Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri Art Value Price Guide

Oct. 27, 2024
MICK NAMARARRI TJAPLTJARRI, c.1926-1998, ''Marsupial Mouse Dreaming'', Acrylic on linen., 91cm x 127cm
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
MICK NAMARARRI TJAPLTJARRI c.1926-1998 'Marsupial Mouse Dreaming' Acrylic on linen. Painted in 1996. Comes with Certificate of Authenticity. Artwork is stretched and ready to hang.
Ozbid Auctions
Oct. 22, 2024
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1926-1998) (Language group: Pintupi) Untitled 1972 synthetic polymer paint on composition board 69.5 x 5...
Est: $50,000 - $70,000
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1926-1998) (Language group: Pintupi) Untitled 1972 synthetic polymer paint on composition board inscribed verso with artist's name and Stuart Art Centre cat. no. 19200 (concealed) 69.5 x 57.5cm PROVENANCE: The Artist, acquired at Papunya 1972-73 Stuart Art Centre, Alice Springs Laurie Owens, Sydney OTHER NOTES: This work by one of Papunya's most celebrated artists, Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri, was purchased in 1972 by the outgoing superintendent of Papunya, Laurie Owens. Hard working and empathetic, Owens was responsible for the administration and function of the Papunya community. Despite his immense workload, Owens was drawn into the orbit of the Papunya painting men and quickly became an important advocate for their fledgling painting enterprise. Upon his arrival at Papunya in August 1971, Owens immediately saw great potential in art and craft activity at Papunya. Mary White, an adviser on Aboriginal projects to the Craft Council of Australia, described Owens as a 'very sympathetic Superintendent' and 'an exceptional person' who was 'doing his best to de-institutionalise the settlement'. White was particularly impressed to discover that Owens was 'full of ideas for a craft complex' similar to what he had observed operating in Ernabella under the guidance of Winifred Hilliard. For decades, Owens' role in the fragile months leading up to the establishment of Papunya Tula Artists remained unappreciated. However, research now confirms that Owens was intimately involved in its administration and governance. He drafted its articles of association, consulting directly with the artists throughout the process. He applied for vital funding to install the artists' friend and facilitator, Geoffrey Bardon, as artistic director, ordered vital materials and acted as an empathetic conduit between the artists and the Welfare Division of the Northern Territory. When Bardon had to abruptly depart his role as artistic director of Papunya Tula Artists in July 1972, it was Owens who was left to assist the painters in his absence. At this time, hundreds of paintings had accumulated in the Men's Painting Room, including Namarari's Untitled 1972. Records show that Owens occasionally provided upfront payments to select artists who were suffering financial hardship, later to be reimbursed by the artists' representative, Pat Hogan. He facilitated the sale of paintings to visitors to the community and oversaw the dispersal of artists' payments from the Stuart Art Centre. When interviewed about the sale of this work recently, Owens, now in his mid-eighties, remembered: 'I used to go to the shed and watch him painting. There was something very thought provoking about Mick. If I may say, God lived in that man. You looked in his eyes and there was tragedy and a depth of reflection in the way that he would look at you. And that really touched me quite a lot. I just felt that there was something spiritual about Mick. What more can I say?' Born in sandhill country at Marnpi, south-east of present-day Kintore (Walungurru), Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri's first years were spent in the bush. Due to drought and the infringement of pastoral activity on his homelands, as a young boy Namarari and his extended family group journeyed to the ration station at Haasts Bluff. As a teenager, he was persuaded to work with his relative Charlie Tjaruru Tjungurrayi in the cattle industry in the Areyonga region. Namarari settled at Papunya in the late 1950s, where he served as one of several councillors. It was in this role that Owens first encountered Namarari. Soon after, Owens would discover that Mick was an emerging artist among Papunya's painting men. Namarari was a significant contributor to the first consignments of paintings to leave Papunya for sale in Alice Springs. As time passed, he revealed himself to be an incessant innovator, unbound by social, cultural or market expectations. Untitled 1972 is adorned with Namarari's finely stippled dotting, which playfully segments its concentric circles. The fine orange linework is used to punctuate his bold design. It is difficult to propose the subject matter of Untitled 1972 given that Namarari deployed such imagery to symbolically depict a broad range of places and things. The looped 'U' shapes may possibly depict the seated presence of ancestral figures. The concentric circle can represent any number of things, from campfires, hills and water sources to ceremonial grounds. The elongated forms that frame each side of the picture may depict sacred objects in the possession of those seated. The disclosure of previously unknown pictures from this unique moment in Australian art history is becoming increasingly rare. It is equally rare to encounter items with such fascinating provenance. The time has come for Owens and his family to part with this extraordinary painting and for it to enter the discourse surrounding Papunya and the art movement that came from it. Much more than an extraordinary work of art, it is an object that binds two men and speaks to the remarkable history of contemporary painting at Papunya. Luke Scholes © Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri/Copyright Agency, 2024
Leonard Joel
Oct. 13, 2024
TJAPALTJARRI Mick Namarari (Aboriginal 1926-1998), 'Marsupial Mouse Dreaming,' 1995., Acrylic on Canvas, 80x122cm
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
TJAPALTJARRI, Mick Namarari (Aboriginal 1926-1998) 'Marsupial Mouse Dreaming,' 1995. Acrylic on Canvas 80x122cm PROVENANCE: Aboriginal Desert Art Gallery, cat #DAG 45288-1912-2156-OMNT-80x120-95, certificate of authenticity (Michael Hollow); private collection, NSW.
