Starting your collection of Australian Aboriginal Art – Part 2

By Geoffrey Williams, Founder and Publishing Curator, The Indigenous Art Book

In our previous post, we answered Michelle’s question about how to begin a collection of Australian Aboriginal Art when you have no idea where to start or what to include. As we discussed, while narrowing the field of choice by selecting pieces that share their geographic origins with where you live is an ideal way to begin building your collection, there are also other insights relating to the origins of the work you might like to consider.

How a particular piece ‘speaks’ to you

I’ve marvelled at this experience, so I am sure many of you have as well – that moment when you see a piece of art that simply captivates you. It might not be obvious, at first or if ever, why this is the case, but when it happens, it is an extraordinary experience. You can’t take your eyes off it, and even as you explore other galleries, you keep coming back to this particular piece. If you fall in love with a piece, my advice is always to buy it before somebody else does – because they will. Aboriginal Art, in particular, is more than just décor. Deeply embedded throughout the Movement, is sacred storytelling and communication. Once you find out more about the story that informs the piece, why you love it so much may begin to make sense, or it may not. It is important not to be too literal in your analysis of why a particular piece captivates you in the way that it does. It probably just belongs on your wall for all the right reasons that may very well remain a mystery to savour every time you look at it.

A synergy with your career or passion

One of the grand themes that can be found throughout the Australian Aboriginal Art Movement is health and wellbeing – from the women’s celebrated bush medicine leaves ceremony to the joys of gathering nutritional food from throughout the desert and sharing laughter, company, and stories while meals are prepared. Art can, and often does, most certainly reflect your career and/or your passion, because something about the piece relates directly to the journey you have chosen to pursue throughout your own life. Maybe you are obsessed with birdlife, or animals … or the epic constellations that magically and magnificently decorate our great southern skies? Again, it is important not to be too literal, but recognise the synergy between the art and your personal and/or professional journey through life makes the piece the ideal travelling companion.

Seven Sisters Dreaming by Gabriella Possum Nungarrayi. Painted in 2017. Acrylic on canvas. 250cm x 183cm. Image courtesy of The Bedford Collection and The Indigenous Art Book. ©2025. All rights reserved. Reproduction is strictly forbidden in all national and international jurisdictions.

Memories of travel and Country

I have often heard people say that they want a piece to remind them of their travels – whether they be through Arnhem Land, the Central and Western Desert regions, or the Top End. People who are leaving Australia to either live or return to somewhere else in the world have also often wanted a piece to remind them of their experiences of Australia. Sure, they may well have hundreds of photographs, but a piece of art from the continent’s oldest surviving creative movement is undoubtedly the best way to hold and cherish their memories of their time here. These choices become slightly less complicated, because they speak to the unforgettable views from an aeroplane window of the wondrous landscape … the unbelievable detail and colour palette that somehow, having rarely flown in aeroplanes, the artists have captured in often astonishing synergy and detail.

Tingari Cycle by Willy Tjungurrayi. Painted in 2009. Acrylic on canvas. 215cm x 142cm. Image courtesy of The Bedford Collection and The Indigenous Art Book. ©2025. All rights reserved. Reproduction is strictly forbidden in all national and international jurisdictions.

The element of surprise

I will never forget the first time I learned that mermaids were an essential and sacred feature of Aboriginal culture and story. It was one of those moments in my life where I can honestly say I was astonished. These fascinating origin stories that nest throughout the Indigenous culture of our continent often serve to illuminate how little we know, as non-Indigenous people, about the ancestral origins that created and continue to define Country, culture, and consequences of our actions. Pieces that highlight particular aspects of the culture that you learned something about for the first time in your life are precious pieces in any collection of Australian Aboriginal Art.

Do you have a question you would like us to answer? We would love to hear from you at theindigenousartbook@gmail.com

Geoffrey Williams is the Founder and Publishing Curator of The Indigenous Art Book. He is based in Darwin, Australia. The Traditional Owners of Darwin and the surrounding region are the Larrakia (Saltwater) people. Larrakia country runs far beyond the municipal boundaries of Darwin, covering the area from the Cox Peninsula in the west to the Adelaide River in the east.

