Yirawala Australia (Aboriginal), 1903-76
Past Sales
Sales by Medium
Where to buy or sell art works by aka Billy / David Yirawala Yirawala
Auction Houses
About aka Billy / David Yirawala Yirawala
Yirawala is popularly known by a single name although he was often referred to as Billy Yirawala and occasionally for a period as David Yirawala. Missionaries felt the need to confer Christian names on people. So Yirawala was called Billy but it is likely to have been changed when another person in the clan called Billy died. As is custom the names of the recently deceased are not spoken, hence the change.
The total number of works by Yirawala offered for sale by auction since 1986 is 190, of which 122 (64%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $64,800 for Kundaagi - Red Plains Kangaroo 1962 sold by Sotheby's in November 2010. No works have been offered for sale this year, and the last sale we have recorded for the artist was in 2022. Works by Yirawala are held by the National Gallery of Australia, Museum of Contemporary Art and a further three major public national galleries (see list below).
aka Billy / David Yirawala Yirawala is listed in the following standard biographical references:
- 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.
- aka Billy / David Yirawala Yirawala 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.
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