Aboriginal Art Auctioned by Elder Fine Art Gallery
Published August 6th, 2006
More than $400,000 worth of Aboriginal art went under the hammer today in South Australia’s largest auction of indigenous artworks.
Among the items on offer at the Elder Fine Art Gallery in North Adelaide were paintings by Albert Namatjira, Rover Thomas, Clifford Possum Tjapartjarri, Barbara Weir and Queenie McKenzie.
A rare Papunya artwork by renowned artist Kaapa Tjampitjinpa sold for $17,800 while Rover Thomas’s Ruby Plains Station went for $35,000.
About 200 bidders crammed into the tiny gallery to hear bids for Namatjira’s Mount Sonder, Macdonnell Ranges reach $17,400 before being referred back to the vendor.
It was catalogued to sell at between $20,000 and $25,000.
Gallery director Jim Elder said interest in Aboriginal art had “grown phenomenally” in the past decade, with “very strong interest” shown in the pieces being offered.
