Warlugulong
Encyclopedia
Warlugulong is a painting by Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri
that in 2007 set a new price record for a contemporary Indigenous Australian art
work sold at auction. Painted in 1977 and owned for many years by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia
, the work was sold by art dealer Frank Ebes at auction on 24 July 2007. It was purchased by the National Gallery of Australia
for A$2.4 million. The painting portrays the story of an ancestral being called Lungkata, together with eight other dreamings
associated with Clifford Possum's country. It exemplifies a distinctive painting style, developed by Papunya Tula
artists in the 1970s, that blended representation of the landscape with ceremonial iconography
. Art critic Benjamin Genocchio has described Warlugulong as "a work of real national significance [and] one of the most important 20th-century Australian paintings".
effectively began when Indigenous men at Papunya, in Australia's western desert
, began painting in 1971, assisted by teacher Geoffrey Bardon
. The youngest of the men who took up painting at that time was Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri
, encouraged by his older brother Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri. A number of the men developed a distinctive style of narrative painting that, beginning around 1976, resulted in the production of several "monumental" works that included representations of both their traditional lands
and of ceremonial iconography
. Clifford Possum was the first to make this transition commencing with a related painting, also titled Warlugulong, now held by the Art Gallery of New South Wales
.
While the painting has been described as showing the story of an ancestral being called Lungkata starting the first bushfire, it portrays elements of nine distinct dreamings
, of which Lungkata's tale is just the central motif. Lungkata was the Blue-Tongue Lizard Man, an ancestral figure responsible for creating the first bushfire
. The painting portrays the results of a fire, caused by Lungkata to punish his two sons who did not share with their father the kangaroo they had caught. The sons' skeletons are shown against a background representing smoke and ashes.
Around this central motif are arranged elements of eight other stories:
Warlugulong (1977) is acclaimed as a landmark Indigenous painting; a great work by one of the country's foremost artists. Described as "epic" and "sprawling", critic Benjamin Genocchio called it "a work of real national significance [and] one of the most important 20th-century Australian paintings". Artist and curator Brenda Croft considered it "an epic painting, encyclopaedic in both content and ambition" and "the artist's most significant work". The work and the price it achieved at auction in 2007 are cited as evidence of both the importance of Clifford Possum as an artist, and of the maturation and growth of the Australian Indigenous art market.
. The bank sold it by auction in 1996. The auction house trading the work expected it to fetch around $5,000 and did not make a feature of it in the catalogue, but dealers including Hank Ebes, the successful bidder, recognised the painting's significance and it sold for $36,000 plus commission. After hanging in Ebes's living room for eleven years, it was auctioned in Melbourne by Sotheby's
on 24 July 2007. It sold for $2.4 million, thoroughly eclipsing the previous record for an Indigenous Australian painting, set when Emily Kngwarreye
's Earth's Creation
was bought in May of the same year for $1,056,000. Warlugulong' s buyer was the National Gallery of Australia, which considers the painting to be possibly the most important in its collection of Indigenous Australian art.
When the Australian government subsequently introduced a resale royalty scheme, the sale history of Warlugulong was frequently used to argue in favour of the scheme, designed to ensure that artists and their families continued to benefit from the appreciating value of old works.
Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri
Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri was an Australian painter, considered to be one of the most collected and renowned Australian Aboriginal artists...
that in 2007 set a new price record for a contemporary Indigenous Australian art
Contemporary Indigenous Australian art
Contemporary Indigenous Australian art is the modern art work produced by Indigenous Australians. It is generally regarded as beginning with a painting movement that started at Papunya, northwest of Alice Springs, Northern Territory in 1971, involving artists such as Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri...
work sold at auction. Painted in 1977 and owned for many years by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is a multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Fiji, Asia, USA and the United Kingdom. Commonwealth Bank provides a variety of financial services including retail, business and institutional banking, funds management, superannuation, insurance,...
