BONHAM’S ABORIGINAL ART THE THOMAS VROOM COLLECTION Sydney 6 September 2015

Noted European collector Thomas Vroom assembled a significant collection of Australian indigenous art from the early 1990s. Housed in Europe, much of it was shown in exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Utrecht, the Netherlands. In September 2014 he decided to sell the collection. The first tranche, comprising tribal art (major bark paintings and carvings) and a smaller group of acrylic and ochre paintings, was sold by Sotheby’s London in June 2015. The tribal art sold extremely well to international collectors, while the dot paintings struggled. Few international collectors bid and Australian collectors were put off by not being able to view the works.

The second tranche is now being offered by Bonhams in Sydney on Sunday 6 September. This is a better selling context for the work, which includes a majority of dot paintings along with the remainder of Vroom’s bark paintings and sculptures. The work is priced to sell, with very low estimates on nearly everything. In addition, the Bonhams specialist suggested to me that they have discretion on the day to lower reserves to get works away. So some lots will be bargains. But as always, if you really like something and want to have a chance with it, you’ll need to give me a realistic bid. If it fails to fire, you’ll get a bargain.

Highlights are undoubtedly the 30 works by Emily Kngwarreye. All have Delmore Downs provenance, which is the equal best provenance for Emily. The works are from 1993-94, with a small group from 1991. Past that there are very fine single works by leading figures such as , , Jackie Giles, Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjari, Boxer Milner, Prince of Wales and Jean Baptiste Apuatimi, and lesser known artists like Gertie Huddlestone and Angelina George from Ngukurr, Ngoia Pollard from Mt Liebig, Polly Gnale from Utopia, Pincher Talunga from Pepimenarti, Jimmy Nerimah from Mangkaja Artists and Pulpuru Davies from Kayili Artists. For me, some of the works in this latter category are quite compelling. While the artists are no longer household names, they all made extremely good work in their working lives and were widely collected by museums. So the auction represents an opportunity to buy works, hopefully cheaply, by artists who are largely out of fashion, but whose place in Australian indigenous art is secure.

JOHN CRUTHERS rococo pop pty ltd The best bark paintings from the Vroom collection were sold at the London sale in June, and many made record prices. Of the barks in the Sydney sale, I’m recommending only a handful. Key factors have been the quality of the image, the freshness of the colours and the state of preservation of the whole object.

This work is my top pick among the barks. It is such a striking image – the three female figures look like ghouls or ghosts with their elongated arms and fingernails. The way they slouch nonchalantly across the bark suggests that they are up to no good. As with quite a few of the best barks, the artist has managed to bring a high level of insight and skill into his characterization of the figures.

The paint layer is still very robust with few abrasions or losses, and the figure/ ground contrast is strong. Overall it feels fresh.

Positioning this work as lot 1 shows that Bonhams obviously expects it to have solid support and probably take off. But $4-6,000 is a not inconsiderable estimate and It could well be buyable within estimates. Recommended to the high estimate.

1. Diidja (circa 1900-1982) Three Namorrordo 1966 natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark 47.5 x 49.5cm $4,000 - $6,000 These two works, also by Diidja, are closer to the overall aesthetics of the barks sold so successfully at the Vroom sale in London. The paint is faded, the figures almost ghostly and the bark supports show some signs of distress. But as the prices in London demonstrated, this is what collectors of tribal art look for. They want artworks made at a time when the artists lived more traditionally and still practiced ceremony, etc. They value the aged surface and patina as part of the authenticity of the work, its lived history. In a way the works are relics, old and worn, but they still carry that charge from the people who made them back then.

These works may struggle in the context of what is mostly a painting sale, so I’d hope they’d be buyable within estimates.

5. Diidja (circa 1900-1982) Namorrordo, 1966 natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark 79.0 x 47.0cm $4,000 - $6,000

7. Diidja (circa 1900-1982) Male and Female Namarnde natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark 91.0 x 41.0cm $1,500-$2,500 11.Spider ‘1’ Namirrki 41. Yirawala (circa 1897- (circa 1925-1975) 1976) Male Namarnde, Spirit Untitled (Skeleton and of Stone Country 1966 Rainbow Serpent) natural earth pigments natural earth pigments on on eucalyptus bark eucalyptus bark 113.5 x 36.0cm 111.0 x 20.0cm $5,000-$7,000 $7,000 - $10,000

