Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri’s most valuable and iconic painting, Warlugulong 1977, (lot 114, estimate £755,000-1,050,000) will be exhibited in London, 23-26 June, prior to auction with Sotheby’s in Australia. This painting is set to break Clifford Possum’s current record of £170,000 for Man’s Love Story 1993-1994, set by Sotheby’s in 2005, and to break the record for the most expensive work of Aboriginal art sold at auction: £438,000 for Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s Earth Creation.Born in Anmatyerre lands in a dried-up creek bed, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri became the most famous Aboriginal artist of his generation, he received the Order of Australia and was a guest of the Queen of England visiting Buckingham Palace (famously in morning suit and painted sand shoes). A major mid career survey of his paintings was exhibited at London’s Institute of Contemporary Art in 1998.
Clifford Possum’s iconic Warlugulong 1977 is considered by many to be the most significant Western Desert or ‘dot’ painting in a private collection. In this monumental, powerful and profound painting the artist successfully illustrates the complex webbing of powerful sacred stories that weave their way throughout his country. Possum uses inventive conceptual ideas and techniques which successfully invite the viewer into an indigenous way of conceptualising Australia. The sale will provide an opportunity for a leading museum or major private collection to secure what is arguably one of the most important Australian paintings of the 20th century.
Also included in this travelling exhibition is Tommy Lowry Tjapaltjarri’s most acclaimed work, Two Men Dreaming at Kuluntjarranya, 1984, (lot 51, estimate: £167,000 -251,000). Featured in two of the fields most respected exhibitions: Dreamings, The Art of Aboriginal Australia, at the Asia Society Galleries, New York; and Papunya Tula: Genesis and Genius, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, it is considered by collectors to be one of the most aesthetically beautiful and exceptional paintings of the movement. more…
