Emily Kame Kngwarreye (Emily Kam Kngwarray)
1909 - 1996
Also known as: Kngarreye, Ngwaria, Emily Kame Kngwarraye
Community: Utopia, Soakage Bore
Outstation: Alhalkere
Language: Anmatyerre
Art Centre: Utopia Arts and Batik
Emily Kame Kngwarreye (Emily Kam Kngwarray), born around 1910 at Soakage Bore (Alhalkere), on the northwest edge of Utopia, had a brief yet prolific career, producing an impressive body of work over just eight years. By the time she passed away on September 2, 1996, she had become one of Australia’s most well-known artists, leaving a legacy that continues to shape Indigenous art today.
Emily Kame Kngwarreye, often referred to simply as ‘EMILY,’ had recently her name adjusted to Emily Kam Kngwarray ahead of the National Gallery of Australia’s 2023 retrospective. This contentious new spelling, described as aligning with “the most up-to-date conventions” will also feature in the artist’s solo retrospective at the Tate Modern in London, scheduled for July 2025.
PROFILE
Emily Kame Kngwarreye (Emily Kam Kngwarray)
1909 - 1996
Community: Utopia, Soakage Bore
Outstation: Alhalkere
Language: Anmatyerre
Art Centre: Utopia Arts and Batik
Emily Kame Kngwarreye (Emily Kam Kngwarray), born around 1910 at Soakage Bore (Alhalkere), on the northwest edge of Utopia, had a brief yet prolific career, producing an impressive body of work over just eight years. By the time she passed away on September 2, 1996, she had become one of Australia’s most well-known artists, leaving a legacy that continues to shape Indigenous art today. Emily Kame Kngwarreye, often referred to simply as ‘EMILY,’ had recently her name adjusted to Emily Kam Kngwarray ahead of the National Gallery of Australia’s 2023 retrospective. This contentious new spelling, described as aligning with “the most up-to-date conventions” will also feature in the artist’s solo retrospective at the Tate Modern in London, scheduled for July 2025.
Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s blockbuster exhibition in Tokyo in 2008 cemented her status as one of the great painters of our time. She emerged as an artistic phenomenon, becoming the continent’s highest-paid female artist and leaving a profound legacy in contemporary art. Her approach was marked by an unrestrained and fearless use of colour and movement, capturing the raw essence of her vision in a manner that was both bold and intuitive. Kngwarreye’s paintings, created in intense, uninterrupted sessions, mirrored the physical strength and independent spirit honed from her earlier years working with camels and labouring. She would crouch over her canvases, drawing long, meandering lines and energetically dotting fields with her powerful hands, blending unexpected colours into luminous, layered compositions. Her decisiveness was legendary - she often completed her paintings without a backward glance, confident in their meaning and impact. Rooted deeply in her Anmatyerre heritage, Kngwarreye’s work was an extension of Anmatyerre cultural practices, and the traditional connection to Country. Her paintings, vibrant and charged with the rhythmic energy of the changing seasons, reflected the dramatic shifts in the life of the country. Paintings produced in summer were often charged with bright colour and energy, reflecting the heightened anticipation of rain and the dramatic flowering of the desert. Margo Neale, in the catalogue for Emily Kngwarreye’s 1998 retrospective, captured this perfectly, noting, “few artists have painted the country like she has, with an ability to penetrate its very soul.”
Emily Kame Kngwarreye first encountered white people as a young girl of about nine. An adopted daughter of Jacob Jones, an important law man in the Alyawarre community, she spent her early years working as a camel driver and stock hand on pastoral properties—uncommon roles for girls at the time. Following two marriages, she returned to her family station at Soakage Bore, one of 14 small encampments scattered across Utopia’s 1,800 square kilometres. Kngwarreye 's initial artistic expressions involved creating bold, fluid designs on the greased black skin of her country women during ceremonial rites. Her venture into formal art began in 1977 when she started experimenting with batiks, marking the start of her journey into contemporary art. In 1980, Alice Springs hosted the inaugural exhibition of Utopia Batiks, marking a significant moment for Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s emerging artistic career. During this period, Don Holt, owner of Delmore Station, acquired some of Kngwarreye’s early batik silks and met key figures in the art world, including craft coordinators Jenny Green and Julia Murray. It was not until 1987, however, that Kngwarreye transitioned to painting on canvas, producing her first work for Rodney Gooch of the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA). A pivotal encounter between Christopher Hodges and a CAAMA representative in Sydney led to the establishment of Utopia Art Sydney in early 1989, fostering a lasting connection with the artists of the region. CAAMA’s ‘Summer Project 1988/9’ yielded 81 artworks, including pieces by Kngwarreye, which were catalogued and exhibited at the SH Ervin Gallery in Sydney. This exposure triggered a surge in interest, with CAAMA generating over $1 million in sales for Utopia artists in the subsequent year.