Yirawala was Australian’s most famous bark painter of the mid 20th century. described in his lifetime as “the Picasso of Arnhem Land”. I regularly recommend his works in Aboriginal art sales, but he is strongly contested by both museums and private 31. Spider ‘1’ collectors and I haven’t Namirrki (circa succeeded in buying one to 1925-1975) date. Male and Female Namarnde, Spirits The current work demonstrates of Stone Country the delicacy of Yirawala’s 1966 drawing and ruark, and his natural earth ability to compose in unusual pigments on ways. This is really the eucalyptus bark attraction of the piece. The 107.0 x 51.0cm long tall sheet of bark would $7,000-$10,000 have defeated lesser artists, but Yirawala has used it to stage an interesting scene between a skeleton figure Spider Namirrki was an artist of the stone country in western Arnhem Land. He was collected in some depth and a rainbow serpent. It’s in the 1960s by Dorothy Bennett and her son Lance Bennett, from whom Thomas Vroom acquired many of more a charming work than an the finest barks in his collection. I have chosen two works, the first one a single totemic figure which is in good important one, but it could look condition and a strong image. The second work is closer to what I think is Spider’s strength, the groups of terrific in the right place. spindly Namarnde spirit figures. This is an elegant example, in which the holes and dark areas on the bark support only serve to accentuate the antiquity and power of the piece. As you will see from the bottom lines of the catalogue entry, Tim Klingender has already gained an export permit for the work – which indicates it is considered strong enough as an object to possibly meet resistance if being exported. A lovely object, recommended within estimates This is a double faced carving by Jimmy Kerinauia. So the two images in the catalogue and to the right on this page represent the front and back views of the single carving. The artist was a leading carver from the Tiwi Islands in the 1960s. The work has some scale compared to many of the other Tiwi carvings in the sale, and is in better condition than most, although obviously the ochre paint is quite faded and the surface worn in places.

It should sell within estimates. Recommended.

19. Jimmy Kerinauia Ceremonial Janus Figure c.1960 natural earth pigments on carved wood height: 45.0cm $3,000-$5,000 52. Emily Kam Kngawarray (circa 1916-1996) My Alalgura 1991 synthetic polymer paint on linen diameter: 100.0cm $10,000-$15,000

This is one of three paintings by Emily in the sale from late in 1991. The major development for the artist in this period was the decision to no longer paint the tracery of underground yam tracks as the first layer of the painting, over which she would then apply the layers of dots representing the grasses and flowering plants that covered the above-ground surface of her country in the various seasons.

The quite poetic catalogue entry, drawn from the Delmore certificate, indicates December 1991 as the time of painting, after a summer storm had brought the country to life. Hence the floral feeling of this painting as the surface is covered by flowering grasses brought up by the unexpected storm. It is a painting of celebration and praise at the working of the natural cycles, encouraged by rain-making and ceremonies.

Emily painted only a handful of works on tondo – round shaped - canvases, but they are a known part of her output and examples were included in her first retrospective at the Queensland Art Gallery. It makes the work reasonably unique and this, plus its beauty and early date, mean it should be strongly contested. I think it is likely to make $30,000 hammer. Recommended. 54. Emily Kam Kngawarray (circa 1916-1996) Of Rare Winter Rain II 1991 synthetic polymer paint on linen 121.0 x 91.0cm $12,000-$18,000

This is the second painting from late 1991 in the sale, and while lacking the novelty and beauty of the tondo, it is nevertheless a very strong work.

Among non-indigenous artists there is a general feeling that green is a difficult colour to do well, and that green paintings are harder to sell. How interesting to see Emily take on the demon colour with complete control and aplomb. This really is a remarkable painting, the layering of dots and mixing of dot sizes and colours superbly done. Pretty much everything a collector could want in an Emily is here in one modestly sized work.

In the passages of fine dotting notice how often Emily double dots, adding a smaller darker coloured dot on top of each larger lighter dot. This is a reference to the duo-coloured seeds of her country, and was a staple of her approach in late 1898-early 1990. Also notice the larger overlaid dots across the left and centre that have a moist, almost smeary feeling. These anticipate the more liquid, wintery painting style she adopted in 1993-94, which is typical of most of the Thomas Vroom Emilys.

Like the tondo, and for the same reasons, I’d expect this work to make above $30,000 hammer, possibly to $40,000. Strongly recommended. 56. Emily Kam Kngawarray (circa 1916-1996) Summer Abundance V 1993 synthetic polymer paint on linen 121.0 x 91.0cm $8,000-$12,000

Two years later we see Emily using a different approach, working with more liquid paint which she applies quickly and loosely to create soft, moist areas. The dots are also much larger and run into each other to create pools of colour. There is a more spontaneous feeling to these works, a feeling that she is improvising as she goes along, but usually able to pull the whole work together through her innate abilities with colour and touch.

As in the 1991 paintings, the work is still focused on the underground layer of the earth, juxtaposed with the surface of grasses, flowers and bush tucker.

