Abell Auction Co. Presents Kelton Collection of Important Australian Indigenous Works of Art on July 28 in Los Angeles

Featuring over 400 lots of amazing art and artifacts, the online auction will offer items from one of the world’s most important private collections of Australian Indigenous art

Abell Auction Co. will present a wonderful array of Aboriginal art from the collection of Richard Kelton (1929-2019), whose respect and passion for the Australian Indigenous culture inspired him to curate one of the world’s most important private collections of its kind. Live bidding at the July 28 online sale will start at 9 a.m. PDT.

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This Australian painting, “Ochre Body Paint” by female artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye, will highlight the important collection of Aboriginal art offered at Abell Auction Co.’s July 28 online sale. www.abell.com (Photo: Business Wire)

Featuring over 400 lots, the important sale will offer paintings on canvas, bark paintings, prints, sculpture, carvings, regalia and other unique items.

“This is a special opportunity for the contemporary art community to continue Richard Kelton’s legacy of preserving the spirit and culture of the Australian Indigenous people,” said Abell Auction Co. Vice President Todd Schireson. “These extraordinary works demonstrate important developments in 20^th century art, ranging from early bark painters of Arnhem Land, to the Western Desert artists who set the course for the way in which Aboriginal art was disseminated and appreciated internationally. They also serve as a testament to the prominence and recognition of women artists.”

Highlighted Auction Items

Works by Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Albert Namatjira and other well-known artists of the region will highlight the sale. Featured items include Albert Namatjira “A Mountain Range, Australia”; Emily Kame Kngwarreye "Ochre Body Paint"; Narputta Nangala Jugadai "Muruntji Rockhole in Red Tones"; Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri "Love Story Dreaming"; Janet Forrester Ngala: "Sugar Bag Dreaming"; and Norma Giles "Tatjarr."

Featured Artists

Emily Kame Kngwarreye was a senior Anmatyerre woman and one of the most prominent female artists in the Aboriginal art movement. Through her fluid, gestural brushstrokes and bold use of color, she expressed deep connection and knowledge of her country and the ancestral realm that sustains it. Kngwarreye commenced painting in her late 70s and continued until her passing, making an immediate impact on the art world and producing a vast and canonical oeuvre over the last eight years of her life.

Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri was a senior Anmatyerre law man and was one of the founding artists of Papunya Tula Artists, which was the nucleus of the Western Desert Art movement. Possum was a driving figure of Aboriginal art being exhibited and collected internationally. His work remains sought-after by many collectors.

Albert Namatjira, a senior Arrernte watercolorist, was among the first Aboriginal artists recognized internationally. His work broke the colonial barriers in Australia and granted him citizenship at a time when Aboriginal people were not afforded this right. His beautiful watercolor paintings vivified the desert landscape, subtly showing viewers the interconnectedness of the physical and ancestral realms that is ever present in the land. His art is still praised today and he is celebrated as an influential advocate for Aboriginal rights.

An auction preview will be held at the Abell gallery (2613 Yates Ave. in Los Angeles) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. PDT beginning July 13. A complete auction catalog will be available at www.abell.com on July 13. Buyers may register and bid online at www.abell.com, LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. For more information, call 800.404.2235 or visit www.abell.com.

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