Gosford Regional Gallery is offering a rare glimpse into the lives of two of Australia’s most famous artists – Sir Russell Drysdale and Brett Whiteley - over summer.

Central Coast residents will get an opportunity to see paintings by Russell Drysdale developed right here on the Coast, and paintings of Brett Whiteley’s never seen here before.

Council Mayor, Jane Smith, described the two iconic exhibitions as a major event for the Central Coast.

“We’re very honoured to host both exhibitions at the Gosford Regional Gallery,” said Mayor Smith.

“They celebrate the talents and lives of the late Brett Whiteley and Sir Russell Drysdale.

“These iconic artists had distinguished careers in Australia and internationally, and have each won many prizes and awards. Their works paved the way for Australian artists around the world.

“Sir Russel Drysdale’s influence also extended to the Central Coast community as the judge of the very first Gosford Shire Art Prize in 1970 and as a member on its committee for several years after.

“This is a rare opportunity to view works from multi-award winning and influential artists’ right here on the Coast.”

Named after his place of residence ‘Bouddi Farm’ in Killcare, the Russell Drysdale: Bouddi exhibition brings together the significant paintings and drawings produced by Drysdale in his studio on the Central Coast, and gives a unique insight into his private world through his sketches and his little-known interest in book illustration.

His quintessentially Australian paintings of the outback and its people have been famous since the 1940s. After moving to the Central Coast in 1966, Drysdale continued to hold major exhibitions, including over 100 drawings at Johnstone Gallery, Brisbane, in 1967 and a solo exhibition at Leicester Galleries, London, in 1972.

Developed by Gosford Regional Gallery, the exhibition is the first to explore this era of Drysdale’s life and career with a selection of work from the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, the National Library of Australia, the National Portrait Gallery, Rockhampton Art Gallery, the Murray Art Museum Albury, as well as from many private collections.

Brett Whiteley: other places (somewhere else) is an Art Gallery of New South Wales and Brett Whiteley Studio touring exhibition in partnership with Cairns Regional Gallery. It showcases a collection of paintings, drawings, photographs, and sketchbooks that reveal the artist’s unique vision and experiences.

Brett Whiteley travelled extensively throughout his life, expressing his experiences in visual diaries using charcoal, photographs and paint. The exhibition features artworks from his travels to New York, London, and Australia. It also includes his rarely displayed early works of Paris, and a collection from when he returned to Paris in 1989, aged 50.

The two blockbuster exhibitions will be on display from 9 December 2017 until 4 February 2018.