Summer abundance is a well known series and this work should do reasonably well. Recommended to $15,000 hammer. 60. Emily Kam Kngawarray (circa 1916-1996) Awelye 1994 synthetic polymer paint on linen 152.0 x 91.0cm $10,000-$15,000

The bold pinks and reds of this work are in contrast to some of the other 1994-94 works, which can get a little dull and sometimes muddy in terms of colour. But the very satisfying use of pinks and reds in this work, combined with greys, and the strong vertical movement of the dotting, makes it quite arresting.

For me this is one of the best of the later Emilys in the group. I expect it to exceed the top estimate, possibly getting to $20,000 hammer. Strongly recommended. 61. Prince of Wales (Mid- pul) (circa 1937-2002) Body Marks 1999 synthetic polymer paint on linen 94.5 x 67.0cm $5,000-$7,000

62. Prince of Wales (Midpul) (circa 1937-2002) Body Marks 1999 synthetic polymer paint on linen 85.5 x 67.0cm $5,000-$7,000

Prince of Wales was a member of the Larrakia tribe, which occupied the Darwin area at the time of white settlement. He excelled earlier in his life as a dancer, and the act of painting his and other men’s bodies for dancing gave him his distinct style of dotting within vertical rectangular spaces that echoed the shape of human torsos. He had a successful if short career, his primary dealer being Karen Brown in Darwin, who also represented several other Aboriginal people who showed solo, such as Angelina George and Pincher Talunga. He also showed with Willie Mora in Melbourne. Prince of Wales was widely collected by museums and private collections, and was a featured artist in the Laverty Collection. Both works would be good buying within estimates. 63. Boxer Milner Tjampitjin (circa 1935) Sturt Creek 1998 synthetic polymer paint on canvas 123.0 x 121.0cm $5,000-$8,000

Boxer Milner came from the Sturt Creek area, south of the east Kimberley where the Great Sandy Desert begins. His country was the site of frequent flooding, and his paintings depict the creek in flood, and the way its winding creek- bed developed billabongs and side branches. The white central sections of the creeks feature the characteristic milky water which ran off the pale coloured landscape and into the creek after heavy rain.

Milner painted for Warlayirti Artists at Balgo, the nearest art centre to his country. But his work is atypical for Balgo. Indeed he’s quite an original and a significant artist with a distinct personal iconography. His work has been collected by museums and performs well at auction. This is a very good example without being museum standard, but would be good for collectors looking to collect the work of distinctive artists as opposed to communities and movements.

Recommended and very good buying within estimates. Eubena Nampitjin is the most celebrated artist to come out of Balgo, and one of the most significant women artists in recent Aboriginal art. She took up painting when she married her second husband, the artist Wimmitji Tjapangati, and together they helped pioneer painting at Balgo from the later 1980s. Subsequently she exhibited regularly as a solo artist, including bi-annual exhibitions at Alcaston Galleries in Melbourne.

Eubena is capable of magisterial depictions of her country that feature her superb painterly touch. But she also painted just as well on a small scale, and these two works are finely painted and very appealing for a collector lacking large walls. I suspect they will be keenly sought and should sell well over the top estimate.

65. Eubena Nampitjin (circa 1924-2013) Yallipinti, near the Canning Stock Route 1998 Rockhole near Wirrimanu (Balgo), 1998 synthetic polymer paint on canvas board 35.5 x 46.0cm each synthetic polymer paint on canvas board 35.5 x 46.0cm each $1,000-$1,500 68. Elizabeth Nyumi Nungarrayi (circa 1947) Parwalla 2003 synthetic polymer paint on linen 149.0 x 99.0cm $5,000-$7,000

Elizabeth Nyumi came to prominence at Balgo in the later 1990s as an accomplished painter with a distinctive personal style in which she abstracted traditional iconography such as sitting marks, coolamons and hair skirts into a gently modulated field of shapes. The other characteristic element of her art was her emphatic use of paint, so that the large dots ran together to produce a clotted, heavily inflected paint surface.

Nyumi showed as a solo artist from about 1998 and has been a consistent and prolific artist whose works gently reflected the changing tastes in art from Balgo. This work, while not startling, is a solid example with a paint surface that is extremely strongly textured, giving it an additional level of appeal when viewed in the flesh.

Outstanding and major works by Nyumi have made solid prices at auction. This is not a large example, but it views very well and I’d recommend it to $8,000 hammer or a bid higher. 70. Pincher Talunga (circa 1937-deceased) Yuwul - Spear Designs 2003 synthetic polymer paint on linen 119.0 x 79.5cm $5,000-$7,000

Pincher Talunga was almost the only male This work shows his old man’s command artist to produce a serious body of work when of dotting, and also has the slightly untidy painting was introduced to the community ‘tribal’ feel that attracted many collectors. of Peppimenarti, south west of Darwin, His work is the opposite of neat. He follows around 2000. Up until that point weaving, his instinct and does not disguise mistakes a women’s activity, had been the dominant or imperfections, which gives the work artistic practice in Peppie, and weavers like presence and integrity – although this can be Regina Wilson quickly adapted to become read by some viewers as messiness. But for fine painters. me, it is what one looks for in Pincher’s work.

