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Lot 26
Emily Kame Kngwarreye(circa 1910-1996)Nterkwe - Emu Tucker II, 1991
11 – 12 May 2022, 19:30 AEST
SydneySold for AU$209,100 inc. premium
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Emily Kame Kngwarreye (circa 1910-1996)
Nterkwe - Emu Tucker II, 1991
inscribed and signed verso: '1R30 / Emily Kngwarreye'
synthetic polymer paint on linen
130.0 x 225.0cm (51 3/16 x 88 9/16in).
inscribed and signed verso: '1R30 / Emily Kngwarreye'
synthetic polymer paint on linen
130.0 x 225.0cm (51 3/16 x 88 9/16in).
Footnotes
PROVENANCE
Delmore Gallery, Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
Private collection
Sotheby's, Melbourne, 29 June 1998, lot 131
Stefano Spaccapietra Collection, Switzerland
This painting is accompanied by a copy of the original Delmore Gallery documentation.
In 1993, Professor Stefano Spaccapietra was to encounter Australian Aboriginal art for the first time at an exhibition in Auvernier, near Neuchâtel in Switzerland. Professor Spaccapietra and his wife fell in love with a painting by Emily Kame Kngwarreye. They immediately decided to buy it and this was to form the beginning of their collection. Their first encounter with Aboriginal art inspired a total of 10 trips to Australia where they spent months at a time exploring Central Australia as well as visiting public collections of Aboriginal art throughout the country to expand their knowledge in this area.
The Spaccapietras continued to pursue their passion for the work of Emily Kame Kngwarreye, visiting the Holts at Delmore Downs station: 'Emily Kame Kngwarreye's incredible talent and mastery of colour, as well as her ability to be inventive and innovative while remaining true to her traditional motifs, made her our favourite figure in Aboriginal art. We have been fortunate to form a rich collection of her masterpieces. I was also lucky enough to meet her twice, once in Alice ... the second time on her land in Utopia, where I was able to shake her hand and spend a short time with her. It was a very emotional moment for me. Our fascination with Emily has logically expanded to include all the Utopia artists, including Gloria Petyarre and especially Kathleen Petyarre.'1
Keen to educate Europeans about the art of Indigenous Australians, the Spaccapietras exhibited works from their collection several times in Switzerland and several works from their collection are now part of the collections of two Swiss museums including the Musée Cantonal des Beaux Arts in Lausanne.
Francesca Cavazzini
1. Personal correspondence with Stefano Spaccapietra