Kngwarreye quickly found that acrylic on canvas better suited her style compared to the intricate process of batik. Janet Holt, formerly the art coordinator and manager for Papunya Tula Artists, responded to requests from Utopia women for art supplies, leading to Emily's first commissioned work for the Holts. Kngwarreye’s early canvas style featured prominent linear tracings inspired by Kame (yam) and animal tracks, with fine dotting partially obscuring symbolic elements. These works were showcased in two successful Sydney exhibitions in 1990, including the Abstraction show at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
By the mid-1990s, Emily had honed a style known as "dump dump" works, characterized by the use of larger brushes. A convenient assumption might be that she adopted this style due to market demand. However, this overlooks her genius. With prodigious energy, Emily created wildly colourful canvases by double-dipping brushes into pots of layered paint, producing floral impressions with variegated outlines.Despite her age, Emily's physicality was evident in her painting process. Often using a brush in each hand, she simultaneously pounded them onto the canvas, spreading the bristles and leaving coagulating paint around the brush neck to create depth and form. The runnels of dotted colour across the surfaces of her more abstract works became more formally arranged in parallel lines. Although she began creating "line" paintings as early as 1993, she worked more intensely in this style during the last two years of her life. Solid lines of colour, stark and unadorned, often painted on multiple panels, represented the body markings created during the ceremonial origins of her artistic practice. Formal compositions of parallel lines eventually gave way to the meandering paths traced by pencil yam roots through the desert sands. One of the most important works in this style is the monumental "Big Yam Dreaming" (1995), donated by Don and Janet Holt to the National Gallery of Victoria. Painted entirely in white on a black ground, it has been described as the "perfect bridge between Aboriginal art and contemporary international art" (Yaman, 1995). While her preoccupation was with both the life cycle of the yam and the women’s ceremonies celebrating its importance, Emily painted many interrelated themes using these subjects to illustrate her country as a whole. In an interview with Rodney Gooch, translated by Kathleen Petyarre, Knwarreye described her subject as “Whole lot, that’s all, whole lot, awelye, arlatyeye, ankerrthe, ntange, dingo, ankerre, intekwe, anthwerle and kame. That’s what I paint: whole lot. My Dreaming, pencil yam, mountain devil lizard, grass seed, dingo, emu, small plant emu food, green bean and yam seed.”
In 1996, the last year of her life, influenced by Allan Glaester's efforts to encourage Central and Eastern desert painters to use natural earth pigments, Emily produced a body of work in ochres depicting Pencil Yams (Arlatyey) and their flowers. An exhibition of these works was held at Lauraine Diggins Fine Art in Melbourne the same year. Despite her international acclaim, she lived frugally, sleeping under the stars and giving away or spending money as it came in. Indifferent to wealth and fame, she was largely unaware of the international modernist masters to whom her work was often compared. In her “Final Series”, created just weeks before her death in 1996, Kngwarreye’s produced simple, stark colour-field paintings with large flat brushes.
A year after her death, Emily Kngwarreye’s works represented Australia at the Venice Biennale and became the subject of a touring retrospective exhibition by Margo Neale for the Queensland Art Gallery. The show featured a selection of works painted shortly before her death, with broadly brushed areas of luminous, almost fluorescent colours, unlike anything previously created by a First Nations painter. One of these works, Untitled (Alhalkere) with its milky-white surface, seemed a premonition of her death. This work later illustrated the cover of the Japanese catalogue for her second major retrospective held in Osaka, Tokyo, and Canberra in 2008.
Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s legacy continues to thrive with major solo exhibitions showcasing her extraordinary work. In 2023, the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra hosted a comprehensive exhibition that drew significant attention, reaffirming her position as one of the nation's most important artists. This followed the 2009 exhibition Emily Kame Kngwarreye: The Person and her Paintings at DACOU in Melbourne, which provided an intimate exploration of her life and artistic practice. Looking ahead, anticipation is building for her upcoming show at Tate Modern in London, a landmark event that will bring her work to an even wider international audience, further solidifying her global standing.
If any single artist could be said to be the standard-bearer for contemporary Indigenous painting, Emily Kngwarreye must surely be the one. At their best, her paintings place her in the highest league of international artists of her time. Her prodigious output of thousands of works stands as a testament to her deep connection to the land and her cultural heritage. Her success not only transformed the First Nations art market but also cemented her place as a pioneer of contemporary Indigenous painting. Celebrated for their intensity and spontaneity, her paintings continue to captivate and inspire, ensuring her place in the highest echelons of the international art world.