Davidson Auctions
Sep. 22, 2024
MICK NAMARARRI TJAPLTJARRI, c.1926-1998, ''Marsupial Mouse Dreaming'', Acrylic on linen., 91cm x 127cm
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
MICK NAMARARRI TJAPLTJARRI c.1926-1998 'Marsupial Mouse Dreaming' Acrylic on linen. Painted in 1996. Comes with Certificate of Authenticity. Artwork is stretched and ready to hang.
Ozbid Auctions
Sep. 10, 2024
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (c. 1926-1998) Kangaroo (Malu) Dreaming
Est: $50,000 - $70,000
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (c. 1926-1998) Kangaroo (Malu) Dreaming synthetic polymer paint on particle board 122.0 x 91.5cm (48 1/16 x 36in).
Bonhams
Aug. 25, 2024
MICK NAMARARRI TJAPLTJARRI, c.1926-1998, ''Marsupial Mouse Dreaming'', Acrylic on linen., 91cm x 127cm
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
MICK NAMARARRI TJAPLTJARRI c.1926-1998 'Marsupial Mouse Dreaming' Acrylic on linen. Painted in 1996. Comes with Certificate of Authenticity. Artwork is stretched and ready to hang.
Ozbid Auctions
May. 19, 2024
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (c.1926-1998)"Marsupial Mouse Dreaming"Acrylic on canvas, 1995.Artwork is stretched and ready to hang.Comes with Certificate of Authenticity.55cm x 94cm
Est: -
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (c.1926-1998) "Marsupial Mouse Dreaming" Acrylic on canvas, 1995. Artwork is stretched and ready to hang. Comes with Certificate of Authenticity. 55cm x 94cm
Ozbid Auctions
Apr. 21, 2024
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1926-1998), Mouse Dreaming 1995
Est: $2,500 - $4,500
acrylic on linen inscribed verso: Nick / MOUSE DREAMING / A1218 91.5 x 121cm PROVENANCE Aboriginal Fine Arts Gallery, Darwin (certificate of authenticity accompanies this lot) Private Collection, Melbourne © Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri/Copyright Agency, 2024
Gibson's
Mar. 05, 2024
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri - Marsupial Mouse Dreaming, 1998
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
Namarari was a prolific painter during the 1980s and, toward the end of his career in the mid-1990s, his works tended to become atmospheric and minimalist. This painting was created in the year that he died. The story depicted is the Tjunginpa (Mouse) Dreaming at Tunginpa, a hill north-west of Kintore. The overall dotting represents the footprints of each mouse and also Kampurarrpa, an edible berry, which is eaten by the mouse.
Cooee Art
May. 23, 2023
Watukarrinya
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri circa 1926-1998 Watukarrinya, 1991 Bears Papunya Tula catalogue number MN910204 on the reverse Synthetic polymer paint on linen 47 ⅝ in x 47 ¼ in (121 cm x 120 cm)
Sotheby's
May. 23, 2023
Watukarrinya (Two Kangaroo Dreaming)
Est: $30,000 - $50,000
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri circa 1926-1998 Watukarrinya (Two Kangaroo Dreaming), 1987 Bears Papunya Tula catalogue number MN871234 on the reverse Synthetic polymer paint on canvas 71 ⅝ in x 47 ⅞ in (182 cm x 121.5 cm)
Sotheby's
Mar. 22, 2023
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI, PUNGKALUNGKA MAN, 1985
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (c.1926 - 1998) PUNGKALUNGKA MAN, 1985 synthetic polymer paint on linen 162.0 x 103.0 cm PROVENANCE Purchased by the artist Tim Johnson directly from the Papunya Tula Artists storeroom in 1983 Tim and Vivien Johnson collection Private collection, Sydney According to Mr Johnson, Namarari explained that the painting depicted the Pungkalungka Man. The then Papunya Tula Artist’s manager, Daphne Williams, sold the work without a catalogue number or documentation as she found the subject matter unusual and had placed the work temporarily into the storage (personal correspondence with Tim Johnson). EXHIBITED Two Worlds Collide, Artspace, Sydney, 1985 (illus., as ‘Pulku Pulku Men’ on front cover of exhibition catalogue) ESSAY Western Desert painting operates in the space between ceremony and country, referencing each whilst exploring ancestral inheritance. Mick Namarari's works are loaded with symbolism which is closely tied to traditional narratives in a densely and tightly coded abstraction. He developed a visual language which was influenced by cultural protocol, but never restrained by it. His innovation was a consequence of his continual need to paint and a refining of his imagery over time. Namarari was one of the first to experiment with fields of dotting devoid of figuration or traditional design motifs and in the early 1990s, together with Turkey Tolsen Tjupurrula, Namarari explored minimal representation. Utilising bold, undotted lines of colour and at the same time focusing on just one aspect of a story, this shift in direction would influence Papunya Tula painting from the late 1990s well into the 2000s. This work painted 1983, is a rendition of the Punkalungku, mythical men who lived in a large cave in the hills near Papunya and who frightens and punishes lawbreakers. Painted on a black ground, the repeated figure of the giant framed by alternating broad bands of red and yellow ochre creates a minimal repetitious template typical of the artist’s work at this time. One of the most accomplished artists of the founding Papunya painters, Namarari also served on the Papunya Council. In 1991 he was awarded the National Aboriginal Art Award, a moment which heralded not only public attention for the Papunya Tula artists, but also confirmed the importance of his practice within the community. Exhibited in every Australian capital and at international art fairs, Namarari spearheaded the acceptance of Western Desert art in the ultra-competitive world of contemporary art. © Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri/Copyright Agency 2023