In men’s work the dot was central, mainly for Pincher has sold several paintings at auction ceremonial use. In fact the art centre was above $15,000, but I’d suggest this work named Durrma Arts, durrma being the local could be buyable at the top estimate or a bid word for dot. Pincher reflected this aspect. above. Recommended. Almost from day one he exhibited a fluency and natural touch with his dotting that really connected with collectors of non-indigenous abstraction, such as Colin Laverty. He sold quickly from Karen Brown Gallery in Darwin and William Mora in Melbourne.

The current work is an appealing example in Pincher’s second style, his first being wavering rows and lines of darker dots on a monochrome ground. But he also painted in this more traditional style to depict the designs painted by his father onto spears that he remembered from his childhood. 73. Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri (circa 1959) Untitled (Designs Associated with the Lake Site of Wilkinkarra (Lake Mackay) 2005 synthetic polymer paint on linen 183.0 x 153.0cm $12,000-$18,000

Born in the late 1950s, this artist This particular version has great is best known as a member of the tribal authority and the subtle optical small Pintubi family group that shimmer that male PTA artists strive walked out of the desert into the for in large format works. It presents Kiwirrkurra community in 1984 very well in the flesh, and although – “The last of the nomads”, read Warlimpirrnga has occasionally the headline in The Australian. painted the largest PTA size – Probably like others in that group, 182 x 244 cm – his works in the he struggled to accommodate second largest size like this one are himself and his lifestyle to western arguably his most successful. patterns, and has occasionally run foul of authorities. For me this is a very fine, major PTA painting. Current retail price would He’s been a keen painter and has be about $36,000, so the estimates worked at Tula since 1987. are very low. I suggest it could be His work is notable for its austerity, buyable at the top estimate, which rigour and lack of compromise, but would make it very good buying. he has also been able to innovate Strongly recommended. within the tradition. The current work, loosely known as a ‘keyhole’ image, uses designs associated with a site near Lake McKay in his traditional country. It was also been painted regularly by senior artist and PTA pioneer, Mick Namarari Tajpaltjarri. 74. Jackie Kurltjunyintja Giles (circa 1937-2010) Tjamu Tjamu 2006 synthetic polymer paint on linen 214.0 x 152.0cm $8,000-$12,000

Jackie Giles was a Pitjantjatjara man born in the desert near Kiwirrkurra around 1935. His early years were spent with his family living traditionally, until he was sent to Warakurna and later Warburton to the south. Later he lived between the tiny and remote NPY Lands community of Patjarr and Kiwirrkurra. In the former he painted for the local art centre Kayili Artists, and at the latter Artists. Besides being a significant artist, Jackie was a traditional healer or maparn, and travelled widely in the western desert to treat sick people. He died in 2010.

Giles painted in two or three main styles, but for me his most compelling paintings are in the style of the current work. While the design looks slightly hippie-like, it is actually based on the patterns incised into the lustrous inner faces of pearl shells, which were then rubbed with red dust that highlighted the incised areas and brought out the pattern. Originating in the northern areas of the Kimberley, pearly shells were highly prized among Aboriginal people and traded down into .

This is a superior example of the style, quite large and with definite presence when viewed in the flesh. Before Jackie died works of this scale and quality sold for $20-25,000. The current work would be good buying to $15,000. Strongly recommended. 76. Dorothy Robinson Napangardi (circa 1956-2013) Salt on Mina Mina 2001 synthetic polymer paint on linen 122.0 x 198.0cm $8,000-$12,000

Warlpiri woman Dorothy Napangardi was born in the bush at Mina Mina in the mid 1950s. One of the challenges with Dorothy’s work is finding the best. She is very prolific and She moved to around 1957, and was living there when painting began in her works can sometimes show the signs of over-production. The current work is an 1984. Her own painting began later in the 1980s. Her work quickly caught the attention example of what she can achieve when focused. It is very well modulated, with rows of collectors, and by 1999 she was painting for Rosalind Premont at Gallery Gondwana, of heavier and lighter dots across the canvas. Much of the dotting is rather larger than and exhibiting as a solo artist. Acting as agent, Gondwana sent her work out very widely, normal, so the work will read best when viewed at a distance or as a ‘sight-line’ painting. with the result that along with she became one of the most visible and Note that the work was included in Napangardi’s retrospective exhibition at the MCA recognisable Aboriginal artists. Sydney in 2002-03, which later toured to Vietnam and Malaysia. Recommended, but as the artist had strong primary market prices until her death in 2013, expect to bid close to Her signature style depicts the sandhills and salt plain of Mina Mina using rows of fine $20,000 hammer to have a chance. white dots on a black ground. Her dotting is carefully modulated, so that the lines and rows of dots create movement as the work is viewed. Later she reversed the colours, using black dots on a white ground, but white on black is by far the most common. Like Dorothy Napangardi, Kathleen Petyarre came to prominence quite early in her painting life as an outstanding talent. One of seven sisters from Utopia, including the well known artists Gloria and Ada Bird Petyarre, she left her community and lived and painted in Alice, showing as a solo artist. She was quite prolific and prices for her works rose quickly based on the high quality of the works exhibited at Alcaston Galleries.