ARTIST CV
Selected Collections
Aboriginal Art Museum, The Netherlands.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, Canberra.
Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs.
Artbank, Sydney.
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.
Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth.
Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand.
Benalla Art Gallery, Benalla, Victoria.
Coventry Collection, Sydney.
Donald Kahn collection, Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami.
Gabrielle Pizzi Collection, Melbourne.
Museum of Victoria, Melbourne.
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane.
The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth.
The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, U.S.A.
University of New South Wales, Sydney.
University of Sydney Union, Sydney.
Selected Solo Exhibition:
2023 - Emily Kam Kngwarray, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
2009 - Emily Kame Kngwarreye: The Person and her Paintings, DACOU, Melbourne.
2008 - Utopia - The Genius of Emily Kngwarreye, at the National Art Centre in Tokyo, Japan, curated by the National Museum of Australia; Emily Kngwarreye and her Legacy, curated by Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery (Sydney) at the Art Front Gallery, Hillside Terrace, Shibuya, Tokyo.
2006 - Emily Kame Kngwarreye: Ten Years On, Utopia Art Sydney, Sydney.
1997 - National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Vic
1995 - Utopia Art Sydney, Stanmore, NSW; William Mora Gallery, Melbourne; Delmore Collection, Mary Place Gallery, Sydney, NSW.
1994, Emily Kame Kngwarreye: New Directions, Utopia Art Sydney, Stanmore; Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Utopia, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London.
1993, Hogarth Gallery, Sydney; 1993, The Alkalhere Suite, Utopia Art Sydney, Stanmore; 1993, Recent Paintings by Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne.
1992, Alkalhere, Utopia Art Sydney, Stanmore; 1992, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne.
1991, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Hogarth Gallery, Sydney; 1991, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Utopia Art Sydney, Stanmore; 1991, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne.
1990, First Solo Exhibition, Utopia Art Sydney, Stanmore; 1990, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne; 1990, Coventry Gallery, Sydney.
Selected Group Exhibitions
2016 - Cooee Art at Australian Galleries, featuring Albert Namatjira, Alma Webou, Bill Whisky Tjapaltjarri, Daniel Walbidi, Djirrirra Wunungmurra, Dorothy Napangardi, Elizabeth Nyumi, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Emily Kngwarreye, Freddie Timms, George Hairbrush Tjungurrayi, Gloria Petyarre, Jan Billycan, John Mawurndjul , Johnny Warangkula, Kathleen Petyarre, Makinti Napanangka, Milliga Napaltjarri, Minnie Pwerle, Naata Nungurrayi, Nyurapayia Nampitjinpa (Mrs Bennett), Owen Yalandja, Prince of Wales , Queenie Nakarra McKenzie , Rover Thomas, Sally Gabori , Suzie Bootja Bootja, Timothy Cook , Tjapartji Bates, Tommy Watson, Trevor Nickolls , Yirawala, at Australian Galleries, Sydney.
2015 - Indigenous Art: Moving Backwards into the Future, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.
2013 - My Country, I Still Call Australia Home: Contemporary Art from Black Australia, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane.
2013 - Australia, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK.
2012 - The Bright The Bold & The Beautiful Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery, Sydney, featuring the work of Sally Gabori, Rosella Namok, Emily Kngwarreye, Gloria Petyarre, Eubena Nampitjin, Lorna Fencer Naparrula, Maggie Napangardi Watson, Christine Yukenbarri and Minnie Pwerle. 2009 - Abstraction, including the artists Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Gloria Petyarre, Rover Thomas, Ronnie Tjampitjinpa, Joseph Jurra Tjapaltjarri, Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri, David Aspden, Liz Coats, Peter Maloney, Angus Nivision and Peter Upward at Utopia Art, Sydney.
2009 - En_trance - Experience and Sensation in Nomadic Art, including the following artists: Alice Michaels Nampijinpa, Alma Nungarrayi Granites, Anmanari Napanangka, Bessie Nakamarra Simms, Emily Kngwarreye, Eubena Nampitjin, Eunice Napanangka Jack, Helen McCarthy Tyalmuty, Jeannie Napangardi Lewis, Jimmy Baker, Jimmy Nerrimah, Judy Napangardi Watson, Liddy Napanangka Walker, Lola Nampijnpa Brown, Mary Anne Nampijinpa Michaels, Mary Napangardi Brown, Minnie Pwerle, Ormay Nangala Gallagher, Paddy Lewis Japananagka, Paddy Simms Japaltjarri, Peggy Nampijinpa Brown, Rosie Nangala Fleming, Shorty Jangala Robertson, Walangkura Napanangka, at Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery, Sydney.
