Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri Art Value Price Guide

Nov. 24, 2024
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, (c1920 - 2008), Rockholes Near the Olgas, 2008, acrylic on board, 50 x 25 cm. (19.6 x 9.8 in.), frame: 53 x 28 x 4 cm. (20.8 x 11.0 x 1.5 in.)
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c1920 - 2008) Rockholes Near the Olgas, 2008 acrylic on board inscribed and titled verso, Nanda/Hobbs certificate of authenticity, cat no. NABWT_RNO10-070020PAG
Lawsons
Nov. 24, 2024
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, (c1920 - 2008), Rockholes Near the Olgas, 2008, acrylic on board, 50 x 25 cm. (19.6 x 9.8 in.), frame: 53 x 28 x 4 cm. (20.8 x 11.0 x 1.5 in.)
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c1920 - 2008) Rockholes Near the Olgas, 2008 acrylic on board inscribed and titled verso, Nanda/Hobbs certificate of authenticity, cat no.NABWT_RNO10-07006PAG
Lawsons
Nov. 20, 2024
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c1920-2008), Rockholes Near the Olgas 2007
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, BRISBANE BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c1920-2008) Rockholes Near the Olgas 2007 synthetic polymer paint on linen 153.0 x 62.0 cm bears inscription verso: Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri Rockholes near the Olgas 10-07 317 152 x 62 cm Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrngu corp. accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrngu, Northern Territory
Menzies
Nov. 20, 2024
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c1920-2008), Rockholes Near the Olgas 2008
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, SYDNEY BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c1920-2008) Rockholes Near the Olgas 2008 synthetic polymer paint on linen 122.5 x 122.5 cm bears inscription verso: Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri/ "Rockholes Near the Olgas"/ 10-08476 121 x 121 cm./ (WAT 05)/ Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu Corp./ Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri "Rockholes near the Olgas"/ 10-08471 122 x 121 cm accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Nanda/Hobbs, Sydney
Menzies
Nov. 12, 2024
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, UNTITLED (ROCKHOLES NEAR THE OLGAS), 2008
Est: $5,000 - $7,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI 1920-2008 UNTITLED (ROCKHOLES NEAR THE OLGAS), 2008 acrylic on board 50 x 25 cm (each); 53 x 28 cm (framed) artwork cataloguing details verso PROVENANCE Watiyawarnu Art Centre, NT Cat No. 77-080025, 77-080020 and 77-080017 Private collection, NT Private collection, NSW Accompanied by certificates of authenticity from Watiyawarnu Art Centre ©Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri / Copyright Agency, 2024 Bill Whiskey did not begin painting on canvas until entering the last four years of his life at 84 years of age, by which time he was widely renowned as a powerful healer and keeper of sacred knowledge. His paintings, the first to depict the major Dreaming story and the creation of major sites throughout his country, are imbued with authority and steeped in traditional knowledge. His subjects included the mythic battle related in the Cockatoo Dreaming that occurred at his birthplace, Pirupa Alka (Rock holes near the Olgas - Kata Tjuta and Ayers Rock - Uluru). During the battle, white feathers were scattered about and the landscape became indented by the entangled combatants crashing to the ground repeatedly. Subterranean streams filled these impressions with water and a circular amphitheatre was created by the sweep of wings. Today, a large, central, glowing white rock signifies the fallen cockatoo, still sipping the life-giving water from the sacred pools. In keeping with the depiction of Dreaming stories throughout the Western Desert, the mythic and numinous is inherent within the sacred geography. In this painting, water places such as Pirupa Akla are marked by sets of concentric circles, their dazzling presence representing their powerful life-giving significance rather than their actual size. The actions of the White Cockatoo and Crow ancestors are encrypted as dotted patches that reference topographic features associated with the Dreaming. This piece is a fine example of an Australian Aboriginal artwork.
Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art)
Nov. 12, 2024
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, ROCKHOLES NEAR THE OLGAS, 2007
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI 1920-2008 ROCKHOLES NEAR THE OLGAS, 2007 acrylic on linen 37.5 x 101 cm artwork cataloguing details verso PROVENANCE Watiyawarnu Artists, NT Cat No. 7707-508 Private collection, NT Private collection, NSW Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Watiyawanu Artists ©Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri / Copyright Agency, 2024 Bill Whiskey did not begin painting on canvas until the last four years of his life at 84 years of age, by which time he was widely renowned as a powerful healer and keeper of sacred knowledge. His paintings, the first to depict the major Dreaming story and the creation of major sites throughout his country, are imbued with authority and steeped in traditional knowledge. In this painting of rock holes and country near Kata Juta, water places such as Pirupa Akla are marked by a set of concentric circles. Their dazzling presence represents their powerful life-giving significance, rather than their actual size. The actions of the White Cockatoo and Crow ancestors are encrypted as dotted patches that reference topographic features associated with the Dreaming. This piece is a fine example of an Australian Aboriginal artwork.
Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art)
Nov. 12, 2024
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, ROCK HOLES NEAR THE OLGAS, 2008
Est: $20,000 - $25,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI 1920-2008 ROCK HOLES NEAR THE OLGAS, 2008 acrylic on linen 125 x 91 cm; 128 x 94 cm artwork cataloguing details verso PROVENANCE Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu, NT Cat No. 77-08400 Honey Ant Gallery, NSW Private Collection, WA Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu EXHIBITED Rockholes, Honey Ant Gallery, Sydney, NSW, 7 August - 27 September 2008 Contemporary Indigenous Art in Australia, IVAM, Institut Valencià d'Art Modern, Spain, 31 January - 16 April 2012 Dreamings. Aboriginal Australian art meets de Chirico, Museo Carlo Bilotti - Aranciera di Villa Borghese, Roma, 4 July - 2 November 2014 ©Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri / Copyright Agency, 2024 Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri did not begin painting on canvas until the last four years of his life at 84 years of age, by which time he was widely renowned as a powerful healer and keeper of sacred knowledge. His paintings, the first to depict the major Dreaming story and the creation of major sites throughout his Country, are imbued with authority and steeped in traditional knowledge. In this painting of rock holes and country near Kata Juta, water places such as Pirupa Akla are marked by a set of concentric circles. Their dazzling presence represents the powerful life-giving significance rather than their actual size. The actions of the White Cockatoo and Crow ancestors are encrypted as dotted patches that reference topographic features associated with the Dreaming. This piece is a fine example of an Australian Aboriginal artwork.
Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art)
Sep. 19, 2024
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, (c1920 - 2008), Rockholes Near the Olgas, 2008, acrylic on board, 50 x 25 cm. (19.6 x 9.8 in.), frame: 53 x 28 x 4 cm. (20.8 x 11.0 x 1.5 in.)
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c1920 - 2008) Rockholes Near the Olgas, 2008 acrylic on board inscribed and titled verso, Nanda/Hobbs certificate of authenticity, CAT No. NABWT_RNO10-07006PAG
Lawsons
Sep. 19, 2024
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, (c1920 - 2008), Rockholes Near the Olgas, 2008, acrylic on board, 50 x 25 cm. (19.6 x 9.8 in.), frame: 53 x 28 x 4 cm. (20.8 x 11.0 x 1.5 in.)
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c1920 - 2008) Rockholes Near the Olgas, 2008 acrylic on board inscribed and titled verso, Nanda/Hobbs certificate of authenticity, CAT No. NABWT_RNO10-070020PAG
Lawsons
Jul. 28, 2024
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, (c1920 - 2008), Rockholes Near the Olgas, 2008, acrylic on board, 50 x 25 cm. (19.6 x 9.8 in.), frame: 53 x 28 x 4 cm. (20.8 x 11.0 x 1.5 in.)