Her most common dreaming is the Mountain Devil Lizard, which takes the form of a depiction of the site at which the dreamtime events took place. The design is typically bisected by a cross, with two other areas running diagonally from the centre to the lower right edge.

In 1996 Petyarre won the Telstra Award, but the victory was soured shortly after when Raymond Beamish, her non-indigenous ex-part- ner, made allegations that he had worked on a lot of her paintings, including the winner. This lead to her market becoming unsettled for several years, but the situation was worked through and it is not unusual to see her partner credited in museum labels for his work on some of her paintings. People are now also more accepting of the fact that collaboration, whether declared or not, is quite common among Aboriginal artists, nearly always limited to immediate family.

The current work has a Delmore provenance. It is extremely well painted, with Petyarre’s trademark fine dotting in waves. It is one of the best examples I have seen for some time. Given recent prices it should be buyable mid to high estimates. Strongly recommended.

77. Kathleen Petyarre (born circa 1940) Mountain Devil Lizard Dreaming 1998 synthetic polymer paint on linen 151.0 x 151.0cm $12,000-$18,000 78. Dorothy Robinson Napangardi (circa 1956-2013) Salt on Mina Mina – Karntakurlangu Jukurrpa 2001 synthetic polymer paint on linen 168.0 x 244.0cm $15,000-$20,000

Before she began painting Mina Mina in lines of white dots in a black ground, Napangardi styles, but for one-off collectors, the decision is whether to choose this style or that of the used a different style. It was still based on a linear framework, but the dots were infill in previous work, lot 76. I prefer the previous, later style, but she did important work in both the spaces between the line work. Most commonly she used white dots on black, but styles, and both were generously represented in her MCA retrospective. I’d suggest the she also employed a dark yellow ochre to modulate the surface, which could be read as current work should be buyable at low to mid estimates. Recommended. a ground painting or landscape.

The current work is a large scale and high quality example of Napangardi’s work in this earlier style. It was included in the MCA retrospective in 2002-03 and has been exhibited several times in Europe. Serious collectors of Napangardi’s work usually collect both her 79. Ngoia Pollard Napaltjarri (circa 1948) Swamps around Nyrippi 2003 synthetic polymer paint on linen 121.0 x 208.0cm $10,000-$15,000

Born c 1948, Ngoia Pollard Napaltjarri was a Warlpiri woman who began painting in seen again after some time, her work is still distinctive, representing a different vision 1997 and won the Painting Award at the 2006 Telstra Awards in Darwin, with a painting of her country. Her works do not come to auction often, but there is demand and her very similar to the work on offer. This lead to a burst of popularity for her work, with its highest prices are $36,000, $15,000 and $13,000, This is a really lovely work and offers distinctive iconography of rows and rows of waterholes, depicted in a subtle palette of a collector the chance to represent an artist no longer well known, but likely to surprise creams, dark reds and dark greens. She painted for the Watiawanu Art Centre at Mt viewers for its vision and quality. I’d recommend the work to the high estimate, but would Liebig, a fellow artist with the better known Bill Whiskey, who painted briefly between be hopeful of getting it more cheaply. 2006-2008, but made a strong impact.

Ngoia had about five years of good painting, but disappeared from view in the later part of the last decade. She is represented in the National Gallery of Australia. For me, 97.Queenie McKenzie (circa 1930-1998) Texas Downs 1995 natural earth pigments on canvas 150.0 x 120.0cm $8,000-$12,000

I have frequently recommended Queenie’s works in recent sales, although there has been little response. She’s a major figure in the art of the East Kimberely, a Gija woman who worked at Warmun and knew Rover Thomas well from their time working together on mustering cattle, where Rover was a gun horseman and Queenie the camp cook.

Her works depict her country around Purnalulu, the Bungle Bungles, although in this case she has painted Texas Downs, the site of a massacre in the early days of white settlement. I do not know the exact story of the work, but can confirm that it dates from the period of her early prominence as an artist, when her work was still quite fresh. For Queenie it is a major painting in size and the spread of country depicted.

