Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri, artist, the Pintupi Nine

Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri, leader of the Pintupi Nine, Last Nomads

Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri is the eldest male of the Pintupi Nine, a mob of Australian Aboriginal First Nations people who walked out of the desert in 1985 in search of their cousins, completely unaware that white people had colonised his country, 215 years earlier.

“I couldn’t believe it. I thought he was the devil, a bad spirit and was the colour of clouds at sunrise.” – Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri referring to the moment he first saw a white man.

BEFORE SCROLLING DOWN, PLEASE BE AWARE THAT WARLIMPIRRNGA HAS REQUESTED THAT THIS ART SHOULD ONLY BE SEEN BY MEN.

These two art works are offered for sale, or for rental onto corporate walls, or for exhibitions, both available at the end of 2023.

1. Tingari Dreaming, The Last Nomads, Three Brothers: by Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri,  Walala, Tamlik (Thomas) Tjapangati.
2. Mu Mu by Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri, 2018

Tingari Dreaming – The Last Nomads, Three Brothers:

by Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri,  Walala, Tamlik (Thomas) Tjapangati.

Tingari Dreaming – The Last Nomads, Three Brothers: by Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri,  Walala, Tamlik (Thomas) Tjapangati.
Acrylic polymer on Belgian linen
Size: 205 cm x 300 cm
Price: POA
Available: End 2023

Mu Mu

by Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri, 2018

Mu Mu by Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri, 2018
Acrylic polymer on Belgian linen
Size: 152 cm x 200 cm
Price: POA
Available: End 2023

Walala, Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri and Thomas Tjapaltjarri have established themselves as artists of international fame. The brothers are members of the famous Papunya Tula Artists Cooperative. Warlimpirrnga is one of central Australia’s most well-known artists.

The three brothers produce works that are brilliantly bold, minimal and abstract in design yet at the same time remaining traditional. They depict the Tingari Cycle, the collective of stories recounting their mythological ancestors and the sacred sites surrounding their homeland in the Western Desert. The brothers have been widely exhibited and collected in Australia and received international acclaim in the USA and France. 

Feature Series on Pintupi Nine:
°° 1EarthMedia’s story on the Puntupi Nine (Coming soon)
°° The Bulletin in 2004 (an Australian magazine that closed in 2008)
°° a since deleted story in the Melbourne Herald by Nigel Adam in 2007

American actor/comedian Steve Martin read a New York Times article about an exhibition of Western Desert painter Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri’s artworks on display in New York and by the end of that day he’d acquired one for his home – and has since bought more.

“I was completely taken with the story of the Pintupi Nine. I’d truly never seen anything like it before. I still have it hanging in the house,” Steve Martin said.

“These abstract paintings are not so abstract, they’re actually narrative and they tell tales. That separates them from normal abstract painting, which is visual and intellectual. These are visual, intellectual, but also emotional.” – Art collector Steve Martin.

Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri artist biography

Warlimpirrnga walked out of the desert in 1985 with his siblings and two women who were their mothers. They became known as the ‘Pintupi Nine’ and ‘Lost Nomads’.

Warlimpirrnga served his painting apprenticeship under two established artists, both close relatives; George Tjungurrayi (born c.1947) and George Tjampu Tjapaltjarri (c.1945-2005). 

Warlimpirrnga observed the painters at the Papyuna Tula Co-operative for a few years before beginning to paint. Within a year, Warlimpirrnga had his first exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne Australia during Australia’s Bicentennial year, 1988.

The Canberra Times, Wed 20 Dec 1989, Page 36, Outstanding selection of desert art

The entire collection of eleven works were bought and donated to the National Gallery of Victoria by collectors Ron and Nellie Castan.

From the outset Warlimpirrnga painted stories related to the travels and sites created by the Tingari ancestors.

Employing a classical geometric painting style he developed his imagery and adopted the op-art-like intensity of resounding shapes and lines that became favoured by a number of senior Papunya Tula male artists during the late 1980’s and beyond.