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c1920 - 2008) Rockholes Near the Olgas, 2008 acrylic on board inscribed and titled verso, Nanda/Hobbs certificate of authenticity, CAT No. NABWT_RNO10-07006PAG
Lawsons
Jul. 28, 2024
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, (c1920 - 2008), Rockholes Near the Olgas, 2008, acrylic on board, 50 x 25 cm. (19.6 x 9.8 in.), frame: 53 x 28 x 4 cm. (20.8 x 11.0 x 1.5 in.)
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c1920 - 2008) Rockholes Near the Olgas, 2008 acrylic on board inscribed and titled verso, Nanda/Hobbs certificate of authenticity, CAT No. NABWT_RNO10-070020PAG
Lawsons
Jun. 30, 2024
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, ROCKHOLE NEAR THE OLGAS, 2008
Est: $3,000 - $4,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920 – 2008) ROCKHOLE NEAR THE OLGAS, 2008 synthetic polymer paint on board 25.0 x 50.0 cm bears code verso: Watiyawarnu Art Centre cat. 77 – 080010 donated by Anonymous PROVENANCE Painted in 2008 for Watiyawarnu Art Centre Cooee Art Leven, Sydney Private collection, New South Wales DESCRIPTION Pitjantjatjara man Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri was a powerful ngangkari (traditional healer) who lived near Mount Liebig in the Northern Territory and held sacred knowledge of his Country, which encompassed Kata Tjuta (Mount Olga) and Uluru. This remarkably potent small work distills the power and authority of Tjapaltjarri’s practice, demonstrating his mastery of scale and palette. It is one of just a handful of small pictures that the artist painted on board during his four-year painting career. © Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri/Copyright Agency 2024 This work is located at NCIE | 166 – 180 George St, Redfern, New South Wales, 2016
Deutscher and Hackett
May. 26, 2024
TJAPALTJARRI Bill Whiskey (Aboriginal c.1920-2008), 'Rockholes Near The Olgas,' 2008., Acrylic on Board, 50x25cm
Est: $2,500 - $4,000
TJAPALTJARRI, Bill Whiskey (Aboriginal c.1920-2008) 'Rockholes Near The Olgas,' 2008. (Cat #NABWT_RN010_070015PAG) Acrylic on Board 50x25cm PROVENANCE: Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturngu, Mount Liebig; Nanda\Hobbs Pty Ltd; private collection, Queensland. EXHIBITIONS: 'Landscape Obscura,' 21st February-9th March 2019, Nanda\Hobbs, Chippendale, Sydney. Certificate of authenticity included.
Davidson Auctions
May. 26, 2024
TJAPALTJARRI Bill Whiskey (Aboriginal c.1920-2008), 'Rockholes Near The Olgas,' 2008., Acrylic on Board, 50x25cm
Est: $2,500 - $4,000
TJAPALTJARRI, Bill Whiskey (Aboriginal c.1920-2008) 'Rockholes Near The Olgas,' 2008. (Cat #NABWT_RN010_070020PAG) Acrylic on Board 50x25cm PROVENANCE: Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturngu, Mount Liebig; Nanda\Hobbs Pty Ltd; private collection, Queensland. EXHIBITIONS: 'Landscape Obscura,' 21st February-9th March 2019, Nanda\Hobbs, Chippendale, Sydney. Certificate of authenticity included.
Davidson Auctions
May. 26, 2024
TJAPALTJARRI Bill Whiskey (Aboriginal c.1920-2008), 'Rockholes Near The Olgas,' 2008., Acrylic on Board, 50x25cm
Est: $2,500 - $4,000
TJAPALTJARRI, Bill Whiskey (Aboriginal c.1920-2008) 'Rockholes Near The Olgas,' 2008. (Cat #NABWT_RN010_07006PAG) Acrylic on Board 50x25cm PROVENANCE: Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturngu, Mount Liebig; Nanda\Hobbs Pty Ltd; private collection, Queensland. EXHIBITIONS: 'Landscape Obscura,' 21st February-9th March 2019, Nanda\Hobbs, Chippendale, Sydney. Certificate of authenticity included.