Deutscher and Hackett
Nov. 08, 2022
MICK NAMARARRI TJAPALTJARRI (1926 - 1998) "Marsupial Mouse Dreaming"
Est: $3,000 - $4,500
MICK NAMARARRI TJAPALTJARRI (1926 - 1998) "Marsupial Mouse Dreaming"Acrylic on linen.Comes with Certificate of Authenticity.Artwork is framed andready to hang.80cm x 127cm
Ozbid Auctions
Sep. 10, 2022
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI 1926-1998, WOMEN FROM PUTJI-DIE AT NGUTJULWGA 1979
Est: $1,800 - $2,600
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI 1926-1998, WOMEN FROM PUTJI-DIE AT NGUTJULWGA 1979. Synthetic polymer paint on board (no custom stand) Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (b.c.1926 at Marnpi southeast of Kintore, Northern Territory â€“ 1998), was one of the most important painters to emerge from the Western Desert. From the Pintupi language group, Mick Namarari was one of the foundation artists of the movement that emerged in Papunya Tula. White school teacher Geoffrey Bardon considered him one of eight artists whose efforts at the foundation of the movement were particularly interesting. Approx L52 x 42cm. PROVENANCE Papunya Tula Artists catalogue number MN790516 on the reverse. Private collection, United Kingdom. Private collection, Queensland.
Vickers & Hoad
Aug. 23, 2022
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (c. 1926-1998) Untitled, 1995
Est: $5,000 - $7,000
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (c. 1926-1998) Untitled, 1995 inscribed verso with artist's name, dimensions and Papunya Tula Artists catalogue number synthetic polymer paint on canvas 183.0 x 91.5cm (72 1/16 x 36in). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
Bonhams
May. 22, 2022
TJAPALTJARRI Mick Namarari (Aboriginal 1926-98), Untitled (Mouse Dreaming), c.1995., Acrylic on Linen, 150x90cm
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
TJAPALTJARRI, Mick Namarari (Aboriginal 1926-98) Untitled (Mouse Dreaming), c.1995. No Inscriptions apparent. Accompanied by copy of invoice from Kimberley Art, Melbourne, with shipping stamp dated 17th December 1995. Provenance: Kimberley Art, Melbourne; private collection Switzerland (purchased from the above in 1995). Acrylic on Linen 150x90cm
Davidson Auctions
May. 04, 2022
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI 1926-1998, WOMEN FROM PUTJI-DIE AT NGUTJULWGA 1979. Synthetic polymer paint on board. Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (b.c.1926 at Marnpi southeast of Kintore, Northern…
Est: $3,500 - $5,500
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI 1926-1998, WOMEN FROM PUTJI-DIE AT NGUTJULWGA 1979. Synthetic polymer paint on board. Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (b.c.1926 at Marnpi southeast of Kintore, Northern Territory ? 1998), was one of the most important painters to emerge from the Western Desert. From the Pintupi language group, Mick Namarari was one of the foundation artists of the movement that emerged in Papunya Tula.White school teacher Geoffrey Bardon considered him one of eight artists whose efforts at the foundation of the movement were particularly interesting. Approx L52 x 42cm. PROVENANCE Papunya Tula Artists catalogue number MN790516 on the reverse Private collection, United Kingdom Private collection, Queensland
Vickers & Hoad
Apr. 11, 2022
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (c.1926-1998) Ipalu of Silky Pear Dreaming at Tjuturrangunynga 1979 synthetic polymer paint on board
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (c.1926-1998) Ipalu of Silky Pear Dreaming at Tjuturrangunynga 1979 synthetic polymer paint on board inscribed on backing verso with artist's name, date and Avant Galleries cat. no. 505 51 x 41cm PROVENANCE: Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs cat. no. MN790505A Avant Galleries, Melbourne The Kelton Foundation, United States of America, acquired 1994
Leonard Joel
Mar. 30, 2022
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI, UNTITLED (SANDHILL TRAVELLING DREAMING), 1972
Est: $30,000 - $40,000