, the work was sold by art dealer Frank Ebes at auction on 24 July 2007. It was purchased by the National Gallery of Australia
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia is the national art gallery of Australia, holding more than 120,000 works of art. It was established in 1967 by the Australian government as a national public art gallery.- Establishment :...
for A$2.4 million. The painting portrays the story of an ancestral being called Lungkata, together with eight other dreamings
Dreaming (spirituality)
The Dreaming is a common term within the animist creation narrative of indigenous Australians for a personal, or group, creation and for what may be understood as the "timeless time" of formative creation and perpetual creating....
associated with Clifford Possum's country. It exemplifies a distinctive painting style, developed by Papunya Tula
Papunya Tula
Papunya Tula, or Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd, is an artist cooperative formed in 1972 that is owned and operated by Aboriginal people from the Western Desert of Australia. The group is known for its innovative work with the Western Desert Art Movement, popularly referred to as "dot painting"...
artists in the 1970s, that blended representation of the landscape with ceremonial iconography
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
. Art critic Benjamin Genocchio has described Warlugulong as "a work of real national significance [and] one of the most important 20th-century Australian paintings".
Background
Contemporary Indigenous Australian artContemporary Indigenous Australian art
Contemporary Indigenous Australian art is the modern art work produced by Indigenous Australians. It is generally regarded as beginning with a painting movement that started at Papunya, northwest of Alice Springs, Northern Territory in 1971, involving artists such as Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri...
effectively began when Indigenous men at Papunya, in Australia's western desert
Western Desert cultural bloc
The Western Desert cultural bloc or just Western Desert is a cultural region in Australia covering about 600,000 square kilometres, including the Gibson Desert, the Great Victoria Desert, the Great Sandy and Little Sandy Deserts in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia...
, began painting in 1971, assisted by teacher Geoffrey Bardon
Geoffrey Bardon
Geoffrey Robert Bardon AM 1940, Sydney – 6 May 2003) was an Australian school teacher who was instrumental in creating the Aboriginal art of the Western Desert movement, and in bringing Australian indigenous art to the attention of the world....
. The youngest of the men who took up painting at that time was Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri
Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri
Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri was an Australian painter, considered to be one of the most collected and renowned Australian Aboriginal artists...
, encouraged by his older brother Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri. A number of the men developed a distinctive style of narrative painting that, beginning around 1976, resulted in the production of several "monumental" works that included representations of both their traditional lands
Indigenous land rights
Indigenous land rights are hangtime the rights of indigenous peoples to land, either individually or collectively. Land and resource-related rights are of fundamental importance to indigenous peoples for a range of reasons, including: the religious significance of the land, self-determination,...
and of ceremonial iconography
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
. Clifford Possum was the first to make this transition commencing with a related painting, also titled Warlugulong, now held by the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
.
The painting
Created in synthetic polymer paint on canvas, and a substantial 2 by 3.3 m (6.6 by 10.8 ft) in size, the work's title is taken from a location "about 300 kilometres northwest of Alice Springs associated with a powerful desert dreaming". Clifford Possum would often collaborate with other artists, particularly his brother Tim Leura. The brothers together created the Warlugulong (1976) held in the Art Gallery of New South Wales collection. Art critic Ben Genocchio referred to the 1977 work as also being by the brothers; however, the National Gallery of Australia credits it solely to Clifford Possum.While the painting has been described as showing the story of an ancestral being called Lungkata starting the first bushfire, it portrays elements of nine distinct dreamings
Dreaming (spirituality)
The Dreaming is a common term within the animist creation narrative of indigenous Australians for a personal, or group, creation and for what may be understood as the "timeless time" of formative creation and perpetual creating....
, of which Lungkata's tale is just the central motif. Lungkata was the Blue-Tongue Lizard Man, an ancestral figure responsible for creating the first bushfire
Bushfires in Australia
Bushfires in Australia are frequently occurring events during the hotter months of the year due to Australia's mostly hot, dry climate. Large areas of land are ravaged every year by bushfires, which also cause property damage and loss of life....
