A total of 124 entries were received from around Australia, 11 of which are included in the finalists’ exhibition, for the first time online. The winning entry and highly commended works only will be on show at the Brett Whiteley Studio.

Nicole Kelly is a student with the National Art School completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours. Nicole was a Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship finalist in 2008. In 2007 Nicole was awarded the Robert Le Gay Brereton Memorial Prize, a prize which aims to promote and encourage the art of draughtsmanship

The judges for the 2009 Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship were artist, John Beard, Art Gallery of New South Wales Director, Edmund Capon and Barry Pearce, the Gallery’s Head Curator of Australian Art. 

John Beard said "Nicole’s work is physically rich and determined and she is not afraid to make mistakes. The work stood out because of its direct rawness and forceful presence and, especially because of its honesty. Not a follower of the fashionable graphic style of her contemporaries, but prepared to look at artists before her, and to take risks."

Jessica Mais Wright and Becky Gibson were Highly Commended for their work for the 2009 Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship.

Mrs Beryl Whiteley was awarded an OAM for the creation and endowment of the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship. The inspiration for this annual scholarship was the profound effect of international travel and study experienced by her son, Brett Whiteley, as a result of winning the Italian Travelling Art Scholarship at the age of 20.

The Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship is open to Australian artists aged between 20 and 30 years. The winner is awarded $25,000 and a three-month residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, which is administered by the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

The Brett Whiteley Studio is managed by the Art Gallery of New South Wales.