Auction Summary and highlights of the Aboriginal Art Auction on 14th of November 2007 by Lawson Menzies
Auktionen
ABORIGINAL FINE ART: WEDNESDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2007 SYDNEY
Lots 202-352 @ 2pm Lots 1 - 201 @ 7pm
I am delighted to welcome you to the second of two Aboriginal Fine art sales for 2007. This catalogue contains the largest and most valuable collection of art and artefacts that Lawson~Menzies has offered to date totaling $5.6M.
Included in our November auction are exceptional paintings by Rover Thomas, Emily Ngwarray, Paddy Bedford, Clifford Possum, Queenie McKenzie, Lin Onus, Tommy Watson, Minnie Pwerl (formerly Pwerle) and Paddy Fordham amongst a large collection of fine works by other important artists.
Most noteworthy are Bungullgi, 1989 (Lot 59) by Rover Thomas, which was painted immediately prior to his inclusion in the Venice Biennale with materials provided by Mary Macha, and exhibited in the Centre Cultural Caixa de Girona in Spain in 2004; and Power Places –Texas Downs Country (Lot 49) depicting a number of important Kimberley sites and painted by Rover’s close friend and workmate, Queenie McKenzie, for Waringarri Arts in 1996. Other major works by Rover include a dramatic image of Cyclone Tracy (Lot 50), and Rainbow Jowie – Lake Billiluna (Lot 63) both of which were painted in Melbourne in 1995.
Following the sale of Earth’s Creation in our May sale, that set a record of $1.058 million and placed Emily Ngwarray as the most successful female artist in Australia, we are fortunate to be able to include another major multi-panelled work by Emily produced during the same workshop in 1995. In Earth’s Creation II (Lot 60), white dots flow across a canvas predominantly rendered in blue, burgundy and magenta in keeping with its name, creating a mystical, ethereal and explosive universe. Lot 20 Alhalkere, Yam and Water Dreaming, also by Emily is a fine example of her earlier work where a fine layer of dots veil the symbols and tracks painted below. An artist of particular interest to me personally was the famed Rembarrnga storyteller, dancer, didgeridoo player and artist, Paddy Fordham Wainburranga for whom I organised a number of solo exhibitions during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. Lot 65 comprises a set of six magnificent barks illustrating how the social structure, kinship system and law dictate morality and behaviour amongst the Yolngu of Arnhem Land.
Other lots worthy of special mention include Tommy Watson’s Iyarka, 2005 (Lot 48) that conveys immense visual power through its richly coloured yet minimally dotted surface and is expected to further enhance the interest in this great artist’s work, Minnie Pwerl’s strikingly gestural painting Awelye Atnwengerrp (Lot 51) and an outstanding example of Paddy Bedford’s luminous textured surfaces in Joogoomoondiny – Grawler Gully (Lot 19). Following Lin Onus’ success in our May sale, 24 Hours by the Billabong –Late Afternoon (Lot 22) imparts on us a visual understanding of the Dreaming in this contemporary work.
I do hope that you enjoy our catalogue and are able to come to our viewings either in Melbourne, where a selection of works will be shown at 1 Darling Street, South Yarra from November 1st – 4th or at our historic headquarters in Sydney, 12 Todman Avenue, Kensington, from November 8th -13th where the entire collection of works can be viewed.
I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible during these events.
Adrian Newstead
November 2007
http://www.menziesartbrands.com/page/aboriginal_art_auction.html
Press Release at the Age about Aboriginal Art Auction in May
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/05/23/1179601487395.html
ARTIST’S MAGNUM OPUS ARRIVES AT LAWSON~MENZIES
Maggie Napangardi Watson's Digging Stick Dreaming set to Break Auction Records
Auction 9 November
Digging Stick Dreaming 1995 (Estimated value $200,000- $300,000), considered to be the magnum opus of the painting career of renowned Walpiri artist Maggie Napangardi Watson, is set to break auction records when put under the hammer in the upcoming Sydney Aboriginal art auction sale at Lawson Menzies on the 9 November.
According to Senior Aboriginal Art Specialist Adrian Newstead “Maggie Watson Napangardi is an artist that has consistently achieved extraordinary prices for her work at auction. The strength of this impressive track record is sure to be reflected in the price achieved for her ‘Digging Stick Dreaming'. The painting was painted over several months during 1995 and was drawn from the private collection of art dealer Peter Harrison, the owner of Kimberley Art Gallery in Melbourne . Harrision has proved to have been a visionary in his determination to commission major, large scale, works from artists of the caliber of Rover Thomas and Freddy Timms throughout the 1990's. In Maggie Watson's monumental masterpiece digging sticks magically emerge from the land equipping a large number of ancestral women for their travels over a vast stretch of country
Another highlight in the sale is ‘Mount House', commissioned from Rover Thomas during the artist's visit to Melbourne in 1995. This painting is accompanied by a 90 minute DVD which gives a unique eyewitness insight in to how the artist approached the canvas and worked toward the completion of a major, large scale, work. Other important Kimberley works include Jack Britten's 'Purnululu' , 1991, a complex perspective of the country for which he was traditional owner; and the ethnographic beautifully rendered early board entitled, 'Spinifex Rolls',1986, by Rover Thomas .
Two of the spectacular works by Emily Kame Kngwarreye include ‘Kame-Summer Awelye' , painted in January 1992, and 'Wildflower Dreaming , 1995. Both splendidly depict the desert in a riot of colour at the height of women's ceremonial activity. Another, by multi-award winner, Dorothy Napangardi Robertson, marked a turning point in the artist's style. This was the first in her new series begun in 1997. Amongst many other significant works in the sale is Clifford Possum's 'Untitled' , 1989/90, which he completed in London after attending a private audience with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip. This painting was included in a number of UK exhibitions and featured on the cover of the international art magazine, Artline, in 1990.
In all, over 300 works of art worth in excess of $#Million will be on offer. This follows this years' very successful Lawson Menzies' May/June Aboriginal fine art auction which featured over 450 artworks with total sales exceeding $2.4 million.
Once again 2% of the hammer price of the works auctioned in this sale will be gifted by Lawson Menzies to the Aboriginal Benefits Foundation which assists Aboriginal health, education and community development projects. The Foundation is currently brokering partnership relations with a several major philanthropic organizations in order to support strategic long-term projects in remote communities.