. The painting portrays the results of a fire, caused by Lungkata to punish his two sons who did not share with their father the kangaroo they had caught. The sons' skeletons are shown against a background representing smoke and ashes.
Around this central motif are arranged elements of eight other stories:
These Dreamings include a group of women from Aileron dancing across the land, represented by their footprints in the top right running laterally across the canvas. Below these are the tracks of a large group of Emus returning to Napperby (the artist's homeland). The footprints of the Mala or Rock WallabyWallabyA wallaby is any of about thirty species of macropod . It is an informal designation generally used for any macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or wallaroo that has not been given some other name.-Overview:...
Men, travelling north from the area around present-day Port AugustaPort Augusta, South Australia-Electricity generation:Electricity is generated at the Playford B and Northern power stations from brown coal mined at Leigh Creek, 250 km to the north...
(in South Australia), can be seen in the vertical line of wallaby tracks to the left of centre. Further to the left are the tracks left by the legendary Chase of the GoannaGoannaGoanna is the name used to refer to any number of Australian monitor lizards of the genus Varanus, as well as to certain species from Southeast Asia.There are around 30 species of goanna, 25 of which are found in Australia...
Men. And the tracks of the Tjangala and Nungurrayi Dingoes travelling to Warrabri appear along the left edge of the painting. The footprints of a Tjungurrayi man who attempted to steal sacred objects run laterally along the lower edge towards a skeleton in the lower left, indicating the man's fate. A family travelling to Ngama is represented by their footprints aligned vertically in the right third of the canvas, while the tracks of Upambura the Possum Man run along the meandering white and yellow lines that provide the compositional structure of the painting.
Warlugulong (1977) is acclaimed as a landmark Indigenous painting; a great work by one of the country's foremost artists. Described as "epic" and "sprawling", critic Benjamin Genocchio called it "a work of real national significance [and] one of the most important 20th-century Australian paintings". Artist and curator Brenda Croft considered it "an epic painting, encyclopaedic in both content and ambition" and "the artist's most significant work". The work and the price it achieved at auction in 2007 are cited as evidence of both the importance of Clifford Possum as an artist, and of the maturation and growth of the Australian Indigenous art market.
Sale history
Warlugulong was first purchased for A$1,200 by the Commonwealth Bank in 1977, which had the work hung in a bank training centre cafeteria, on the Mornington PeninsulaMornington Peninsula
The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south-east of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geographically, the peninsula begins its protrusion...
. The bank sold it by auction in 1996. The auction house trading the work expected it to fetch around $5,000 and did not make a feature of it in the catalogue, but dealers including Hank Ebes, the successful bidder, recognised the painting's significance and it sold for $36,000 plus commission. After hanging in Ebes's living room for eleven years, it was auctioned in Melbourne by Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
on 24 July 2007. It sold for $2.4 million, thoroughly eclipsing the previous record for an Indigenous Australian painting, set when Emily Kngwarreye
Emily Kngwarreye
Emily Kame Kngwarreye was an Australian Aboriginal artist from the Utopia community in the Northern Territory. She is one of the most prominent and successful artists in the history of contemporary Indigenous Australian art.-Life:Born in 1910, Kngwarreye did not take up painting seriously until...
's Earth's Creation
Earth's Creation
-The Artist & Painting:Emily Kame Kngwarreye painted Earth's Creation in 1994 at Utopia, north east of Alice Springs.She was a senior Anmatyerre woman, who only commenced painting when she was aged about 80...
was bought in May of the same year for $1,056,000. Warlugulong
When the Australian government subsequently introduced a resale royalty scheme, the sale history of Warlugulong was frequently used to argue in favour of the scheme, designed to ensure that artists and their families continued to benefit from the appreciating value of old works.