The First-Ever Auction of Contemporary Aboriginal Art in New York Soars Past Expectations to Bring in $2.8 Million

by admin

Dec 16, 2019

artnet

Just five months after Gagosian Gallery held a groundbreaking
exhibition of contemporary Indigenous Australian painting, the
auction houses are following suit. On Friday, Sotheby’s held the
first New York auction of Aboriginal contemporary art—and the
response from collectors was even stronger than expected.

The sale totaled $2.8 million, above the high estimate of $2.7
million. Of the 33 lots offered, 29 of them, or 88 percent,
found buyers. Eight new artist auction records were set in what is
a largely untested sector of the international art market.

The results marked “a watershed moment for Aboriginal art, and
an incredible introduction to auctions of Aboriginal art of this
scale in the United States,” said Timothy Klingender, Sotheby’s
senior consultant for Australian art, in a statement.

Gordon Bennett, <i>Self Portrait (But I Always Wanted to Be One of the Good Guys) </i>(1990). Image courtesy of Sotheby's.

Gordon Bennett, Self Portrait (But I
Always Wanted to Be One of the Good Guys) (1990). Image
courtesy of Sotheby’s.

Typically, Aboriginal art sales are held in Europe and Australia
at specialist auction houses. “To showcase these extraordinary
works of art in Sotheby’s New York galleries was a significant
statement of the value of these artists on the international
market, and the response was very enthusiastic,” Klingender
added.

The top lot was a work by Emily Kame Kngwarreye, one of the most
recognized names in the category, whose Summer
Celebration (1991), which was estimated at $300,000 to
$400,000, sold for $596,000 with premium. The next priciest work
was Gordon Bennett’s Self-portrait (But I always wanted to be
one of the good guys) (1990), which sold for $437,500,
setting a new record for the artist.

Ronnie Tjampitjinpa, <i>Tingari Ceremonies at the Site of Pintjun</i> (1989). Image courtesy of Sotheby's.

Ronnie Tjampitjinpa, Tingari
Ceremonies at the Site of Pintjun (1989). Image courtesy of
Sotheby’s.

Other top lots included Tingari Ceremonies at the Site of
Pintjun by Ronnie Tjampitjinpa, which sold for a record
$243,750, and Yunpalara (Lake Blair), made by a
community known as Kayili Artists, which sold for
$162,500.

Klingender said bidding activity came from all over the world,
“with a large concentration of new bidders from the US and Europe,
further indicating the appeal of Aboriginal art to a growing
international audience.”

The post The First-Ever Auction of Contemporary Aboriginal
Art in New York Soars Past Expectations to Bring in $2.8
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