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (c.1926 - 1998) UNTITLED (SANDHILL TRAVELLING DREAMING), 1972 synthetic polymer paint on composition board 54.0 x 46.5 cm bears inscription verso: artist’s name, Stuart Art Centre cat. 1922 and cat. 00060/84 PROVENANCE Painted at Papunya in 1972 Stuart Art Centre, Alice Springs, Northern Territory Private collection, Queensland Private collection, Melbourne Sotheby's, Melbourne, 24 June 2002, lot 244 Private collection, Melbourne LITERATURE O’Halloran, A. B., The Master from Marnpi: Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri, LifeDesign Australia, Sydney, 2018, pp.172-173 pl. PS7.2 (illus.). This work is accompanied by a letter from Geoffrey Bardon AM which states: ‘The circular forms, with internal dotting pattern, here represent stylised trees, bushes, grass plants, possibly the desert oak tree, unique to the Western Desert. This is part of a map landscape of Pintupi homelands of the Gibson Desert, Western Australia. The arced network of vertical lines, linking circles (trees) top to bottom, with dotting patterns connecting the dotted circles, are stylised motifs for sandhills, of a landscape terrain west of Papunya, Kintore and further west. The horizontal straight lines are a stylised pattern for the journey-travelling motif, and implies people foraging and hunting, crossing a landscape region in the artist's homeland. The pattern of circles, arcs and straight lines is a mind-map of the artist's place or homeland, known to him in intimate detail but here generalised without any sacred/secret signs or symbols. The dotting represents the grass, earth and bush tucker in sandhills, and simultaneously the prepared ground for a ceremony of this dreaming story.' © Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri/Copyright Agency 2022
Deutscher and Hackett
Nov. 23, 2021
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1928-1998) Dingo Dreaming 1995 synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1928-1998) Dingo Dreaming 1995 synthetic polymer paint on canvas inscribed verso with artist's name and unknown cat. no. IYAP-MICK4 122 x 92.5cm PROVENANCE: Anima Gallery, Adelaide 1997 (accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and invoice) Private collection, Melbourne OTHER NOTES: © Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri / Copyright Agency, 2021
Leonard Joel
Nov. 17, 2021
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (c. 1926-1998) Muruntji, 1996
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (c. 1926-1998) Muruntji, 1996 inscribed verso with artist's name, dimensions and Papunya Tula Artists catalogue number synthetic polymer paint on linen 153.0 x 122.0cm (60 1/4 x 48 1/16in). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
Bonhams
Nov. 17, 2021
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (c. 1926-1998) Mulpingya, 1997
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (c. 1926-1998) Mulpingya, 1997 inscribed verso with artist's name, dimensions and Papunya Tula Artists catalogue number synthetic polymer paint on linen 168.0 x 46.0cm (66 1/8 x 18 1/8in). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
Bonhams
Nov. 16, 2021
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI 1926-1998 Kangaroo Dreaming (1971) synthetic polymer paint on composition board
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI 1926-1998 Kangaroo Dreaming (1971) synthetic polymer paint on composition board 54.5 x 25.4 cm PROVENANCE Painted at Papunya, Northern Territory CAZ Gallery, Los Angeles The John W. Kluge Collection, United States of America, acquired from the above in 1990 Private Collection, United States of America, by descent from the above Private Collection
Smith & Singer
Oct. 24, 2021
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1926-1998) Mouse Dreaming 1996
Est: $9,000 - $12,000
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1926-1998) Mouse Dreaming, 1996 synthetic polymer pain on canvas signed and titled verso: MICK Mouse Dreaming catalogue number verso: MN961173 173 x 122cm PROVENANCE Arthur Papadimitriou, Melbourne acquired directly from artist Private Collection, Melbourne EXHIBITED Benalla Art Gallery, Victoria 2004
Gibson's
Oct. 19, 2021
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (Australian, 1926-1998) "Soakage Bore", acrylic on canvas, signed Mick and inscribed on reverse, 32-3/4" ...
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (Australian, 1926-1998) "Soakage Bore", acrylic on canvas, signed Mick and inscribed on reverse, 32-3/4" x 43", very good condition, Robert Steele Gallery NY; Robert Steele operated Anima Gallery in Adelaide, Australia as well as his gallery in New York. He represented and exhibited many contemporary American and international artists and was one of the most prominent dealers in Aboriginal art.
William Bunch Auctions & Appraisals
Oct. 19, 2021
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (Australian, 1926-1998) "Dingo Dreams" acrylic on canvas, signed "Mick" on reverse, 26 1/4"x 45 1/4" very...
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (Australian, 1926-1998) "Dingo Dreams" acrylic on canvas, signed "Mick" on reverse, 26 1/4"x 45 1/4" very good condition, Robert Steele Gallery NY; Robert Steele operated Anima Gallery in Adelaide, Australia as well as his gallery in New York. He represented and exhibited many contemporary American and international artists and was one of the most prominent dealers in Aboriginal art.