2008 - Emily Kngwarreye and her Legacy, featuring the following artists: Abie Kemarre Loy, Emily Kngwarreye, Gladdy Kemarre, Gloria Petyarre, Kathleen Ngal, Kathleen Petyarre, Lily Lion Kngwarrey, Minnie Pwerle, Poly Ngal, Sarah Morton Kngwarrey, presented by Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery, Sydney at Art Front Gallery, Hillside Terrace, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan.
2008 - More than stories, Utopia Art Sydney, Sydney.
2007 - Parcours des Mondes, Galerie Arts d'Australie, Stephane Jacob, Paris.
2006-2007 - Gifted: Contemporary Aboriginal Art: The Mollie Gowing Acquisition Fund, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.
2006 - Dreaming Their Way: Australian Aboriginal Women Painters, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, USA.
2004 - Emily Kame Kngwarreye and Maxie Tjampitjinpa - Classic Images, Utopia Art Sydney; Colour Power - Aboriginal Art Post 1984, National Gallery of Victoria Federation Square, Melbourne; Mythology and Reality - Contemporary Aboriginal Desert Art from the Gabrielle Pizzi Collection, Heidi Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne; EXPLAINED, A closer look at Aboriginal art, Aboriginal Art Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
2000 - Title Deeds: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Works from the Collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales.
1999 - Another Country, Art Gallery of New South Wales; Terrains, Art Gallery of New South Wales.
1989 - Survey of Aboriginal Contemporary Works, The Bloomfield Galleries, Sydney, NSW. Featuring Raymond Meeks, Nyukana Baker, Angkuna Kulyuru, Yipati Kuyata, Makinti, Maria Curley, Nyukana Hatches, Jillian Davey, Yipati Munti, Caroline Tjangala, Mayan Taylor, Dick Roughsey Jimmy Pike, Jack Britten, George Mungmung, Hilda Bird, Pansy Petyarre, Glory Kngale, Nora Petyarre, Emily Kngwarreye, Gloria Petyarre, June Bird, Eileen Bird, Katy Kemarre, Glady Kemarre, Yilla, Old Mick Tajakamara, Maxie Tjampitjinpa, Barney Daniels Thungurrayi, Billy Stockman Tjapaltjari, Kaapa Mbitjana Tjampitjinpa, Pansy Napangarti, Roy Jupurrurla Curtis, Toby Jampijinpa Robertson, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjari, Madeliene Gibson Nungala, Sonda Turner, Samba Pultara, Kinlea Jungala, Elaine Namatjira, Helen Malbunka.
1998 - Emily Kame Kngwarreye - Alhalkere - Paintings from Utopia, Queensland Art Gallery; Exposition collective, Propositions Australiennes, Arts d'Australie Stéphane Jacob / galerie Luc Queyrel, Paris.
1997 - Dead Sun, Art Gallery of New South Wales; Exposition collective, Dessine moi un rêve. L’Art des aborigènes d’Australie, Arts d'Australie Stéphane Jacob / Musée des Beaux-Arts, Clermont Ferrand; Exposition collective, Dessine moi un rêve. L’Art des aborigènes d’Australie, Arts d'Australie Stéphane Jacob / Musée des Beaux-Arts, Auxerre; Exposition collective, L’Art des Aborigènes d’Australie, Arts d'Australie Stéphane Jacob / Galerie de Stassart, Bruxelles;Exposition collective, L’Art des Aborigènes d’Australie, Arts d'Australie Stéphane Jacob / Espace Paul Riquet, Béziers.
1996 - Gamarada, Art Gallery of New South Wales.
1995 - Ian Fairweather and Emily Kngwarreye, Niagara Gallery, Victoria; A Celebration of the Art and Craft of Aboriginal Women, Aboriginal and Tribal Art Centre, Sydney; Stories, Eine Reise zu den grossen Dingen, touring, Sprengel Museum Hannover, Museum fur Volkerkunde Leipzig, Haus der Kulteren der Welt Berlin, Ludwig-Forum fur Internationale Kunst Aachen; Hogarth Gallery, Sydney, NSW; Cooee Gallery, Sydney, NSW; Parliament House, Canberra, ACT.
