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Lily Kelly Napangardi Lily Kelly Napangardi ​ ​ Born at Dashwood Creek in 1948, Lilly Kelly Napangardi arrived at Haasts Bluff as a baby in the arms of her mother Narputta and her father Sandy Opal Tjapanangka. The family moved to the newly established settlement of Papunya in 1958 when Lilly was still a young girl and her father became one of the original Papunya Tula shareholders. In the late 1970’s Lilly married Norman Kelly Tjampitjinpa and began assisting him with his paintings while living at Papunya, before the family moved 75 km west to Mt Liebig at the foot of the McDonnell ranges. Lilly Kelly began painting in her own right for Papunya Tula Artists during the mid 1980’s when the company's field officers first began visiting Mt. Liebig regularly, and in 1986, she won the Northern Territory Art Award for a painting entitled Watiyawanu. The win drew attention to the growing number of artists in Mount Leibig and the nascent art centre operated by the shop owners in the community. During the 1990’s Norman Kelly moved to Lajamanu and took a second wife while Lilly remained at Mount Leibig and brought up their three children. In time, while she continued to paint without particular distinction, she became one of the senior Law Women of the community, and the custodian over the Women Dreaming stories associated with Kunajarrayi, in Warlpiri and Luritja country stretching between Mt Liebig, Haasts Bluff, Kintore and Coniston. Recognized as a senior law woman she passed on her knowledge of traditional law and ceremonial dancing and singing to her children, eleven grandchildren, and other young women of her clan. With the success of the Watiyawarnu art centre, Lilly Kelly’s paintings began once more to gain national attention from 2000 onward through its participation in the annual Desert Mob exhibition in Alice Springs and her own selection as a finalist in the NATSIA Telstra awards. Her depictions of country during this period and thereafter referred to sand hills, the effect of wind and rain on the desert landscape, and the crucial waterholes found in the area. The best of these works evoke the ephemeral nature of the drifting, changing sandy country in the finest microcosmic detail. Rain streaks the land as it runs off the sand hills while the blowing wind folds them into the undulating waves of an infinite expanse. Yet beholding each work in is entirety is to view the landscape in macrocosm as the eye follows the hypnotic fine doting and muted tones that build up into a mysterious, enigmatic topography of her land. Rendered in intricate detail, with subtle colour variations these paintings covey powerful and inspiring visions of her country with an apparent accuracy. Early examples of Lilly Kelly's sandhill paintings are rendered using a dotting technique, which diminishes the size of the dots with each row, rather than her later works which diminish the dots within each evolving line. Earlier works therefore have a more meditative settled quality and stronger formal compositional structure. In her later works the ebb and flow of the dotting is evocative, rhythmic and ultimately engaging. Lilly Kelly has been described by those who know her art practice intimately, as an action painter. They suggest that her works are essentially haptic and unplanned and that she engages in painting without any formal schema in mind. If this is the case, then it is likely that it is, in fact, this informality that evokes such a powerful response from the viewer. The first institutional purchase was of two spectacular major works to the Art Gallery of New South Wales arranged through Neil Murphy Indigenous Art, which organized a solo exhibition for the artist at Span Galleries in Melbourne in the same year. In the wake of her Melbourne success Kelly was reputedly under consideration for inclusion in the 2004 Biennale of Sydney however, although nominally represented byWatiyawanu Artists, she has painted indiscriminately for many dealers in Alice Springs since that time and attempts to present her works at the highest level have, unfortunately failed. Lilly Kelly is a very fine artist who, if handled professionally, is capable of greatness and with this no doubt in mind, Australian Art Collector Magazine selected her as one of Australia's 50 most collectable artists for 2006. Yet in equal measure she produces perfunctory works motivated more by income than the pleasure of creative engagement. A number of her finest paintings have been acquired by major international collectors including Thomas Vroom and Richard Kelton as well as being added to several Australian State art galleries. The