William Bunch Auctions & Appraisals
Sep. 09, 2021
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1928-1998, Pintupi Language Group) Marsupial Mice Dreaming 1997 synthetic polymer paint on linen
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1928-1998, Pintupi Language Group) Marsupial Mice Dreaming 1997 synthetic polymer paint on linen inscribed verso with artist's name, title, date and Jinta Desert Art cat. no. SN-1053 and unknown cat. no. 4063-MNT-679 129 x 86cm PROVENANCE: Jinta Desert Art, Sydney (accompanied by a certificate of authenticity) Private collection, Melbourne
Leonard Joel
Sep. 09, 2021
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1928-1998, Pintupi Language Group) Two Women Dreaming 1994 synthetic polymer paint on linen
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1928-1998, Pintupi Language Group) Two Women Dreaming 1994 synthetic polymer paint on linen inscribed verso with artist's name, title, date and Jinta Desert Art cat. no. SN-1118 92 x 123cm PROVENANCE: Jinta Desert Art, Sydney (accompanied by a certificate of authenticity) Private collection, Melbourne
Leonard Joel
Aug. 19, 2021
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1928-1998, Pintupi Language Group) Two Women Dreaming 1994 synthetic polymer paint on linen
Est: $4,200 - $6,200
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1928-1998, Pintupi Language Group) Two Women Dreaming 1994 synthetic polymer paint on linen inscribed verso with artist's name, title, date and Jinta Desert Art cat. no. SN-1118 92 x 123cm PROVENANCE: Jinta Desert Art, Sydney (accompanied by a certificate of authenticity) Private collection, Melbourne
Leonard Joel
Jul. 04, 2021
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI "Marsupial Mouse Dreaming"
Est: -
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI "Marsupial Mouse Dreaming" Painted in 1996. Acrylic on canvas. Comes with Certificate of Authenticity. Artwork is stretched and ready to hang. 71cm x 112cm
Ozbid Auctions
Jun. 08, 2021
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri - Untitled - Yam Story, 1972
Est: $40,000 - $60,000
Cooee Art Indigenous Fine Art Auction "During a career that spanned almost three decades, Mick Namarari was at the forefront of the Western Desert Art Movement.+AKA-Driven to paint regardless of the materials at hand, his early works were closely tied to narrative. Symbolic designs were painted, often on a rich, earthy background with a sharpness of line that imbued them with a remarkable clarity. This work+AKA-was painted in the first years of the Papunya movement, during a time of great artistic exploration and innovation. The subject was one that Namarari painted regularly between 1971 and 1973. In paintings such as this, Namarari borrowed from conventional desert iconography as formerly seen in ceremonial ground constructions to create innovative abstracted designs representing country. Mick Namarari was the first recipient of Aboriginal Australia+IBk-s highest cultural accolade, the Australia Council+IBk-s Red Ochre Award, presented to him in 1994 four years prior to his death.+IB0 Contact Cooee Art for more information on this Aboriginal artwork.
Cooee Art
Apr. 18, 2021
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1926-1998) Mouse Dreaming 1996
Est: $18,000 - $25,000
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1926-1998) Mouse Dreaming 1996 synthetic polymer pain on canvas signed and titled verso: MICK Mouse Dreaming catalogue number verso: MN961173 173 x 122cm PROVENANCE Arthur Papadimitriou, Melbourne acquired directly from artist Private Collection, Melbourne EXHIBITED Benalla Art Gallery, Victoria 2004
Gibson's
Feb. 24, 2021
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1928-1998, Pintupi Language Group) Marsupial Mice Dreaming 1997 synthetic polymer paint on linen
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1928-1998, Pintupi Language Group) Marsupial Mice Dreaming 1997 synthetic polymer paint on linen inscribed verso with artist's name, title, date and Jinta Desert Art cat. no. SN-1053 and unknown cat. no. 4063-MNT-679 129 x 86cm PROVENANCE: Jinta Desert Art, Sydney (accompanied by a certificate of authenticity) Private collection, Melbourne
Leonard Joel
Feb. 24, 2021
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (c.1926-1998, Pintupi Language Group) Mamultjulkunga 1998 synthetic polymer paint on linen
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (c.1926-1998, Pintupi Language Group) Mamultjulkunga 1998 synthetic polymer paint on linen signed verso: MICK 125 x 188cm PROVENANCE: Commissioned by Peter Los, Kintore 1998 The Peter and Renate Nahum Collection of Aboriginal Art, London
Leonard Joel
Jul. 19, 2020
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI "Marsupial Mouse Dreaming"
Est: -
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI "Marsupial Mouse Dreaming" Acrylic on linen. Provenance: Desert Art Gallery. Comes with Certificate of Authenticity. Artwork is stretched and ready to hang. 98cm x 137cm
Ozbid Auctions
Jul. 15, 2020
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI , TJUNGINPA (MOUSE) DREAMING, 1997
Est: $25,000 - $35,000