His primary subjects are the Snake and Kangaroo Dreamings of his country and initiation stories connected to the sites of Marawa and Kanapilya, close to his birthplace. For time immemorial men and boys would gather there for ceremonies, re-living the legends of their Tingari ancestors.

No Boundaries: A Closer Look at Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri

Pérez Art Museum Miami interviews Papyuna Tula Artists Manager, Paul Sweeney and Professor Fred Myers, anthropologist who met Warlimpirrnga and the Pintupi Nine in 1984 when they walked out of the desert.

Auction Records

Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri’s work has been offered at auction multiple times, with realized prices ranging from 36,000 USD to 216,725 USD, depending on the size and medium of the artwork. Since 2009 the record price for this artist at auction is 216,725 USD for UNTITLED, sold at Sotheby’s London in 2016.

Untitled

Untitled – £167,000 (A$286,471) Acrylic on Belgian linen, bears artist’s name and Papunya Tula catalogue number on the reverse, 183 x 244 cm, Est: GBP50,000-80,000, Sotheby’s Aboriginal Art, London, 21/09/2016, Lot No. 90

Mamultjunkunya

Mamultjunkunya – £93,750 (A$166,153), Synthetic polymer paint on linen, bears artist’s name and Papunya Tula Arts catalogue no. WT0901042 on the reverse, 183 x 244 cm, Est: GBP80,000-120,000, Sotheby’s Aboriginal Art, London, 14/03/2018, Lot No. 55

Marawa

Marawa – US$100,000 (A$144,890) Synthetic polymer paint on Belgian linen., bears artist’s name and Papunya Tula Artists catalogue no. WT1207086 on the reverse, 153 x 183 cm, Est: USD50,000-80,000, Sotheby’s, Aboriginal Art, New York, 13/12/2019, Lot No. 32

Kalparti

Kalparti – £55,000 (A$97,477) Synthetic polymer paint on linen, bears Papunya Tula Artist number WT0310022 on reverse, 153 x 183 cm, Est: GBP30,000-50,000, Sotheby’s Aboriginal Art, London, 14/03/2018, Lot No. 53

Wilkinkarra (Lake Murray) 2017 – AUD$60,000, Warlimpiringa Tjapaltjarri, synthetic polymer paint on linen, 200.0 x 243.5 cm, bears inscription verso: GB41217667, Provenance: Wati Kutjara Art Centre, Northern Territory Private collection, Canberra. Estimate: $20,000 AUD – $30,000 AUD, Menzies Important Art Auction, 20/11/2024. Lot no. 60.

Collections

• Kelton Foundation Collection, California, USA
• Macquarie Bank Collection, Sydney
• Musee des Arts Africians et Oceaniens, Paris
• National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Exhibitions

• 1989 – Mythscapes, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
• 1990 – I’ete Australien a Montpellier, Musee Fabre Gallery, Montpellier, France
• 1991, 1992 – Friendly Country, Friendly People, Touring Exhibition, Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs
• 1993 – Aboriginal Art Exhibition
• 1999 – Exhibition with Ray James Tjangala, Melbourne
• 2002-2005 – Native Title Business – Contemporary Indigenous Art, a national travelling exhibition
• 2003 – Kintore Kiwirrkurra, Melbourne
• 2013 – Documenta ’13 –Kassell, Germany

Market Comparison:

The table below outlines the Australian Indigenous Art Market Top 10 ranked artist according to their market performance.  Detailed are the auction records of the artists before they passed away, along with their current auction records since their passing to help indicate the influence their passing can have. With the greatest respect to the artist, this is worth considering, when understanding the potential value of Warlimpirrnga’sartwork in the future.

Warlimpirrnga sits in a unique position where his auction record is already knocking on the $300,000 mark – significantly surpassing all but one of top 10 and all but one of any living aboriginal artist. – As you can see from the Sotheby’s December 2019 auction – its only recently that this has been the case (see Ronnie Tjampitjinpa).

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