Wattie Karruwara Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Wattie Karruwara Art Value Price Guide

Aug. 27, 2024
Wattie Karruwara (circa 1910-1983) Untitled, c.1965
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
Wattie Karruwara (circa 1910-1983) Untitled, c.1965 watercolour on paper 51.0 x 76.0cm (20 1/16 x 29 15/16in).
Bonhams
Nov. 29, 2023
WATTIE KARRUWARA C1910-1983
Est: $5,000 - $8,000
"Coolamon with Wandjinas" c1965 Natural earth pigments on carved hardwood, with fine depictions of Wanjina figures, a sea turtle, tortoise and bustard. With custom stand. 61cm Length x 21.5 Width Provenance: Sothebys The John McCaffrey Collection of Kimberley Art, Lot 35, 28/07/2003.
McKenzies Auctioneers
Jun. 20, 2023
Wattie Karruwara - Wandjina, c. 1971
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Wattie Karruwara was born in the Hunter River basin in the far Northwest of Western Australia c1910. Wattie lived in Mowanjum with his uncle Micky Bungkuni, a senior Wunambal elder under whose guidance Wattie began painting. The earliest record of one of Wattie's paintings is a work titled Wandjina Man with Long Neck,which was collected by anthropologist Norman Tindale in 1953. A number of Wattie’s works were donated to the University of Western Australia in the 1960s by linguist Peter Lucich, while Wandjina paintings were created during the 1970s for Helen Groger (which are now in the collection of the National Museum of Australia), and Tom McCourt.
Cooee Art
May. 23, 2023
Wanjina Called Mandangari
Est: $15,000 - $20,000
Wattie Karruwara circa 1910-1983 Wanjina Called Mandangari, 1975 Natural earth pigments on sandstone 31 ⅞ in x 20 ⅝ in (81 cm x 51 cm)
Sotheby's
May. 23, 2023
WATTIE KARRUWARA - UNTITLED C.1965 - WATERCOLOUR ON PAPER
Est: $18,000 - $25,000
WATTIE KARRUWARA (B.c.1910-1983) UNTITLED c.1965 McCaffrey catalogue number 30 inscribed verso Watercolour on paper 57 x 78cm Estimate $18,000/25,000 AUD
GFL Fine Art
Jun. 08, 2021
Wattie Karruwara - Untitled (Landscape with Emus, Bird, Snakes and Kangaroo), c.1965
Est: $12,000 - $15,000
Cooee Art Indigenous Fine Art Auction "Wattie Karruwara was born in the Hunter River basin in the far Northwest of Western Australia c1910. Wattie lived in Mowandjum with his uncle Micky Bungkuni, a senior Wunambal elder who painted infrequently. Under his guidance, Wattie began painting. The earliest record of one of his paintings is a work titled+AKA-Wandjina Man with Long Neck,+AKA-which was collected by anthropologist Norman Tindale in 1953. Wattie's works on paper were the result of a friendship developed between the artist and American anthropologist John McCaffrey, who in the early 1960s provided him with small flat painting surfaces. Initially, these took the form of portable barks, which McCaffrey had flown from Arnhem Land through Professor Roland Berndt, as bark painting was not a Kimberley tradition. However, the difficulty in obtaining the bark led the anthropologist to look for a simpler medium, and he purchased the best quality paper and Windsor and Newton watercolour paints on a visit to Perth. The results were astounding and McCaffrey noted that Wattie painted 'sometimes up to eight hours straight, in a trance-like state with eyes open'. Karruwara completed the series at the Derby Leprosarium after being diagnosed with leprosy. In all, only 38 watercolours resulted from their exchange, the beauty of which resides in the naive charm of the colourful semi-naturalistic depictions of the flora and fauna of his country. A number of Wattie+IBk-s works were donated to the University of Western Australia in the 1960s by linguist Peter Lucich, while Wandjina paintings created during the 1970s for Helen Groger Wurm are now in the collection of the National Museum of Australia." Contact Cooee Art for more information on this Aboriginal artwork.