1994 - Dreamings - Tjukurrpa: Aboriginal Art of the Western Desert; The Donald Kahn collection, Museum Villa Stuck, Munich; 1994, Australian Heritage Commission National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award Exhibition, Old Parliament House, Canberra.; 1994, Power of the Land, Masterpieces of Aboriginal Art, National Gallery of Victoria. ; 1994, Identities: Art from Australia, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan, Wollongong City Gallery; 1994, Utopia Body Paint: The Oval Paintings Collection, Bishop Museum, Hawaii; 1994, Desert Paintings, Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane; 1994, Ink Lines: Mapping the Printer, Coo-ee Aboriginal Art, Sydney; 1994, This Land: A Celebration, Utopia Art Sydney, Stanmore.; 1994, Creators and Inventors, Australian Women's Art in the National Gallery of Victoria, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; 1994, Yiribana, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.
1993 - Tjukurrpa, Desert Dreamings, Aboriginal Art from Central Australia (1971-1993), Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth WA; 1993, Joan and Peter Clemenger Triennial Exhibition of Contemporary Australian Art, National Gallery of Victoria; 1993, Out on Selection: Recent Acquisitions of Contemporary Australian Painting and Sculpture from the Holmes a Court Collection, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, Perth; 1993, The Tenth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin; 1993, Australian Heritage Commission National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award Exhibition, Old Parliament House, Canberra.; 1993 - Trevor Nickolls and Paintings by Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Ginger Riley Manduwalawala and Rover Thomas, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney; 1993/4, ARATJARA, Art of the First Australians, Touring: Kunstammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf; Hayward Gallery, London; Louisiana Museum, Humlebaek, Denmark; 1993, After The Field, Manly Art Gallery & Museum, Sydney
1992 - Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Exhibition, Araluen Centre, Alice Springs; 1992, Aboriginal Art: Utopia in the Desert, Nogazaka Arthall, Tokyo, Japan; 1992, Nineteen ninety two, New Work, Utopia Art Sydney, Stanmore; 1992, Bubbles, Baubles and Beads, Utopia Art Sydney, Stanmore; 1992, Aboriginal Paintings from the Desert, State Ukranian Museum of Art, Kiev, Ukraine; State Byelorussian Museum of Modern Art, Minsk, Byelorussia.; 1992, Crossroads-Towards a New Reality, Aboriginal Art from Australia, National Museums of Modern Art, Kyoto and Tokyo; 1992, The Ninth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin; 1992, Emily Kngwarreye and Utopia Artists, Hogarth Galleries, Paddington; 1992, My Story, My Country: Aboriginal Art and the Land, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney;
1991 - Contemporary Aboriginal Paintings, Benalla Art Gallery, Benalla, Vic.; 1991, Aboriginal Paintings from the Desert, Union of Soviet Artists Gallery, Moscow and Museum of Ethnographic Art, St. Petersburg, Russia.; 1991, Aboriginal Art and Spirituality, High Court, Canberra; 1991, Aboriginal Women's Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; 1991, Through Women's Eyes, ATSIC travelling exhibition.; 1991, Images of Women, S. H., Ervin Museum, Sydney; 1991, Flash Pictures, National Gallery of Australia; 1991, Australian Aboriginal Art from the Collection of Donald Kahn, Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, USA.
1990 - Abstraction, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; 1990, Paintings from the Desert, Contemporary Aboriginal Paintings, Plimsoll Gallery, Centre for the Arts, Hobart, Tasmania; 1990, Utopian Artists, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne; 1990, Utopia Artists in Residence Project: Louie Pwerle and Emily Kame Kngwarreye, 1989-1990, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, Perth; 1990, Contemporary Aboriginal Art from the Robert Holmes a Court Collection, Harvard University, University of Minnesota, Lake Oswego Center for the Arts, United States of America; 1990, 'Utopia - A Picture Story,' an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes a Court Collection by Utopia artists which toured Eire and Scotland.; 1990/91, New Acquisitions, National Gallery of Victoria, Victoria.
1989 - Utopia Batik, Araluen Centre, Alice Springs; 1989, Utopia Women's Paintings, the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project, 1988-89, S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney; 1989, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne.
1988 - Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Utopia Art Sydney, Stanmore; 1989, Art from Utopia, Austral Gallery, St Louis, USA.
1977-1987, Exhibited in many group shows with the Utopia Women's Batik Group in Australia and abroad.
Bibliography
Aratjara, Art of the First Australians: Traditional and Contemporary Works by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Artists, exhib. cat. (conceived and designed by Bernard Luthi in collaboration with Gary Lee), 1993, Dumont, Buchverlag, Koln.