THE GENE & BRIAN SHERMAN CAPSULE COLLECTION V MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (c.1926 – 1998) TJUNGINPA (MOUSE) DREAMING, 1997 synthetic polymer paint on canvas 122.0 x 153.0 cm bears inscription verso: artist’s name, size and Papunya Tula Artists cat. MN970760 PROVENANCE Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs Utopia Art Sydney, Sydney Sherman Galleries, Sydney (stamped verso) Gene and Brian Sherman Collection, Sydney ESSAY Mick Namarari was the first great practitioner of Western Desert minimalism. Commencing with Wallaby Dreaming, 1982 (Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide), Namarari incrementally reduced the emphasis on signs and icons, moving inexorably towards the assembly of subtly shifting fields composed entirely of dots. When Namarari’s works came to the attention of gallerist, Gabrielle Pizzi in the late 1980s, he was already one of the most accomplished of the founding Papunya painters. Pizzi exhibited several of Namarari’s most abstract works at international art fairs, thereby spearheading the acceptance of Western Desert art in the ultra-competitive world of contemporary art. Allied with comparable canvases by Turkey Tolson Tjupurrula and Ronnie Tjampitjinpa, Namarari’s works displayed such confidence that his minimal paintings materialised as the inevitable outcome of a process set in train at Papunya in the previous decade. The works of desert minimalists are sometimes thought to have sprung from an essentialist view of nature within an abstracted cosmology, however such explanations do not account for the genre’s earthy origins. It is more accurate to approach Namarari’s works as an interpretation of the specific and the minute in nature, amplified and attenuated to encompass the total visual field.1 Neither should the uncanny similitude of the works of Western Desert minimalists to those produced by European and North American modernists deny the contemporary desert artists their individual voice. It is important therefore, when considering works such as Mick Namarari, Tjunginpa (Mouse) Dreaming, 1997 that the artist’s purpose is weighted.2 The starting point for Namarari’s works can be as subtle as the traces left by an animal nestled in dry grass, Bandicoot Dreaming, 1991 (Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory, Darwin), or the runways of Tjunginpa, the Spinifex Hopping-mouse, ( Notomys alexis), Untitled, 1990 (Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney). Namarari was a custodian of a constellation of sites in the vicinity of the Western Australian/Northern Territory border, several of which were associated with totemic mammals. As a result there has been some confusion regarding the identity of species associated with particular works,3 for example, Tjunginpa is both the name of a hopping-mouse and a totemic site, northwest of Kintore, associated with the species. The behaviour of the mouse sheds some light on the treatment of Namarari’s paintings and the religious significance of this seemingly minor mammal. Tjunginpa live in cool burrows under the sunbaked desert earth. Tunnels connect their burrows, in much the same way as paths in classical Tingari paintings interconnect sacred sites. In times of abundance, following heavy rain, plagues of Tjunginpa emerge from popholes, dotting the sand between favoured food plants with tiny tracks.4 These trackways are reflected in the treatment of Namarari’s paintings. The emergence of the hopping-mice from their burrows reinforces the Indigenous notion that all life comes from the earth. Moreover, the abundance of Tjunginpa streaming from their popholes substantiates a belief that if the correct ceremonies are conducted, animals and plants will flourish. Namarari’s luminous late work Tjunginpa, 1997 is a profound meditation on the cryptic, yet distinctive attributes of particular desert species. Such paintings transport us from the gallery and into a world of minute observation and precious knowledge. 1. Kean, J., ‘Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri’, in Tjukurrtjanu: Origins of Western Desert, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2011, pp. 160 – 2 2. Kean, J., ‘Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri, Shimmer and Shake’, in Brought to Light II, Contemporary Australian Art 1966 – 2006, Queensland Art Gallery Publishing, Brisbane, pp. 78-83 3. Various authors, in Papunya Tula: Genesis and Genius, Art Gallery of New South Wales in association with Papunya Tula Artists, Sydney, 2000, p. 283 4. Moseby, K., Nano, T., and Southgate, R., Tales in the Sand: A Guide to Identifying Australian Arid Zone Fauna Using Spoor and Other Signs, Ecological Horizons, South Australia, 2009, p. 87 JOHN KEAN
Deutscher and Hackett
Jul. 15, 2020
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI , TJUNGINPA (MOUSE) DREAMING, 1997
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
THE GENE & BRIAN SHERMAN CAPSULE COLLECTION V MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (c.1926 – 1998) TJUNGINPA (MOUSE) DREAMING, 1997 synthetic polymer paint on canvas 122.0 x 91.0 cm bears inscription verso: artist’s name, size and Papunya Tula Artists cat. MN970540 PROVENANCE Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs Utopia Art Sydney, Sydney Gene and Brian Sherman Collection, Sydney
Deutscher and Hackett
Jun. 23, 2020
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri - Pinterarnga
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
During a career that spanned almost three decades, Mick Namarari became a towering presence, whose variety of subjects and diversity of stylistic approaches kept him at the forefront of Western Desert painting.Â Driven to paint regardless of the materials at hand, his early works were closely tied to narrative. Symbolic designs were painted, often on a rich, earthy background with a sharpness of line that imbued them with a remarkable clarity. This early board, rendered in a style reminiscent of Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri in its delicate tracery, and Johnny Warrangkula in its descriptive stippled background, depicts a Dreaming site associated with the travels of Tingari ancestors. Mick Namarari was credited as having played the decisive role in propelling Papunya Tula art away from the edifice of Tingari cartography and towards the ethereal minimalism typical of 1990s Pintupi men's art. Mick Namarari was the first recipient of Aboriginal Australiaâs highest cultural accolade, the Australia Councilâs Red Ochre Award, presented to him in 1994, four years prior to his death.
