Aboriginal Art Auction Highlights

The McAllister Collection

After moving to Australia from Scotland in 1973, the McAllisters fell in love with Aboriginal culture whilst working at a school in Darwin. They went on to build a unique collection of works & artefacts, some of which were gifted to them from the families of students in their care, others collected on their travels throughout the Northern Territory, the Tiwi Islands, Arnhem Land & around Alice Springs.

These included traditional bark paintings, carvings & ceremonial objects, such as the headdress pictured. The collection also features contemporary Aboriginal artist’s such as Rover Thomas, Dr David Malangi Daymirringu and George Milpurrurru – along with a selection of works from the Hermannsberg School of watercolour painters.

We are also excited to present outstanding works by three leading female Aboriginal Artists – Dorothy Napangardi, Gloria Petyarre & Minnie Pwerle.

Dorothy Napangardi

Born in Mina Mina in the Northern Territory, Dorothy Napangardi (c.1956-2013) is internationally renowned for her muted and intricate paintings of fine dots – representing both the topography and stories of her ancestral homeland.

Dorothy began painting in Alice Springs in 1987, initially producing brightly coloured paintings of bush plants. In the 1990’s her style shifted – into the softer toned and delicate works she is now best known for.

Dorothy exhibition widely, in art galleries and museums from Sydney to Seattle. She was awarded the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award in 2001, had a major retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art in 2003, and was part of the 2012 Sydney Biennale.

Her work is held in collections, including the Art Gallery of South Australia, LeWitt Collection (United States), Linden Museum (Stuttgart), Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the National Gallery of Australia & National Gallery of Victoria.

This auction, we are very pleased to offer the beautiful Mina Mina, pictured, a 2010 painting inspired by her home town in the Tanami Desert.

Gloria Petyarre

One of Australia’s most significant female artists, Gloria Petyarre (1945-2021) was from the Utopia region, north-east of Alice Springs. One of seven sisters – including Kathleen Petyarre, Nancy Petyarre, Violet Petyarre and Ada Bird, who all became artists – Gloria initially gained recognition for her batik works, before turning to painting on canvas.

She began exhibiting in 1988, and in 1990 and 1991, travelled to Ireland, London and India as a representative of the Utopia women, accompanying the group exhibition “Utopia – A Picture Story”.  Her first solo exhibition was in 1991 at Australian Galleries in New York.

Gloria’s vibrant, free-flowing and expressive works depict stories including Pencil Yam, Devil Lizard and Body Paint Dreamings, as well as bush medicine leaves, a recurring motif.

Gloria won multiple awards including the Wynne Landscape Prize in 1999, and exhibited globally – in France, Germany, Belgium, Italy,  the UK, Netherlands, USA and Japan, as well as regularly in Australia.

Pictured is Arnkerrthe (Mountain Devil Lizard Dreaming) 1995.  It’s one of several paintings on offer that were commissioned by Ross-Manley in Alice Springs in 1995. They were later hung as part of a series in the Anthony Mason Chambers, Victoria Square, Adelaide for over 15 years. Accompanying the work are photographs of the artist working on the series in Alice Springs in 1995.

Minni Pwerle

Minnie Pwerle (1915-2006) was an Alyawarre woman from the Utopia region. She began painting in 1999 in her ’70s. Her initial linear paintings were bold, dyanmic and free-flowing, and she immediately drew the attention of galley owners and art lovers.

Minnie painted ‘Bush Melon’ and ‘Bush Melon Seed’ Dreamings and ‘Awelye Atnwengerrp’ (ceremonial designs). Her works draw on ancient cultural tradition, and like many of her contemporaries, she incorporated imagery and gestures used in female body painting.

Minnie exhibited widely in Australia, New Zealand and the US. She is represented in all of the State Galleries of Australia, as well as private collections and institutions internationally – including the Kelton Foundation, Kreglinger Collection and Thomas Vroom Collection.

Pictured is a large work, Untitled 2004, Acrylic on canvas.

Auction Details

Aboriginal Art
In Our Rooms | Stanmore
20 March | 6pm
Contact | [email protected]

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