Given that Queenie’s work is in every state art museum and the NGA, she has an uneven record in the auction market. It is true that her work is not as easy on the eye as some Kimberley art, but she has an important place in Australian art history, both for her art and for the troubled history of black/ white relations it often references. The estimates are low and it is likely to be buyable within them. 105. Mulgra (Mawukura) Jimmy Nerrimah (circa 1930) Kurrjalpartu 2000 synthetic polymer paint on canvas 148.0 x 76.0cm $4,000-$7,000

Mulgru Jimmy Nerimah painted for Mangkaja Arts Resource Agency, an art centre in the town of Fitzroy Crossing, in the west Kimberley. People from four different tribal groupings paint at Mangkaja, covering both the desert tribes to the south, down to the Canning Stock Route, and Kimberley people on whose land the art centre stands. As a result work in a wide range of styles is produced at Mangkaja, and it tends to throw up unusual one-off figures, like Jimmy Pike, David Downs and Butcher Cherel.

Jimmy Nerrimah’s work was often exhibited at Artplace Gallery in Perth, where he gained a strong following for his depictions of waterholes and sites using segmented spaces to represent key sites. He also exhibited as a solo artist in Sydney and Melbourne. While never achieving great heights, his work is striking and different, and he can be an interesting figure in a collection of better known names.

This is a solid example and should not get much above the low estimate, making it quite good buying. 110.Jean Baptiste This carving is a nice example Apuatimi (1940-2013) of earlier Tiwi sculpture by Minga 1999 a well known artist. It is natural earth pigments on quite well preserved and canvas has some scale. The Mary 197.0 x 119.0cm Macha provenance cited is $5,000-$8,000 significant, as Mary virtually began the exhibition and sale of Aboriginal art in Perth in the 1970s, and was later the first and most significant agent for Rover Thomas.

The painting, by the same artist, is from almost 20 years earlier. To me works like this are at the heart of Tiwi art. This work deploys the same cross hatching as does Jean Baptiste, and a similar use of circular iconography as do contemporary and younger DAVID ASPDEN 1969- 113. Paddy Henry Tiwi artists like Timothy Cook 1970 (Teeampi) Ripijingimpi and Conrad Tipungwuti. This Shades 1969-1970 (circa 1925-1999) work is related to paintings synthetic polymer paint Tiwi Totem Carving 1979 by Deaf Tommy Munkatopi on canvas natural earth pigments on I recommended recently, 232.3 x 146.8 cm carved wood but is estimated at a fraction $30,000 - $40,000 height: 113.0cm of the price. A nice object, $5,000-$7,000 recommended to mid- estimates.

These three works are by artists from the Tiwi Islands, one of the strongest art producing areas in northern Australia. Jean Baptiste Apuatimi was married to the celebrated Tiwi sculptor Declan Apuatimi, with whom she painted, learnt and had 11 children. After his death in 1985 she pursued a solo career and her large ochre on canvas paintings, using Tiwi cross hatching patterns as abstract elements, are some of the strongest large scale paintings to come out of the Tiwi art tradition. She won the Painting Award in the Telstra Awards in 2008, after which her prices lifted sharply. Since her death in 2013 her market is more tentative, but I expect a major painting such as this one to create some interest and it will probably exceed estimates. Recommended to $10,000. 114. Gertie Huddleston (circa 1933) Roper Run 1996 synthetic polymer paint on canvas 209.0 x 122.0cm $5,000-$7,000

Gertie Huddlestone hails from the community of Gertie was a relatively late arrival on the painting Ngukkur, on the banks of the Roper River in south scene at Ngukkur. Painting began there in the eastern Arnhem Land, the site of a Christian late 1980s and the art centre was not started until mission in the mid 2oth century. Aesthetically 1995. Gertie was best known in the late 1990s for it’s a community that straddles two regions – her lush and verdant tropical landscapes of the the bark painting communities to the north such country around Ngukkur, often interspersed with as Yirrkala, and the desert communities to the scenes of mission life. Heavily patterned and south and east. As a result many of the better full of fine detail, it is very appealing work and known artists are famous for their idiosyncratic has always been popular. She won the Painting take on stylistics. For example Ginger Riley, Award at the Telstra Awards in 1999, and it is her one of Australia’s best loved Aboriginal artists, 1990s work which has stood up best. painted in a figurative style and bright colours to depict the four arches and eagles that marked Her work has wide appeal and a major but his territory. Willie Gudapi and his wife Moima slightly smaller example sold from the second Willie segmented their canvases into discrete Laverty auction earlier this year for $21,000 rectangles that stood for specific geographic against estimates of $6-8,000. The current work areas, and in each one painted the teeming plant is its equal, but hopefully it will be buyable for and animal life that existing in that area. Djambu a little less, given that Thomas Vroom is not Burra Burra used ruark (cross-hatching) from Colin and Liz Laverty! Strongly recommended bark painting, but filled his canvases with a range to $15,000 hammer. A lovely painting for a of figures not often seen in barks. children’s bedroom. One nice thing about the Vroom sale is revisit- ing the work of artists who made a big splash at the time they first appeared, and when Vroom bought them, but have disappeared somewhat from public view in the intervening years. It is fascinating to see how well a lot of their works hold up after a decade or more.

Born in 1937, Angelina George is the sister of Gertie Huddleston, and like her grew up at Ngukkur with strong connections to her country. She is the mother of well known Aboriginal actor Tommy Lewis, star of The chant of Jimmy Black- smith.

Angelina began painting for the art centre but was soon noticed by Karen Brown, who began to show her as a solo artist. Her work is radically different from much art made by tribal Aboriginal people, which uses traditional iconography to convey parts of dreamtime stories and associated sites. George focuses on the sites, but works in a western realist style with a distinctive swirling brushwork to convey the jumbled hill country near Ngukkur. In 2007 she won the Painting Award at the Telstra Awards.

The current painting is typical of George’s work. It is a wide, expansive view of an Arnhem Land landscape in the dry season, with distant hills and a river landscape with fringing gum trees in the foreground. Works of this size sold between $25-30,000 a decade ago. More recently, in 2012 two good examples sold at auction in Bris- bane for $17,000 each. In the current market a hammer price of $10-12,000 would have a good chance of buying the work.

Angelina George (born 1937) My Imagined Country Series – Dry season 2006 synthetic polymer paint on canvas 160.0 x 200.0cm $6,000-$8,000 121. Emily Kam Kngawarray (circa 1916-1996) Abundant Country 1991 synthetic polymer paint on linen 152.0 x 121.0cm $20,000-$30,000

This is the final of three paintings by Emily from 1991. It has the period’s characteristic smaller dotting, over-dotting and sophisticated layering of skeins of dots to create a pixilated surface and a strong sense of movement.

I like this painting but to me it is no better than the tondo and the other 1991 painting. As it is larger than these works, the estimates are higher. Given results in the second Laverty sale and the Boxer sale, the work should reach the high estimate or a little above. 122. Emily Kam Kngawarray (circa 1916-1996) Merne Everything IV, 1993 synthetic polymer paint on canvas 210.5 x 121.5cm $80,000-$120,000

This is the major work among the Vroom Emilys. Not only is it the largest work, but it’s part of a significant series and it was reproduced in the first book on the artist, written by Aboriginal art authority Jennifer Isaacs and published in 1998.

I have generally not liked works in this style. The placement of the final layering of dots over the earlier dots often feels provisional and lacks Emily’s normal gracefulness. But it is a major work and I doubt many potential buyers will be as picky as me. While it may not make $80,000, I’d expect it to sell a bid or two below – although obviously I could be completely wrong. Born c 1943, Pulpurru Davies is a significant but little known artist who was one of the founding figures of the painting movement at the War- burton Art Project, which began in 1991. Along with kinswomen Tjaparti Bates and Ngipi Ward, she painted large canvases that depict- ed many of the central dreamings and songlines of the western de- sert. More culture than art, these works - though little known today - are one of the greatest reposito- ries of traditional Aboriginal culture.

Because Warburton never had an art centre as such, ie, to produce works for sale, many of the artists travelled to nearby communities where they could visit family and paint for money. The two com- munities most often visited were Warakurna and Patjarr. This work was painted for Kayili Artists at Patjarr in 2006. It is an expansive dreaming landscape reminiscent of early Warburton paintings or the large canvases of the Spinifex people, who were inspired to paint by the example of Warburton.

An important and accomplished painting, the estimates are almost an insult. But given the artist has little auction history, and the vendor wants to sell, so be it. It should be worth at least $10,000 but it is likely 130. Pulpurru Davies (circa 1943) to be buyable within estimates or a Untitled 2006 bid above. Strongly recommended. synthetic polymer paint on linen 214.0 x 152.0cm $4,000-$6,000 132. Djinu Tjimari (circa 1901-deceased) Untitled (Ceremonial figure) c.1968 natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark 94.0 x 31.0cm $2,000-$3,000

I do not know this artist, but this bark makes me smile for the character the artist has given to his figure, painted up for cere- mony and flanked by a tree. Considering the white clay ground, it may have been painted in the Kimberley. Collected by Dor- othy Bennett, it is very cheaply estimated. To me this would be quite a special object to live with. Recommended to $4,000.

David Malangi was a leading bark painter from the 1960s-90s whose figures appeared on the one dollar bill when decimal cur- rency was introduced to Australia in 1966. He featured prominently in the recent exhibition Old Masters, at the National Museum of Australia, which recalibrated the hierarchy of bark painting in the 20th century. The current work is a really appealing bark that was collected by Dorothy Bennett and later appeared in the NGA’s Da- vid Malangi retrospective in 2004. For a collector wanting a single work by Malangi in a larger collection of barks, this would be a good choice. Recommended and probably buyable within estimates.