magnificent paintings held by the Art Gallery of NSW, rated by Murphy as the artist’s finest, were exhibited in the exhibition Gifted: Contemporary Aboriginal Art: The Molly Gowing Acquisition Fundin 2006/2007. Lilly Kelly is one of three Mount Leibig female artists whose careers have burgeoned post 2000. While Ngoia Pollard, who won the Telstra National Aboriginal Art Award in 2006, and Wentja Napaltjarri, have arguably established a higher profile than Kelly amongst exhibiting galleries in the primary market their sales at auction have been too infrequent to have established a secondary market presence as yet. There is little doubt however that, in time, they will join Kelly and Bill Whiskey amongst the top 100 artists. Lilly Kelly’s auction records are completely dominated by works created after 2000 including all of her top ten results. One of the few exceptions amongst the 59 works that have been offered was a work created as early as 1989. It is the only Papunya Tula provenanced painting that has appeared for sale despite the fact that she created works for the company for almost a decade beginning in the mid 1980’s. When offered at Christies Auctioneers in October 2004 (Lot 21) the rather generic Untitled work failed to attract a buyer despite its provenance. All of her top four results however were created for Watiyawarnu Art, the semi-official art centre in Mount Leibig while works created for independent dealers litter her best sales. Lilly Kelly’s work first appeared at auction in 2004 more than a decade after the fist specialist Aboriginal art sale and nearly two decades after she began painting. Few works of significance had appeared by the end of 2005 however in 2006, her most successful year at sale, 13 works were offered of which nine sold for a total value of $95,805. During the following year eight sold of 13 offered and although her works fared slightly worse during 2008, thereby dropping her average price to slightly below $10,000, her career clearance rate is still a relatively healthy 53%. In 2009 an incredible 22 works were offered for sale. That nine found buyers at a total value $37,410 is not all that bad. The artist’s response to her success in the primary market created a glut of paintings in the auction houses with estimates predominately upwards of $15,000. The most ambitious being Sotheby’s estimate of $30,000-40,000 a work entitled Sandhills in their July sale (Lot 89). The number of highly estimated works that have failed however should be of deep concern-the downside perhaps of a badly mismanaged career. Not entirely unrealistic considering her record price at auction was achieved for a work of the highest quality commissioned by Neil Murphy through Watiyawarnu. Sandhills Around Mount Leibig2004, measuring 176 x 120 cm. sold for $39,600 against a presale estimate of just $12,000-16,000 at Sotheby's in July 2007 (Lot 167). This transcended the previous record set by another very fine work from the same original source which had sold in Lawson~Menzies November 2006 sale for $24,000 (Lot 42). Most of the 31 works that have sold in the secondary market have been relatively large with few falling below 90 x 120 cm. As a result only eight works have sold for less than $2,500 while eight have achieved prices between $5000 and $10,000 and six have sold for more. Surprisingly it has been Elder Fine Art in Adelaide that have championed Lilly Kelly’s works in the secondary market having sold eight for a total of $49,270. This compares to the $51,720 has been realized for the six works sold through Lawson~Menizes while Mossgreen have sold three and Bonhams and Goodman two. Yet Sotheby’s hold the record despite having sold just one work. Lilly Kelly best works are highly accomplished and regardless of provenance, or delicacy of execution, many others are very good paintings indeed. In the right setting, their spacious textural feel resonates sympathetically with contemporary aesthetics. These are paintings to be valued more for the pleasure they impart rather than their cultural content. Due to her fierce independence and prolific nature Kelly’s works appear in a range of primary market outlets from retail stores to exhibiting galleries. If you like her work, take your time, and chose wisely. Only the very best are likely to be good ‘investments’. Explore our artworks See some of our featured artworks below BOOK - KONSTANTINA - GADIGAL NGURA Price From AU$99.00 JOANNE CURRIE NALINGU - FLOW STATE Price AU$25,000.00 BRONWYN BANCROFT - UNTITLED Price AU$29,700.00 JOSHUA BONSON - SKIN: A CELEBRATION OF CULTURE Price AU$8,500.00 MINNIE PWERLE - AWELYE - ATNWENGERRP Price AU$25,000.00 JACK DALE - WANDJINAS AT LONDRA Price AU$25,000.00 ANGELINA PWERLE NGAL - AHARLPER COUNTRY Price AU$25,000.00 FREDDIE TIMMS - MOONLIGHT VALLEY Price AU$35,000.00 BILL TJAPALTJARRI WHISKEY - ROCKHOLE NEAR THE OLGAS Price AU$3,500.00 YALA YALA GIBBS TJUNGURRAYI - TINGARI AT KARRKURRUNTJINTJANA Price AU$11,400.00 NEIL ERNEST TOMKINS - BURN THERE, DON'T BURN THERE Price AU$7,000.00 SHOP NOW