Starting your collection of Australian Aboriginal Art

By Geoffrey Williams, Founder and Publishing Curator, The Indigenous Art Book

Michelle in Western Australia emailed us recently with a great question that we are going to attempt to answer in this post – and possibly another one, because once we started thinking about it, there was so much to consider! Michelle is keen to start a collection of Australian Aboriginal Art but has no idea where to start or what to include.

In the first instance, it’s pointless to recommend just buying pieces that you love, because there are so many pieces to fall in love with. And then there are the pieces you haven’t even seen! And while there are certainly no ‘rules’ to beginning, or adding to, a collection, it’s important to appreciate why you want to. Understanding why you want a collection of Indigenous art will be the starting point for the pieces you select.

A meaningful collection of Aboriginal art reflects the richness, diversity, and authenticity of Indigenous Australian cultures. It should also honour the traditions, stories, and communities from which the art originates. Collecting Aboriginal art also contributes to a more inclusive narrative by respecting the importance of Aboriginal culture within our collective modern identity.

By collecting Aboriginal art, we not only enrich our lives with compelling and meaningful works, but we also play an important role in celebrating and sustaining the culture and legacy of the world’s oldest surviving civilisation. Aboriginal art is one of the oldest continuing artistic traditions in the world, dating back over 60,000 years. Collecting and preserving this art ensures that these traditions, stories, and cultural expressions are valued, present and admired in our daily lives, and passed on through our families to future generations.

Geographic origins as a starting point for a collection

A useful starting point can be to focus on a particular geographic point of the origin of the work you want to collect. In Michelle’s case, we need to ignore the Federation border that defines ‘Western Australia’, and instead consider the vast Central and Western Desert regions, and the extraordinary pieces from the Kimberley region – Indigenous Nations, Country, and sacred ancestral and ancient cultural associations that were, and are, not defined by the post-colonial Federation borders that divide and dominate our continent today.

Dot art from the Central and Western Desert regions

The origins of Central and Western Desert ‘dot art’ are deeply rooted in cultural practices and traditions. Even though this popular and instantly recognisable style emerged as a modern form of expression in the 20th Century, it is connected to ancient traditions of storytelling and cultural preservation. Before the use of canvas and acrylics, storytellers and revered keepers of culture and story shared the details of these sacred stories directly into the surface of the desert using their hands and sticks to create epic Dreamtime stories of their ancestors, the landscape, and ceremony – designs that were, and are, an essential part of a deeply held spiritual connection to the land.

Anamarapiti by Tommy Watson. Painted in 2005. Acrylic on linen. 250cm x 183cm. Image courtesy of The MacDonald Collection and The Indigenous Art Book. © 2024. All rights reserved. Reproduction is strictly forbidden in all national and international jurisdictions.

The symbols used in dot art predate the art style itself and have been integral to Aboriginal culture for tens of thousands of years. The patterns and designs in dot art represent more than aesthetic choices – they are maps of Country, narratives of ancestral journeys, and reflections of the artists’ cultural identities. They often depict tracks, waterholes, and other elements of the natural and spiritual world. Dots were also used to obscure sacred symbols and meanings, ensuring that uninitiated viewers could not fully interpret the spiritual and cultural significance of the stories for whom they were not intended.

Dot art, as we recognise it today, began with the Papunya Tula Art Movement in 1971. Geoffrey Bardon, a schoolteacher at Papunya, encouraged the local Aboriginal men to paint their traditional stories on canvas and board. This initiative gave rise to the first dot paintings. Early artists included Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Kaapa Tjampitjinpa, and Johnny Warangkula Tjupurrula, and their work brought attention to Aboriginal art as an important and valuable form of cultural expression.

Before acrylics, natural pigments like ochres were used, but they were less durable and therefore prone to disintegration over time. The acrylic paints introduced by Bardon allowed the artists to explore the integration of more vibrant colours that could reflect a vast range of ecological and environmental elements of their storytelling, while also ensuring the longevity and preservation of these important works. Today, dot art continues to evolve, blending traditional and contemporary elements, but the essential elements of each story remain connected to their cultural origins.

Wandjinas from the Kimberley region

Wandjinas are significant spiritual beings in the mythology of Indigenous people of the Kimberley region in Western Australia. They are central to the beliefs of the Worrorra, Ngarinyin, and Wunambal people, and play a vital role in their creation stories, cultural practices, and artistic traditions. Wandjinas are considered the creators of the land, people, and laws. They brought order to the world and are deeply connected to rain, water, and fertility. They are seen as custodians of life, responsible for ensuring balance and sustaining the environment.