Bardon, Geoffrey; Ryan, Judith; Pizzi, Gabrielle; Stanhope, Zara; Mythology and Reality - Contemporary Aboriginal Desert Art from the Gabrielle Pizzi Collection, Heidi Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne.
Batty, P., and Sheridan, N., 1990, Utopia Artist in Residence Project, Holmes a Court Foundation, Perth.
Brody, A., 1989, Utopia Women's Paintings: the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project, 1988-89, exhib. cat., Heytesbury Holdings, Perth.
Brody, A., 1990, Contemporary Aboriginal Art: from the Robert Holmes a Court Collection, exhib. cat., Heytesbury Holdings Ltd, Perth.
Brody, A., 1990, Utopia: a Picture Story, 88 Silk Batiks from the Robert Holmes a Court Collection, Heytesbury Holdings Ltd, Perth.
Brody, A., Krempel, U., Bahr, E., (eds.), 1995, Stories, Eine Reise zu den grossen Dingen, exhib. cat., Landeshauptstadt Hannover Der Oberstadtdirektor Sprengel Museum Hannover and Autoren.
Boulter, M., 1991, The Art of Utopia, Craftsman House, Roseville, New South Wales
Caruana, W., 1993, Aboriginal Art, Thames and Hudson, London.
Crumlin, R., (ed.), 1991, Aboriginal Art and Spirituality, Collins Dove, North Blackburn, Victoria.
Crossroads-Towards a new reality, 1992, exh. cat, Museum of Modern Art Kyoto, Japan
Green, J., 1981, Utopia: Green, J., 1981, Utopia: Women, Country and Batik, Utopia Womens' Batik Group, Utopia, Northern Territory.
Johnson, V., 1993, Twentieth Century Dreaming, Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Art and Asia Pacific, quarterly journal Vol 1 No 1 December.
Johnson, V., 1994, The Dictionary of Western Desert Artists, Craftsman House, East Roseville, New South Wales.
Johnson, V., 1995, 'Is there a gender issue in Aboriginal art?', Art & Australia, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 350-357.
Lynn, V., 1990, Abstraction, exhib. cat. AGNSW
McCulloch, A., & McCulloch, S., 1994, The Encyclopedia of Australian Art, Allen & Unwin Pty Ltd, St Leonards, New South Wales.
Neale, M., 1994, Yiribana, exhib. cat., Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.
Painting from the Desert, exhib. cat., 1990, University of Tasmania, Hobart
Ryan, Judith (editor), Colour Power - Aboriginal Art Post 1984, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2004 (C).
Smith, T., Rethinking Regionalism: Art in the Northern Territory, Art & Australia, Vol 31, No. 4, Winter 1994.
Stephens, Tony, 'That's the city, back to the bore', Sydney Morning Herald, 10 October 1992
Exhibition Catalogues:
1990, Contemporary Aboriginal Art from the Robert Holmes a Court Collection, exhib. cat., Heytesbury Holdings Ltd., Perth.
1991, Through Women's Eyes, exhib. cat., Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, Woden, Australian Capital Territory; Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, USA; Aboriginal Women's Exhibition, exhib. cat., Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.
1993, Tjukurrpa Desert Dreamings, Aboriginal Art from Central Australia (1971-1993), exhib. cat., Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth.
Amadio, N., 1992, 'Oz in the global art village,' Oz Arts 4, 70-71.
Wallace, D., Desmond, M., Caruana, W., 1991, Flash Pictures, exhib. cat., National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
1994, Emily Kame Kngwarreye: New Directions, exhib. cat., Utopia Art Sydney, Stanmore. 1997, Dead Sun, Edmund Capon , The Art Gallery of New South Wales Bulletin
1997, Leon Paroissien, Dinah Dysart Jan 1997- Mar 1997 cover (colour illus.), Art and Australia
1998, Emily Kame Kngwarreye - Alhalkere - Paintings from Utopia, Margo Neale, Roger Benjamin, Anne Brody, Christopher Hodges, Philip Morrissey, Judith Ryan, Greg Weight (colour illus.) plate no. 77, cat.no. 71
1998 May , Jonathan Cooper (colour illus.) Emily Kame Kngwarreye Alhalkere: Paintings from Utopia, pg. 8-8.
MARKET ANALYSIS
The steady rise in value of Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s (Emily Kam Kngwarrey) work is driven not only by her posthumous acclaim and major international exhibitions, but also by the deep connection her art holds to the landscape and Indigenous culture, elements that continue to resonate strongly with collectors and institutions alike. With the Tate Modern exhibition in 2025, her global presence is set to expand even further, likely fuelling greater interest in her work.
