An early masterpiece by late Australian painter Brett Whiteley has been auctioned off in the United States after sitting in the archives of a Texas art museum for 55 years.
After efforts to find who anonymously loaned the painting to a prominent museum in 1968, the painting was listed with a laughable estimate of $US10,000 to $15,000.
Who s who of the art world united on Monday to pay tribute to the painter who revolutionised the way people saw the Australian landscape at a moving state memorial service in Sydney.