Cooee Art
Jun. 23, 2020
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri - Tingari
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
Mick Namarari was born in sandhill country at Marnpi Rockhole south-west of the Mount Rennie Bore and was initiated in the Areyonga region. He worked in the cattle industry until he settled at Papunya. He was 45 years of age when, in 1971, he began painting under the guidance of Geoffrey Bardon as one of the founding members of Papunya Tula Artists. Namarari was awarded the National Aboriginal Art Award in 1991 and, in 1994, was a recipient of the Australia Council's prestigious Red Ochre Award. This typical work of the mid 1980s is a gracefully controlled rendition of the classicÂ TingariÂ design of linked concentric circles. It is symbolic in its representation of the journeys of ancestral men and women whose acts are the preserve of a select few highly initiated elders. The composition is one of the keystones of Western Desert iconography of the period. In time, Mick Namarariâs went on to create late career works which heralded the ethereal minimalism of the late 1980s and 1990s.
Cooee Art
Mar. 18, 2020
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI, (c.1926 – 1998), UNTITLED, 1972, synthetic powder paint on composition board
Est: $50,000 - $70,000
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (c.1926 – 1998) UNTITLED, 1972 synthetic powder paint on composition board DIMENSIONS: 62.0 x 51.0 cm PROVENANCE: Painted at Papunya, Northern Territory in 1972 Private collection, Sydney Sotheby’s, Melbourne, 25 July 2005, lot 150 Private collection, Victoria Lawson~Menzies, Sydney, 23 May 2007, lot 22 (as ‘Wind Spirit’) Private collection, Melbourne ESSAY: This intriguing work by one of the doyens of the original Western Desert painting movement has been separated from its original documentation. The composition of the image and the palette bear comparison, however, to a number of paintings from the 1970s by Namarari that relate to the sun, the moon and the element of wind. The paintings in this group all feature a compositional structure based around a dominant central roundel from which emanate rays or lines in a symmetrical pattern to the corners of the picture plane. One of these works, Wind Story, 1972, in the collection of the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin1 features eight symmetrically arranged sets of lines or journey tracks radiating from a central roundel. The image refers to a north-westerly wind gusting out of a cave at Mount Liebig, one of the highest points in the MacDonnell Ranges. The painting relates to another of the same site created around 1972, Cave at Mount Liebig in the collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide.2 Mount Liebig occupies a significant place in Namarari’s life history. The artist lived there from time to time as an adult, but it was also the place where he first encountered Europeans. In 1932, an expedition lead by the eminent anthropologist Norman Tindale, from the University of Adelaide, camped at Mount Liebig and recorded all those living there. Namarari was aged nine at the time, and his photographic record is held at the South Australian Museum, Adelaide.3 The undulating lines that radiate in Cave at Mount Liebig also appear in another of painting by Namarari from 1972 – Birth of the Sun. This painting was originally collected by Geoffrey Bardon’s successor as manager of the Papunya Tula Artists cooperative, Peter Fannin and is now held in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.4 During the 1970s Namarari painted a number of works that depict celestial bodies apart from those commissioned by Bardon for his bio-documentary on the artist, Mick and the Moon of 1979. These include Moon Dreaming, 1978, and, Sunrise Chasing Away the Night, 1977 – 78, both in the national art collection in Canberra.5 This painting, Untitled, 1972, sits comfortably within this suite of works, most likely referencing Mount Liebig where the circular motion created by the sets of parallel arcs suggests the rush of wind. 1. Scholes, L. (ed.), Tjungunutja: From having come together, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, 2017, p. 104 (illus.) 2. O’Halloran, A. B., The Master from Marnpi: Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri, LifeDesign Australia, Sydney, 2018, pl. PS3.2 (illus.), p. 164 3. Batty, P. (ed.), Colliding Worlds: First Contact in the Western Desert 1932–1984, Museum Victoria and National Aboriginal Cultural Institute Tandanya, Melbourne and Adelaide, 2006, p. 41 4. O’Halloran, A. B., pl. PS3.1, p. 164 5. illustrated in Cubillo, F. and W. Caruana (eds), Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art: Collection highlights, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2010, pp. 40 – 42 and also in Bardon, G. and J. Bardon, Papunya, A Place Made After the Story: The Beginnings of the Western Desert Painting Movement, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne, 2004, pp. 248 – 9, painting numbers 169 and 170 WALLY CARUANA
Deutscher and Hackett
Dec. 03, 2019
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (1926-1998) Dingo Dreaming at Marnpi Rockhole
Est: $2,000 - $4,000
During a career that spanned almost three decades Mick Namarari became a towering presence, whose variety of subjects and diversity of stylistic approaches kept him at the forefront of Western Desert painting. Geoff Bardon noted his ability as a painter from the earliest days of the movement when he 'could often unexpectedly be found late at night working away at his meticulous and marvellous paintings' (Johnson 2000: 191). Much later, he was to play a quiet but decisive role in instigating the Papunya Tula art movement’s increasing ethereal minimalism of the late 1980s and 1990s and in doing so significantly fuelled the international reputation of Australian Aboriginal art, thereby earning himself an ‘incomparable place’ in Australian art history.