This heightened interest is also reflected in recent auctions, where her late-career works, such as those from her Final Series and Earth Creation series, have consistently fetched substantial prices. These sales underscore the profound and enduring impact of Kngwarreye’s visual language, which seamlessly blends abstraction with a powerful cultural narrative. The market has demonstrated a robust upward trend in value, despite a noticeable decline in the number of pieces offered at auction between 2019 and 2024.
In 2019, 27 Kngwarreye's works were offered with 75% clearence rate, yielding a total value of $1,985,089. By 2020, the volume of works increased to 48, with 84% clearence rate. This marked a significant rise in total value, reaching $3,025,620. While beginning in 2021, the volume of works offered started to decline, with 31 pieces at auction and 9 unsold (70% clearence rate), yet the total value held strong at $1,859,140. In 2022, despite a larger offering of 42 works and 91% clearence rate, the total sales soared to a record $5,738,227—highlighting a sharp increase in both demand and pricing. In 2023, with 48 works offered and 80% clearence rate, the market remained resilient, achieving a total of $3,670,171. By 2024, the number of works offered dropped significantly to only 23, with 78% clearence rate. Despite this decline in volume, the market continued to show strength, generating $1,824,760 in total value.
Overall, the data shows a clear pattern: while auction volumes have decreased over time, the value of Kngwarreye's works has steadily risen. This indicates growing demand and an appreciation for her art, making her works increasingly valuable on the market. As supply tightens, this trend is expected to continue, solidifying Kngwarreye’s status as one of the most sought-after Indigenous artists in Australia.In 2017, her painting, Earth’s Creation I, set a record for Australian Indigenous art when it sold for A$2.1 million at Cooee Art (now trading as Art Leven) auction, highlighting her growing prominence.
Two other significant sales from Cooee Art Leven's Indigenous Fine Art Auctions illustrate the sustained demand for her work, even for smaller pieces. On October 20, 2020, My Country – Final Series, 1996 (Lot No. 26) sold for A$420,000. This piece, part of her renowned Final Series, showcases her iconic use of sweeping brushstrokes, reflecting her deep connection to the Australian landscape. Another piece from the Final Series, measuring just 45 x 60 cm, sold for A$245,455 on June 20, 2023 (Lot No. 36). Despite its smaller size, the sale price demonstrates the exceptional market value of Kngwarreye’s late works, which continue to captivate collectors globally.
Emily Kame Kngwarreye's recent market performance has been exceptional, reflecting her place among Australia's most significant Indigenous artists. Her works have garnered increasing interest internationally, with consistent strong sales at both domestic and international auctions. These results continue to bolster her reputation as one of Australia’s most influential contemporary Indigenous artists, with Alhalkere – Old Man Emu with Babies (1989) selling for A$1,154,045 at Sotheby’s New York in 2022. In 2023, Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s Earth Creation II reached the impressive A$859,091 at Cooee Art's Leven auction, reaffirming her ongoing dominance in the Australian and global art markets. The painting, which features her characteristic use of vibrant dots and abstract representations of the landscape, underscores her profound connection to her country and her cultural heritage. This sale, alongside other notable auction results, highlights the enduring appeal of Kngwarreye’s works and their capacity to command high prices. Her Earth Creation series, characterized by its vibrant, abstract representation of the Australian landscape, has consistently captivated collectors, with this latest sale adding to her string of auction successes.
Historically, Emily Kame Kngwarreye has always performed exceptionally well in the art market, demonstrating a strong and consistent rise in interest and value. Her works have commanded high prices since her career began gaining recognition in the early 1990s when Emily Kngwarreye became the first Indigenous artist in Australia to break the $10,000 ceiling paid for paintings in the primary market. Paintings measuring up to 120 x 180 cm in size sold regularly in galleries for between $10,000 and $20,000 while those around 90 x 120 cm sold for $8,000-10,000. Following her death in 1996, the prices surged but stabilised during the late 1990s while curators and critics reappraised her work. Prior to 2004, Sotheby’s dominated sales of Kngwarreye’s work and, as would be expected, had offered them for sale at all their Aboriginal art sales since their first specialist sale in 1994.
By 2006 only one non-Delmore work was listed amongst her top ten results of which all but one had sold through Sotheby's. In 2007, Lawson~Menzies sold Earth's Creation (1995), for $1,056,000, more than double Kngwarreye's previous record and, in doing so, set the new standard for a painting by any Indigenous artist. This replaced the previous record for any individual Aboriginal artwork which was set at $778,750 in 2001 for Rover Thomas’s All That Big Rain Coming Down Topside (1991). It marked the first time an Indigenous Australian artwork had exceeded the $1 million dollar mark at a public sale, and this stood as the highest price ever paid for a work of art by any Australian female until the same work sold in 2017 for $2,100,000, thereby doubling the former record. The second highest price paid for a work by this artist by the end of 2007 was the $463,000 for Spring Celebration (1991), which measured 130 x 230 cm, and had sold at Sotheby’s in 2003. This reflected the premium paid for major paintings from her early period.