(1924c. - 2011) Language: Wangkajunga Region: Kimberley Community: Fitzroy Crossing Art Centre: Mangkaja Arts Outstation: Kukapunyu Senior law woman Nyuju Stumpy Brown was a custodian for ancestral lands at Ngapawarlu, in the Great Sandy Desert. Nyuju was the sister of Rover Thomas and was born at Kukapanyu (Well 39), she grew up in the desert but eventually followed the drovers north along the stock route to Balgo mission with her uncle, Jamili, a stockman. Nyuju later moved to Fitzroy Crossing. During an art career that spanned from the 1980s until 2008, she recreated the desert sites that she knew from her childhood, focusing on the Dreaming stories that belong to Ngapawarlu, Warrawarra, Jirntijirnti and other water sites along the Canning Stock Route. “Trees all around - hide that waterhole" My country - Ngupawarlu. Near Canning Stock Route. Living water, but salty one. You can drink him cold time, but not when he's hot - gets too salty. One woman been travelling in Dreamtime. Whole lot of women travelling, stop at that place Ngupawarlu. They travelling on law business. Big mob - going Alice Springs way. Trees all around - hide that waterhole. Then sandhill, jilji country all around. Like a big lake, trees grow inside lake. You can drink from side of lake - too salty in middle of lake. NYUJU STUMPY BROWN NGUPAWARLU,  2005 100 x 145 cm synthetic polymer paint on canvas $8,000 PROVENANCE Japingka Gallery, WA Private Collection, NSW

220 page hard cover coffee table book telling the lost histories, Ceremonies and Culture through Art Konstantina is a proud Gadigal, woman and artist. She is a multi-award winning, nationally and globally represented artist who is painting her Gadigal people back into the narrative of Sydney’s history. Her work, whilst predominantly focused on her brand of contemporary fine-art dot-painting on linen, does span other disciplines such as wood carving, block-printing, writing and illustrating. This retrospective covering the past 7 years of her painting Country is an ode to the Gadigal of Sydney. These honourable, graceful and truly inspirational people who’s stories are the backbone and lifeblood of Konstantina’s works. The Gadigal language is used throughout this book in attempt to share the stories with the use of the traditional language. This is a passion for Konstantina who is one of a few a speakers of this language with her sons. This collection of contemporary and traditional stories have made their way to the artist by many means. Yarns with Elders, Academics, Historians, Ethnographers and other authors, along with thousands of hours in libraries and archives across Australia and the UK. These stories have had a way of grabbing hold of the artist, and informing her practise in a way that is visceral. The feeling the audience has and the connection to Konstantina and her stories is nothing short of incredible. She is able to convey such strong Cultural and Political messages, some of which are truly ugly and others, utterly spectacular; but all of them are beautiful and necessary. This book is important. These stories are important. This artwork is important. They give voice to a people, the Gadigal people of Sydney.

“When I paint, it’s like inma (ceremonial dance and song)." "This is Antara, a sacred place for Anangu, and the Maku Tjukurpa (witchetty grub story). There is a special rock hole at Antara where women perform inma – ‘inmaku pakani’ – and afterwards there is enough maku to feed everyone. Antara and Maku Tjukurpa are really important for Mimili women, we paint this place and its stories, keeping them strong.” Tuppy lives in Mimili Community, home to 300 Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara people who have been living in the area for millennia in harmony with nature and acting as custodians of the land and the Tjukurpa (creation stories). Mimili was formerly known as Everard Park, which was a cattle station that was returned to Aboriginal ownership through the 1981 AP Lands Act. Mimili Community was incorporated as an Aboriginal Community in 1975. © The Artist and Mimili Maku TUPPY NGINTJA GOODWIN ANTARA, 2020 152 x 122 cm synthetic polymer paint on Belgian linen $10,000 PROVENANCE Mimili Maku Arts, SA Cat No. MMK01 Araluen Art Centre, Desert Mob, 2020, Alice Springs, NT Cooee Art Leven, NSW