A standout among the paintings included in Theodore Bruce Auctioneers & Valuers Fine Aboriginal Art sale in Sydney on 23 April 2024 is the monumental Tingari 2018 (Lot 9042 ) by Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri, measuring 208 x 293 cm. A favourite amongst international collectors since his first solo show in New York in 2015, Tjapaltjarri’s striking canvases illustrate the dreamtime in designs reminiscent of aerial topography, with Tingari the story of ancestral men’s travels across the landscape.
Among the 110 lots on offer are works by major Indigenous painters including Jack Britten, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Dorothy Napangardi, Judy Watson Napangardi, Nyurapayia (Mrs Bennett) Nampitjinpa and Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri, plus objects from the collection of Robert Edwards, the former Head Anthropologist at the South Australian Museum.
There are some outstanding artefacts in the Robert Edwards Collection, including an Exceptionally Finely Crafted Early Lil-Lil Fishing Club (Lot 9053) and an Early South-Eastern Australia Parrying Shield (Lot 9058), a narrow shield designed for hand-to-hand combat and crafted from elaborately incised hardwood.
Among the paintings, standouts include Rover Thomas’ Rainbow Serpent (Lot 9069 ), and the monumental Tingari (Lot 9042 ) by Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri. A favourite amongst international collectors since his first solo show in New York in 2015, Tjapaltjarri’s striking canvases illustrate the dreamtime in designs reminiscent of aerial topography, with Tingari the story of ancestral men’s travels across the landscape.
Collectors may be interested in a 1994 work by Emily Kngwarreye, whose major exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia closes this week. A Ceremonial Expression (Lot 9065 ) depicts the plants and seeds used by the women of Alhalkere (Utopia) to make food and medicine, in a teal and pink abstract rendered with Kngwarreye’s signature broad brushstroke.
For new collectors, there’s a fine selection of lower estimate works, including the stunning Salt on Mina Mina (Lot 9002 ) by Dorothy Napangardi, Lily Karadada’s pigment work, Wandjina (Lot 9032 ) and My Country (Lot 9082 ), one of three works in the auction by Kudditji Kngwarreye that is typical of his arresting colour-field aesthetic.