Though just 90 x 150 cm in size, when offered at Lawson Menzies in 2006 Kame Colour,1995, sold for $240,000.
Reputedly purchased by a consortium of collectors put together by Rod Menzies it was reoffered through Deutscher~Menzies in 2008, just as the market began to go soft and sold for $216,000. Yet in what is a salutary tale, it was offered again in 2009 and sold for $159,000, and again in 2013 by which time its value had dropped to just $138,000. Why a painting of such quality would be sold publicly 5 times over within 7 years and drop in value by 40% is a story that may never be fully revealed, such are the intrigues of the auction market. Earth's Creation II painted in 1995, holds three of her top ten highest results. When originally offered in 2007 through Lawson~Menzies the work sold for $336,000 then a year later it sold through Deutscher~Menzies for $360,000. In 2011 this same work was re-offered through Menzies and sold for only $226,727. A rare loss for one of Rod Menzies' 'notorious' buyer groups. Sales of Emily’s works slumped immediately following her death but grew steadily from the beginning of the new millennium. By 2004 total sales at auction reached $2,072,538 due to Christies, Lawson Menzies, Shapiro and Bonhams and Goodman all joining Sotheby’s with specialist auctions.
By 2012, in spite of several minor downturns, her total sales for the year had reached $1,055,998. This grew to $2,118,652 in 2015 and a whopping $3,477,394 in 2017. The prices of her better paintings have consistently risen since 2000 with the exception of 2005 when a glut of works were offered for sale at auction. Average prices rose from around $20,000 in 1997 to over $34,712 by the end of 2007 and, on the back of her Tokyo retrospective, to $35,381 by the end of the following year. It now sits at $43,971. Yet, of the 1272 individual paintings offered for sale through auction houses since her career began, the majority have been valued at between just $5,000 and $50,000. This has been due to both the large number of smaller works that she produced, and the premium paid for relatively rare major works created early in her career.
In 2018 two new paintings entered her tip 10 results when Summer Awelye II sold at Sotheby's in London for $547,641 in March and Earth's Creation II achieved $294,545 at Menzies in November. She finished the year with average sales of $79,467 against her overall career average of $42,486. In 2019, 74% of all works sold for an average price of $99,254 on the back of two exceptional results at the first Sotheby's auction in New York both of which entered her ten highest prices. Summer Celebration, a magnificent 121 x 302 cm palimpsest sold for $863,544.00 while an Untitled early Delmore work measuring 212 x 123 cm achieved $507,115.00. It is now over twenty years since the artist’s death and enough time has elapsed for the story of her career and those who worked with her to have been thoroughly examined.
There is no doubt that Emily Kngwarreye painted wonderful works for a variety of dealers. Most importantly works produced for Fred Torres with Dacou Gallery provenance and those produced for Christopher Hodges of Utopia art in Sydney have been greatly undervalued in the market. The best of these works would seem to represent fantastic value, as would good paintings from a number of additional sources.
Since Kngwarreye emerged as a major force in contemporary Aboriginal painting in the late 1980s, her international recognition and renown has shown no sign of abating. Her inclusion in the Venice Biennale and her retrospective exhibition have reinforced this since her death. Her reputation was further advanced during 2008 with the landmark exhibition curated by Margo Neale of the National Museum of Australia which toured Osaka and Tokyo. In that year Kngwarreye, finally drew level with Rover Thomas as the market's leading artist. By the end of 2015 she drawn so far ahead that she is unlikely to be drawn back to the field during our lifetimes, if ever.
Overall, the market for high quality works by the artist remains strong despite the emergence of equally gestural painters from the Eastern and far Western deserts, whose works sell at much lower prices. While early works will always fetch a premium over paintings of similar size from other periods, exceptional late career works have consistently achieved remarkable auction results. When the final series of 22 paintings completed immediately prior to her death are finally released on to the market they will create a sensation.
This steady increase in value is driven not only by her posthumous acclaim and international retrospective exhibitions but also by her deep connection to the landscape and Indigenous culture, elements that continue to captivate collectors and institutions. With a firm foothold in both the Australian and international art markets, Kngwarreye's work remains highly desirable, particularly for collectors interested in modern Indigenous art.
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