinating journey of bringing a neglected landscape to life.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

This is Wendy's story but it's also the story of the countless people who cherish the Secret Garden.

For more than twenty years, Wendy Whiteley has worked to create a public garden at the foot of her harbourside home in Sydney's Lavender Bay. This is the extraordinary story of how a determined, passionate and deeply creative woman has slowly transformed an overgrown wasteland into a beautiful sanctuary for everyone to enjoyโ€”and in the process, transformed herself.

Wendy Whiteley was Brett Whiteley's wife, muse and model. An artist herself, with a finely honed aesthetic sense, she also created the interiors at the heart of Brett's iconic paintings of their Lavender Bay home. When Brett died, followed by the death nine years later of their daughter Arkie, Wendy channelled her grief and creativity into making an enchanting hidden oasis out of derelict land owned by the New South Wales Government. This glorious guerrilla garden is Wendy's living artwork, designed with daubs of colour, sinuous shapes, and shafts of light.

This is Wendy's story but it's also the story of the countless people who cherish the Secret Garden.

'I've loved making this garden. It's been a great gift to my life. It let me find myself again, and it's my gift to share with the public.' โ€” Wendy Whiteley

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781761344329

Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 28 November 2023

Country: Australia

Imprint: Penguin Random House Australia

Illustration: Colour

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 215.0mm

Height: 288.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 304

About the Author

Janet Hawley enjoyed a wide readership in her thirty-year career as a senior feature writer on Good Weekend Magazine, published in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. She's renowned for her intimate profiles of artists and creative people, and trusted by her interview subjects to explore their private worlds and mysteries of the creative process. She's published two books on artists, Artists In Conversations and Encounters With Australian Artists. Her book, A Place on the Coast, co-authored with Philip Cox, explores love of gardens, art and architecture. Her wide-ranging feature writing for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian has won her numerous major awards, including two Walkley Awards and the Gold Walkley. Janet's long friendship with Brett and Wendy Whiteley led to her writing the story of Wendy's major opus, the Secret Garden.

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