Cooee Art
Nov. 07, 2019
MICK TJAPALTJARRI, MOUNT WEDGE 1976, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 67 X 66CM, INSCRIBED VERSO WITH ARTIST NAME, DATE, TITLE AND CAT NO. MN7634...
Est: $700 - $900
MICK TJAPALTJARRI, MOUNT WEDGE 1976, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 67 X 66CM, INSCRIBED VERSO WITH ARTIST NAME, DATE, TITLE AND CAT NO. MN76345A #345, PROVENANCE: AVANT GALLERIES, MELBOURNE, C. 1980S
Leonard Joel
Nov. 07, 2019
MICK TJAPALTARRI, MOUNT WEDGE 1976, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 122 X 67CM, INSCRIBED VERSO WITH ARTIST NAME, TITLE, DATE AND CAT NO. MN76034...
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
MICK TJAPALTARRI, MOUNT WEDGE 1976, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 122 X 67CM, INSCRIBED VERSO WITH ARTIST NAME, TITLE, DATE AND CAT NO. MN760344A, PROVENANCE: AVANT GALLERIES, MELBOURNE, C. 1980S
Leonard Joel
Sep. 03, 2019
§ MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1926-1998) Untitled (Ipana Lake Near Munpi) 1979 acrylic on linen
Est: $3,000 - $4,000
§ MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1926-1998) Untitled (Ipana Lake Near Munpi) 1979 acrylic on linen inscribed verso with Papunya Tula Artists cat no. MN800109 60.5 x 90cm PROVENANCE: Papunya Tula Artists, Alice Springs Private collection, Western Australia Bonhams, Sydney, 24 November 2014, lot 20 Private collection, Melbourne
Leonard Joel
Jun. 04, 2019
Â Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (1926-1998) Mouse Dreaming 1996
Est: $15,000 - $20,000
During a career that spanned almost three decades Mick Namarari became a towering presence, whose variety of subjects and diversity of stylistic approaches kept him at the forefront of Western Desert painting.Â Driven to paint, regardless of the materials at hand, his early works were closely tied to narrative. Symbolic designs were painted, often on a rich, earthy background with a sharpness of line that imbued them with a remarkable clarity. In Namarariâs non-figurative and non-iconographic paintings created during his later years, the broader spiritual relationship between the human and non-human world manifested itself in his representation of space. These are exemplified by thisÂ Mouse DreamingÂ work. The hypnotic minimalist field of dots suggest the microscopic life of the desert and the intimate placement of the artist within his subject, not apart from it. Mick Namarari was credited as having played the decisive role in propelling Papunya Tula art away from the edifice of Tingari cartography and towards the ethereal minimalism typical of 1990s Pintupi men's art. This painting depicts Tjunpinpa (Mouse) Dreaming at a hill site north-west of the Kintore Community. The overall dotting represents the footprints of each mouse and also kampurarrpa an edible berry which it eats. Men of the Tjapaltjarri kinship subsection are custodians for the ceremonies associated with this mythology. Mick Namarari was the first recipient of Aboriginal Australiaâs highest cultural accolade, the Australia Councilâs Red Ochre Award, presented to him in 1994 four years prior to his death.
Cooee Art
Jun. 04, 2019
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1928-1998) Tingari Cycle 1984 acrylic on canvas
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
MICK NAMARARI TJAPALTJARRI (1928-1998) Tingari Cycle 1984 acrylic on canvas signed verso: MICK TJAPALTJARRI 55 x 70cm PROVENANCE: Notices Gallery, Singapore Corbally Stourton Contemporary Art Collection, London Mr. Alush Abazi Collection, Melbourne EXHIBITIONS: Four Seasons Hotel, Singapore Tjukurrpa, Contemporary Australian Aboriginal Art Trento, Italy, 15 October-28 November 2008 LITERATURE: Stourton, C., Songlines and Dreamings, Lund Humphries, London, 1996 (illus.) Abazi, P., Tjukurrpa, Contemporary Australian Aboriginal Art, Litografia Stela, 2008, (illus.)
Leonard Joel
Nov. 27, 2018
Mick Tjapaltjarri Namarari (c. 1926-1998) Marnpi Rockhole 1995
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri was born during the 1920s at Marnpi, an isolated desert rockhole in Pintupi country in the south western corner of the Northern Territory. He was a trusted keeper of the stories and the sites culturally affiliated with that special place. During a career that spanned almost three decades he became a towering presence whose variety of subjects and diversity of stylistic approaches kept him at the forefront of Western Desert painting. Geoff Bardon noted his ability as a painter from the earliest days of the movement. Much later, he was to play a quiet but decisive role in instigating the Papunya Tula art movement’s increasing ethereal minimalism of the late 1980s and 1990s. In doing so he significantly fueled the international reputation of Australian Aboriginal art, thereby earning himself an incomparable place in Australian art history.
Cooee Art
Nov. 15, 2018
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (1926 - 1998) - Rock Wallaby 1994 91 x 61cm (stretched and ready to hang)
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri (1926 - 1998) Rock Wallaby 1994 acrylic on linen 91 x 61cm (stretched and ready to hang) Papunya Tula artist cat no. MN940174 verso, with certificate of authenticity
Lawsons