As rainmakers, Wandjinas are invoked in rituals to bring rain and ensure the fertility of the land. They are believed to control the wet and dry seasons, essential for the survival of people and animals. Wandjinas impart the laws, customs, and ceremonies that guide the community, and they are central to teaching and passing down cultural knowledge.

Wandjinas are said to have travelled across the land during the Dreamtime, creating rivers, mountains, and other natural features. After completing their work, they merged with the land, leaving behind their spirit in the form of rock art. Some stories tell of Wandjinas emerging from waterholes, emphasising their connection to life-giving water sources.

Wandjina by Kevin Waina. Born in Wyndham in 1954, Kevin has lived most of his life in Kalumburu in the northern Kimberley region. He is a very articulate man and has in-depth knowledge of culture and stories that he is willing to share in his paintings. 133cm x 65cm. Image courtesy of The Bedford Collection and The Indigenous Art Book. © 2024. All rights reserved. Reproduction is strictly forbidden in all national and international jurisdictions.

The Wandjina remains a potent symbol of Indigenous cultural identity and spiritual connection to the land, and Wandjina art has gained recognition globally for its distinct and powerful imagery. The Wandjinas represent an enduring connection between Indigenous people, their country, and their spiritual beliefs, embodying a profound understanding of the ecological cycles throughout our natural world.

Geoffrey Williams is the Founder and Publishing Curator of The Indigenous Art Book. He is based in Darwin, Australia. The Traditional Owners of Darwin and the surrounding region are the Larrakia (Saltwater) people. Larrakia country runs far beyond the municipal boundaries of Darwin, covering the area from the Cox Peninsula in the west to the Adelaide River in the east.

The difference between ‘profit’ and ‘profiteering’

By Geoffrey Williams, Founder and Publishing Curator, The Indigenous Art Book

In a recent post, I wrote that I would return to the topic of the difference between ‘profit’ and ‘profiteering’, because this is a complex and often ill-informed conversation between buyers and sellers of Aboriginal Art once the piece has been purchased outright and upfront from the artist(s).

Visitors to Aboriginal Art galleries – whether they be ‘bricks and mortar’, online, or both – often don’t realise that the paintings on display and for sale are owned outright by the gallery owner. As discussed in our earlier post, they are never there on consignment. I should also point out that I have no experience in the community-based Aboriginal Art Centre economic ecology, so I am not in a position to write about how these Art Centres conduct ‘business’ with their artists.

Understanding the difference between profit and profiteering in the context of the Aboriginal Art movement relates to ethical and fair business dealings with the Artists in the first place, and throughout our business relationship with them. Understanding the difference also means that we need a clear definition of what the two different words mean and represent.

Profit is a legitimate earning from the sale of Aboriginal artworks, often achieved through fair practices that respect the artists’ rights, creativity, cultural and reputational significance within the broader movement more generally, and the overall quality of the piece. Ethical galleries, organisations, and dealers make a profit by selling artworks at a reasonable and necessary markup, ensuring that the price paid for the piece in the first place has been fair, reasonable, adequate and respectful.

Profiteering involves exploitative practices aimed at maximising financial gain at the expense of the artists. Profiteering often involves taking advantage of the artists’ economic vulnerability, geographic isolation, or lack of access to fair and ethical markets or collectives where fair prices can be determined, resulting in underpayment or no payment for artworks. Unscrupulous dealers might purchase works at very low prices, misrepresent their origins, or even sell unauthentic or misappropriated works to increase profit margins without giving artists proper credit or compensation. This practice undermines the artists’ livelihoods, the cultural integrity and significance of the art, and creates a situation where buyers and collectors of Aboriginal Art believe that every gallery owner is profiteering, rather than making a reasonable profit on their initial fair and ethical investment.

My Country by Kathleen Petyarre. Painted in 2011. Acrylic on canvas. 90cm x 60cm. Image courtesy of The Bedford Collection and The Indigenous Art Book. © 2024. All rights reserved. Reproduction is strictly forbidden in all national and international jurisdictions.

