Jul 24, 2026 – 12.01amThe late Sydney artist Brett Whiteley has “come home again”, says his former wife and muse Wendy Whiteley, following a two-year upgrade and restoration of the icon’s live-in studio in Surry Hills, which reopens to the public on Saturday.The studio, which became part of the Art Gallery of NSW following Whiteley’s death and attracted up to 15,000 visitors a year before its temporary closure in 2024, has had its roof replaced – “it was leaking like a sieve”, Wendy said – and been made wheelchair-accessible and climate-controlled for the first time.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles