Lin Onus Australia (Aboriginal), 1948-96
Past Sales
Sales by Medium
Where to buy or sell art works by Lin Onus
Auction Houses
About Lin Onus
A self taught Aboriginal painter, Lin Onus was born in Melbourne in 1948. He worked as a graphic artist, and after visiting the Maningrida area of the Northern Territory in the early 1980s, began to incorporate imagery from his Aboriginal links into his paintings. Onus became a member of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board of the Australia Council from 1986, and was its Chairman from 1988 to 1992. Known for his paintings and sculpture, Onus has won several awards for his work. He died suddenly in 1996.
We have records of art auction sales by Lin Onus from 1990 and in total 364 works by the artist have been offered for sale, of which 268 (74%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $793,000 for Fish, Ferns and Rocks (1995) sold by Sotheby's in May 2018. This year 6 works have been offered for sale. Works by Lin Onus are held by the National Gallery of Australia, Queensland Art Gallery and a further five major public national galleries (see list below).
Lin Onus is listed in the following standard biographical references:
- McCulloch, Alan McCulloch, Susan McCulloch, Emily McCulloch-Childs. The New McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art. 4th Edition, Aus Art Melbourne & The Miegunyah Press, 2006. Page 127
- Germaine, Max. Artists and Galleries of Australia, Volumes 1 & 2, Third Edition. Craftsman Press, Sydney, 1990. Page 522
- Dictionary of Australian Artists Online, an online resource for biographical data about Australian artists, designers, craftspeople and curators.
- Australian Prints + Printmaking, a database listing printmaking artists from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region based on the print collection of the National Gallery of Australia.
- Lin Onus is classified as one of the top Australian Indigenous artists by leading Aboriginal fine art gallery, Cooee Gallery, Sydney.
Artists' Resale Royalty
Could the second and subsequent works by this artist sold after June 9, 2010 for over $1,000 be liable for the Artists' Resale Royalty? More info…
Yes, eligible, subject to the artist satisfying the residency test. The artist is alive or has been deceased for less than 70 years. Contact the Copyright Agency for information on the residency test.
The Australian Art Sales Digest is a database of over 610,000 works by more than 12,000 artists who are listed as having either lived or worked in Australia or New Zealand, and an additional 36,000 foreign and other artists, offered for sale by auction in Australia and New Zealand from the early 1970s to the present day.
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