Birds were a recurring theme throughout Whiteley's career and appear in his prints, paintings, drawings and sculptures. Barry Pearce, in his 1995 Brett Whiteley Art & Life exhibition catalogue, writes 'it is not fanciful to think of Whiteley's bird portraits as self-portraits. He had always loved them since childhood and in his last phase of work birds became symbols of both domesticity and freedom. It is not surprising that he held special exhibitions dedicated to the theme, the last in his Surry Hills studio in 1988, four years before his death.' (B. Pearce, Brett Whiteley Art & Life, Sydney, 1995, p.37)

This work will be included in the forthcoming Brett Whiteley catalogue raisonné being compiled by Kathie Sutherland.