In the 1950s, Albert Namatjira’s iconic watercolor artworks were often sold on the streets of Alice Springs for just a few shillings.
Most important points:
- Demand for Albert Namatjira artworks has skyrocketed, with one piece raking in over $120,000
- A prominent art owner says people are realizing how important an artist the Arrente man was
- A relative of Namatjira says his legacy has inspired many others to follow in the artist’s footsteps
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article may contain images of people who have died.
Over the years and after his death in 1959, his paintings of the vast Central Australian landscape became highly sought after, with collectors around the world begging to own a piece of his work.
Now there is renewed interest in the Arrernte artist and father of the Hermannsburg School, who is setting new records with his work.
Namatjira’s Glen Helen Gorge on paper grossed over $120,000 when it went under the hammer in Melbourne earlier this year.
In July, his painting The Granseur – Mount Sonda in Adelaide sold for $54,000, an unprecedented price nearly $10,000 above expectations.
“Namatjira’s work doesn’t come on the scene very often, but those works… have tremendous value,” said Jim Elder, auctioneer and owner at Elder Fine Art in Adelaide.
“I don’t feel like the people in Alice Springs would know what really happened to his work.
“He should be taken much more seriously and I think it’s in this day and age that people are becoming aware of how important an artist he really is.”
Born and raised in the remote Hermannsburg Lutheran Mission, southwest of Alice Springs, Namatjira learned the art of watercolor painting by visiting European artist Rex Battarbee and was greatly encouraged by the local pastor.
His status grew rapidly in Australia and as a result he became the first Indigenous person to acquire full citizenship, enabling him to vote and purchase alcohol in 1957.
Mr Elder said the entire Australian art market had been booming lately, but Namatjira’s work far outperformed the market trend.
“What drives all this, of course, is availability, and people are increasingly aware of where this artist really stands in the history of Australian art,” he said.
“You wonder these days, if Namatjira hadn’t come along and Rex Battarbee hadn’t come along to discover him, that whole school of paintings wouldn’t have existed.
“We owe a great debt to the likes of Albert Namatjira, Rex Battarbee and the Hermannsburg School of Artists.”
Legacy painting the way for others
Selma Coulthard was only a small child when Albert Namatjira died.
She doesn’t remember much about his funeral, but said seeing his artwork left her in no doubt about what she wanted to do later.
Now an accomplished artist at the Namatjira School of Art in Central Australia, Ms Coulthard has spent the past three decades continuing the art movement that first inspired Namatjira in Hermannsburg all those years ago.
“We have tried to revive his image,” she said.
“Some people don’t remember him because most of his kids are gone, so we’re the family members who continue his work and talk about his life here.”
She said Namatjira, widely regarded as the most famous Indigenous Australian of his generation, has always maintained his bond with family and country.
“His connection was with the whole family tribe. It didn’t matter who it was, it was called family,” she said.
“He was a very famous person and his spirit was always there because he loved painting.
“He wrote down what he saw, and it showed, because his love for his country – including the country – was reflected in the paintings he did.”
After a decades-long battle, the copyright to Namatjira’s work was returned to his family in 2017 after it was sold by the Public Trustee in 1983 for $8,500.