Cooee Art
Mar. 18, 2020
WATTIE KARRUWARA , (c.1910 – 1983), WANDJINA, c.1962, natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark
Est: $7,000 - $10,000
WATTIE KARRUWARA (c.1910 – 1983) WANDJINA, c.1962 natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark DIMENSIONS: 41.5 x 24.0 cm PROVENANCE: Private collection, New South Wales Sotheby’s, Sydney, 29 July 2003, lot 72 (as ‘Wanjina’) Niagara Galleries, Melbourne (label attached verso) Private collection, Melbourne Bonham’s, Sydney, 28 June 2011, lot 11 Private collection, Melbourne EXHIBITED: Blue Chip VIII: The Collectors' Exhibition, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 7 March – 1 April 2006, cat. 30 Blue Chip XII: The Collectors’ Exhibition, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 2 March– 1 April 2010, cat. 16
Deutscher and Hackett
Oct. 22, 2017
WATTIE KARRUWARA (CIRCA 1910-1983) Untitled watercolour, gouache and ink on paper
Est: $2,000 - $4,000
WATTIE KARRUWARA (CIRCA 1910-1983) Untitled watercolour, gouache and ink on paper 55 x 74 cm PROVENANCE Aboriginal Art, Sothebys, Sydney, 20 October 2008, lot 271
Mossgreen Auctions
Jun. 10, 2015
ATTRIBUTED TO WATTIE KARRUWARA CIRCA 1910-1983 | Wanjina
Est: £4,000 - £6,000
Natural earth and synthetic pigments on bark
Sotheby's
Jun. 10, 2015
WATTIE KARRUWARA CIRCA 1910-1983 | Wanjina called Mandangari
Est: £8,000 - £12,000
Natural earth pigments on sandstone
Sotheby's
Nov. 19, 2012
Attributed to Wattie Karruwara (circa 1910-1983)
Est: £8,000 - £12,000
Untitled (Bustard) synthetic and natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark 56 x 24cm
Bonhams
Oct. 20, 2008
WATTIE KARRUWARA , CIRCA 1910-1983 UNTITLED Watercolour on paper
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
Bears McCaffrey catalogue number 29 on the reverse Watercolour on paper
Sotheby's
Oct. 20, 2008
WATTIE KARRUWARA , CIRCA 1910-1983 UNTITLED SHIELD Natural earth pigments on carved softwood
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
Natural earth pigments on carved softwood
Sotheby's
Oct. 20, 2008
WATTIE KARRUWARA , CIRCA 1910-1983 UNTITLED Watercolour on paper
Est: $7,000 - $10,000
Bears McCaffrey catalogue number 2 on the reverse Watercolour on paper
Sotheby's
Oct. 20, 2008
WATTIE KARRUWARA , CIRCA 1910-1983 UNTITLED Watercolour on paper
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
Bears McCaffrey catalogue number 5 on the reverse Watercolour on paper
Sotheby's
Nov. 15, 2005
WATTIE KARRUWARA CIRCA 1910-1983 AND JACK WHERRA CIRCA 1924-1983
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
WATTIE KARRUWARA CIRCA 1910-1983 AND JACK WHERRA CIRCA 1924-1983 INCISED BOAB NUT C.1965 MEASUREMENTS 22 cm 23 cm PROVENANCE Acquired by the vendor in the Derby region, West Kimberley Private collection, Western Australia Karruwara's boab nut depicts five Aboriginal figures, a spirit figure named Nunginia, two emus, three parrots and various plants. Wherra's nut depicts five Aboriginal men together with a club, shield, spear thrower, glass tipped spear and axe.
Sotheby's
Jul. 26, 2004
WATTIE KARRUWARA CIRCA 1910-1983 WANJINA C.1962 78 by 31cm Natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark Provenance: Painted at Mowanjum, Western Australia Private collection, Victoria Cf. For another depiction, c.1968, of a Wanjina attributed to Wattie
Est: $15,000 - $20,000
WATTIE KARRUWARA CIRCA 1910-1983 WANJINA C.1962 78 by 31cm Natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark Provenance: Painted at Mowanjum, Western Australia Private collection, Victoria Cf. For another depiction, c.1968, of a Wanjina attributed to Wattie Karruwara, see Davies, S.M., Collected: 150 years of and artefacts at the Macleay Museum, Sydney: The University of Sydney, 2002, illustrated at p.71, plate 81. Similar bark paintings from the same period by Mickey Bungkuni, also a Wunambal speaker, are illustrated in Berndt, R.M., C H. Berndt and J.E. Stanton, Aboriginal Australian Art: A visual perspective, Methuen Australia, Sydney, 1982. A photograph of Wattie painting on bark in 1975 is reproduced in Ryan, J. and K. Akerman, Images of Power: of the Kimberley, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1993, p.15. See also the artist's Wanjina Miaurdudu at Warrabi, c.1970, on composition board, p.25. In the 1960s the Wunambal artist Wattie Karruwara was one of the first at Mowanjum in the Kimberley to paint Wanjina for sale, using ochres on composition board and paper. He also painted some of the few images of Wanjina on sheets of bark of irregular shape. Painting on bark is not a traditional medium in the Kimberley, however bark paintings were made sporadically as early as the 1930s for the missionary J.R.B. Love and the anthropologist Helmut Petri, in attempts to mimic the Arnhem Land technique. Bark painting in the Kimberley is closely related to other forms of painting; on rock surfaces, on artefacts and on people's bodies in ceremony. Wattie's images of Wanjina are characterised by long vertical rays projecting from the head, small eyes and nose and delicate hands and feet. In 1972 Wattie was commissioned to replicate a rock shelter complete with paintings of Wanjina by the Western Australian Museum. Wattie is also renowned for the series of watercolours depicting his country and commissioned by the American anthropologist John McCaffrey in the mid-1960s that were a feature of Sotheby's 2003 sale.
Sotheby's
Jul. 28, 2003
[ Aboriginal Art ] Wattie Karruwara Circa 1910-1983 Wanjina c. 1962 Natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark 41 by 23cm Provenance Painted at Mowanjum, Western Australia Private collection, New South Wales
Est: $12,000 - $18,000
[ Aboriginal Art ] Wattie Karruwara Circa 1910-1983 Wanjina c. 1962 Natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark 41 by 23cm Provenance Painted at Mowanjum, Western Australia Private collection, New South Wales
Sotheby's