The business of Aboriginal Art

Like any form of commerce, the business of Aboriginal Art relies on sellers making a profit on the pieces that they sell, and that profit margin represents a percentage of the associated costs involved with running their business. The perception that Aboriginal Artists are being “ripped off” or “exploited” stems from a perception that gallery owners should not be able to profit from selling the works they have purchased from the artist(s) for a profit, or that the artist(s) have been paid very little for their work when compared to the amount the piece is now being sold for. While there is certainly a history of unscrupulous and opportunistic dealings with artists and their families throughout the history of the Australian Aboriginal Art Movement, our relationship with artists today relies on transparency, mutual respect and understanding of the commercial imperatives. Mutually rewarding business relationships with artists are built on the foundations of trust, respect, and ethics, and it is next to impossible for us to function in the commercial world of Aboriginal Art if the artists do not trust us to do the right thing by them or their families – because they simply will not sell their work to us.

Case Study 1: A young artist learning how to value and sell her art

This particular example of a young artist’s first encounter with an Art Gallery is an interesting example of how important it is to establish a mutual understanding of trust and fairness when dealing with young artists and their families – and how quickly and unexpectedly things can go tremendously wrong!

A young artist had come to see me and sell me one of her paintings. She is one of the youngest members of a celebrated family of artists, and there was immense excitement about her beginning to painting her mother’s and her famous great-aunt’s story. The value of her work, and her place in the provenance associated with her painting, was indisputable – but like many artists, she had no idea what she wanted to sell the piece for. This is the rule, rather than the exception, because Aboriginal Artists rarely know what their work is worth. They see our prices, but they rarely appreciate what dollar value within our retail price is reflected in the price for them.

I made this particular artist an offer, and she accepted it – and there were smiles and much relief all around. Only a few hours later, I answered the phone to one of her aunties, who told me in no uncertain terms that neither she nor other members of her famous family of painters would ever sell to me again! It turned out that the price I had offered was considered way too low, and that I had taken advantage of this young artist, and that was that. The end. I suggested to the aunty that given that she was way more experienced in selling to galleries, that she come in with her niece and we go over the transaction again to resolve our issues.

Later that day, the young artist returned to the gallery with her aunty, and we began again. Aunty stood a little away from us, pretending to be distracted by bright, shiny souvenirs. I mentioned my first price, and before the young artist could respond, there was a sudden and very particular sound from Aunty that was, let’s say, negative. I increased my offer, and again, Aunty was not at all satisfied. I increased my offer again, and Aunty was silent – but for a reasonably satisfied smile and a nod. The price and the rules had been set and agreed.

Case Study 2: The young women from Arnhem Land

When artists from Arnhem Land make the long and complicated journey to Darwin to sell their weavings, it is always a cause for great celebration. On this particular occasion, a small group of young women arrived from Maningrida with a large collection of beautiful creations. The first roadblock was language – their relative lack of English, and my complete lack of any way to communicate with them! We stumbled awkwardly through the pleasantries – collectively realising that we were rapidly approaching a dead end. Fortunately, one of the young women had one of her famous Aunties (who I knew very well) on the phone from Maningrida, and after I was informed that these young women were members of her family, and that this collection of weavings was intended to fund their trip to Darwin (and back to Maningrida), the instruction was simple – “Best price Geoffrey. Good price.” The young women’s aunty stayed on the phone, as I tapped away on the calculator and noted values in what became a very long list. The total price was presented to one of the young women, who relayed it (and I’m not sure what else), to her aunty, who instantly approved and thanked me, and our deal was done.

The influence of Elders in the success (or otherwise) of negotiations with artists is an absolute certainty throughout the contemporary Aboriginal Art Movement. What is equally true is that if these same Elders consider you untrustworthy or unethical, then the consequences of that conclusion are not only unfortunate, but also final. Working with artists to develop our business relationship is crucial to not only our success in the business of Aboriginal Art, but more importantly, theirs.

Geoffrey Williams is the Founder and Publishing Curator of The Indigenous Art Book. He is based in Darwin, Australia. The Traditional Owners of Darwin and the surrounding region are the Larrakia (Saltwater) people. Larrakia country runs far beyond the municipal boundaries of Darwin, covering the area from the Cox Peninsula in the west to the Adelaide River in the east.