136. David Daymirringu Malangi (1927-1999) Gurrmirringu, The Mighty Hunter c.1964 natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark 87.0 x 56.5cm $6,000-$8,000 Mick Kubarkku is a very well respected bark paint- er who died in 2008. His work is often seen at auction and due to his striking compositions and stark, angular figures, he seems to have success- fully crossed from the tribal art market to reach a broader market of contemporary art collectors.

The current work is a better than average exam- ple in good condition. It would be good buying at the low estimate.

As noted earlier, Yirawala is one of the most sig- nificant 20th century bark painters, strongly col- lected by the NGA and with continuing high pric- es at auction. The two mimihs in this work are charmingly composed and as usual with Yirawa- la, very nicely painted. I am tempted by the esti- mates of $7-10,000, but recent experience leads me to think it will require a bid of at least $15,000 hammer to have a chance. Recommended.

172. Mick Kubarkku (circa 1925-2008) 180. Yirawala (circa 1897-1976) Female Namarrkon Mimihs natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark 81.0 x 46.0cm 86.0 x 43.0cm $4,000-$6,000 $7,000-$10,000 197. Naata Nungurrayi (circa 1932) Untitled (Designs Associated with the Rockhole Site of Karrilwarra) 2000 synthetic polymer paint on linen 152.0 x 121.5cm $8,000-12,000

198. George Ward Tjun- gurrayi (born circa 1940) Untitled [Designs Associat- ed with Kaakuratintja (Lake MacDonald)] 2004 synthetic polymer paint on linen 136.0 x 122.0cm $2,000-$3,000

Along with , Naata Nungurrayi is the most significant woman George Ward Tjungurrayi is a leading and senior artist at PTA. He shows as a solo artist to have painted for Papunya Tula. She paints three or four major dreamings artist and won the Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW some years ago. This and moves between relatively simple depictions of them, as in the current work, to work is typical of his style in that period, using the cave motif employed earlier by images of surprising complexity and sophistication. This is a good work without be- Anatjari Jakamarra, but riffing on it like a jazz musician. While this is by no means a ing as complex as some. But it should be appealing to live with, and viewed in the major work, at $2-3,000 it seems like an opportunity to buy a pretty decent painting flesh the dotting shows the delicacy of touch that collectors look for in Naata’s work. by a key artist at a giveaway price. Purchased from PTA it would be $12-14,000.

The estimates are low-ish, but this late in the sale I think it should be possible to secure the work at the top estimate or a bid above. 206. Polly Nelson Ngale (circa 1936) Flowers of My Country 2003 synthetic polymer paint on linen 155.0 x 155.0cm $3,000-$5,000

Polly Ngale is one of the oldest remaining members of the group of women which learnt how to put designs onto silk via the batik process in 1976 at the community of Utopia, on the cattle station of the same name. After over a decade of batik production, the artists were en- couraged to begin painting in acrylic on canvas in 1987, and shortly after a new school of painting was born. Key artists included Emily Kngwarreye, and Gloria and Ada Bird Petyarre.

Batiks were still made intermittently until around 2000, but it was such a labour-intensive artform, and the mon- etary returns so small, that most artists preferred dot painting.

Polly Ngale was a gifted batik artist and as a painter showed equal facility in her expansive, finely dotted de- pictions of her country. Works like hers by a range of Utopia artists have been unfairly disparaged over the years as ‘sub-Emily’ and ‘field of dots’ works, and it is true that several artist continue to paint in the style, for example Angelina Pwerle and Gladdie Kemarre. Howev- er, it is a valid form of art and in the hands of an artist like Polly, the results can be quite spectacular.

This work impresses when viewed and at $3-5,000 is very cheaply estimated. Recommended to the top esti- mate or a bid above. A very appealing painting. 213. Emily Kam Kngawarray 214. Emily Kam Kngawarray (circa 1916-1996) 215. Emily Kam Kngawarray (circa 1916-1996) Alalgura Country 1994 (circa 1916-1996) Anooralya Yam 1996 synthetic polymer paint on linen Merne Atherrke 1995 152.0 x 91.0cm 121.0 x 91.0cm synthetic polymer paint on linen synthetic polymer paint on linen $8,000-$12,000 151.0 x 121.0cm 155.0 x 155.0cm $8,000-$12,000 $8,000-$12,000

It appears that Thoma Vroom bought most of a single exhibition of Emily, ranging from some larger works to many smaller examples. These three works are my pick of the less spectacular and hopefully cheaper paintings. Note that they are not particularly small – lot 215 is 151 x 121 cm. But positioned at the very end of the catalogue, after 25 Emilys have already been offered, I do expect them to sell more cheaply. For those of you wanting a bargain Emily, I’d focus on these three works and hope to get them within estimates.