The Collection of the Late Ian Dunlop, Canberra
Lot 206
Dick Nguleingulei Murrumurru(1920-1987)Kangaroos, c.1978
3 December 2025, 14:00 AEDT
SydneyAU$1,200 - AU$2,200
Ask about this lot
Alex Clark
Head of Sale, Senior Specialist
Merryn Schriever
Managing Director, Australia
Dick Nguleingulei Murrumurru (1920-1987)
Kangaroos, c.1978
natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark
66.0 x 44.0cm (26 x 17 5/16in).
natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark
66.0 x 44.0cm (26 x 17 5/16in).
Footnotes
PROVENANCE
Macquarie University, Sydney
The Collection of the Late Ian Dunlop, Canberra, acquired from the above in 1978
EXHIBITED
Western Arnhem Land Bark Paintings, Macquarie University, Sydney, September 1978, cat. 5
Accompanied by original typed label, Macquarie University exhibition room sheets and exhibition didactic which reads:
'Kangaroos, wallabies and euros represent the major marsupial game species of the Arnhemland area. Their frequency as subjects for the Gunwinggu artists is not surprising in light of their economic importance. They wield not only large quantities of edible meat but also bone from which various tools are made, and sinew that is also used in other areas of economic life. While there is little evidence that paintings were traditionally or are now made as nagic to ensure the hunters' success, they may have a connection with increase rites. It is more likely that the animals were a favourite source of food and that they were hunted more frequently than many other animals. Their importance to the hunters as food and the esteem in which they are held as prey explains the hunter artist's preoccupation with them.
The artists are keen observers of nature and all her species. By the time they are mature and fully engaged as both hunters and artists they would, by necessity, have an intimate knowledge of these creatures. It is not surprising that such intimate knowledge and familiarity results in the appearance of these creatures in many paintings.'