The long lost Brett Whiteley drawing that was misplaced in the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery for more than four decades has been found and unveiled.
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The drawing, Waves V, was located in storage last week by QVMAG staff during the institution's collection audit.
The artwork was unveiled on Friday by QVMAG general manager of creative arts and cultural services Tracy Puklowski and Launceston mayor Albert van Zetten.
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Ms Puklowski said she wasn't there when the piece was found but wished she had been.
"The staff were very sure that they knew what they'd found but without that independent verification you have to keep that little bit of caution," she said.
"This is an example of Brett Whiteley's later work, it's very calligraphic in style.
"It's not necessarily representative of other styles that he worked on over the years, but it does represent an interesting part of his career."
The work had not been previously photographed so the museum was unaware of what they were looking for.
The audit will help digitise the museum's collection from the hand-written notes and typed labels that were once used to keep tabs on the objects.
Ms Puklowski said colleagues, researchers and Whiteley's ex-wife Wendy were important to the verification of the work, and one of the artist's seals also appears on the work.
Philip Bacon, an Australian art dealer and recent judge of the 2021 Glover Prize, said Whiteley was perhaps now the most expensive artist in the country.
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Mr Bacon represented Whiteley during the 1970s and was relieved when the artwork was found.
Councillor van Zetten said the collection audit had enabled an in-depth analysis of QVMAG's extensive collections.
"We are pleased to confirm Waves V by Brett Whiteley has always been safely looked after in the collection as a result of this project," he said.
"By committing to the collection audit we have been able to preserve, analyse and register QVMAG's precious and extensive collection for the first time in the museum's 130 year history."
Councillor van Zetten said it was fantastic to know the drawing had been in the museum all along.
"It was in a drawer all this time, well camouflaged," he said.
The whereabouts of the artwork was first questioned in mid-2018 after researchers inquired about the piece.
It was purchased by the institution in 1976 for $800 but there was no further record of the work.
At this stage, an official estimated figure of worth has not been provided, as the artwork is yet to go through a formal valuation process - leaving previous reports of the value unsubstantiated.
The museum audit has covered 3027 items since late 2019, with an average of 1911 items audited per year.
QVMAG estimates there are 1.5 million objects in the entire collection, with only 0.2 per cent audited so far based on that figure.
Waves V will be on display in the Art Gallery at Royal Park at the end of March for the public to enjoy.