Davidson Auctions
Apr. 04, 2024
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (1920-2008), TITLED 'ROCKHOLE II', POLYMER ON CANVAS, APPROX. 50CM BY 25CM, CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY TO REVERSE
Est: $600 - $2,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (1920-2008), TITLED 'ROCKHOLE II', POLYMER ON CANVAS, APPROX. 50CM BY 25CM, CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY TO REVERSE
Albion Antique Auction Centre
Mar. 26, 2024
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, ROCKHOLES AND COUNTRY NEAR THE OLGAS, 2007
Est: $15,000 - $20,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920 - 2008) ROCKHOLES AND COUNTRY NEAR THE OLGAS, 2007 synthetic polymer paint on linen 121.0 x 121.0 cm bears inscription verso: artist’s name, size and Watiyawanu Artists cat. 03-07-253 PROVENANCE Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu, Mount Leibig, Northern Territory Tony Bond, Adelaide Private collection, Adelaide ESSAY After having watched the women at Amunturrungu (Mount Liebig) paint in the new ‘Watiyuwanu’ art centre for some time, in December 2004, aged 85, Bill Whiskey (Mindinderi) walked in one day, sat down and began to paint. His paintings, executed with an immediate and distinct authority, rapidly drew attention to him and granted him almost instant fame. In the space of a few short years, he created an astonishing body of paintings that quickly entered major public and private collections, both nationally and abroad. In 2006, and again in 2007, he was also a finalist in the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award. Born around 1920 at Pirupa Akla (Olgas) in Pitjantatjara country, Whiskey eventually moved to the outstation of Amunturrungu with his wife, Colleen Nampitjinpa, where they both held prominent roles as Ngangari (traditional healers). There are stories that at night Whiskey would leave his body and fly over the landscape; upon his return he would report on what he had seen. This painting describes events related to the story of the ancestral white cockatoo and her terrible battle to ward off the murderously amorous Crow, an event which took place near the artist's birthplace at the rock holes of Pirupa Alka (rock holes near the Olgas and Uluru.) The depiction of country is also associated with the journeys Whiskey made as a young man to Areyonga and Haasts Bluff. The variegated surface and mixed palette and the sheer scope of its recording of Country is handled with a virtuosic delicacy evocative of filigree, while the subtlety of the shifting rhythms is controlled on a monumental scale by the density and variety of dotting. The hovering roundels together with the heady use of colour (red, gold and ochre with an extensive overlay of white on a black ground) lend this work a shimmering radiance seen only a small number of the works he executed. CRISPIN GUTTERIDGE © Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri/Copyright Agency 2024
Deutscher and Hackett
Aug. 28, 2023
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920-2008) (Language group: Pitjantjatjara) Rockhole Near Uluru synthetic polymer paint on linen 73 x 2...
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920-2008) (Language group: Pitjantjatjara) Rockhole Near Uluru synthetic polymer paint on linen inscribed verso with artist's name and Watiyawanu Artists cat. no. 10-06919 and stamp 73 x 25.5cm PROVENANCE: Watiyawanu Artists, Northern Territory (accompanied by a copy of a certificate of authenticity) Private collection, Melbourne OTHER NOTES: © Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri/Copyright Agency, 2023
Leonard Joel
Aug. 28, 2023
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920-2008) (Language group: Pitjantjatjara) Rockhole Near Uluru synthetic polymer paint on linen 73 x 2...
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920-2008) (Language group: Pitjantjatjara) Rockhole Near Uluru synthetic polymer paint on linen inscribed verso with artist's name and Watiyawanu Artists cat. no. 10-06921 and stamp 73 x 25.5cm PROVENANCE: Watiyawanu Artists, Northern Territory (accompanied by a copy of a certificate of authenticity) Private collection, Melbourne OTHER NOTES: © Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri/Copyright Agency, 2023
Leonard Joel
Nov. 24, 2022
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920-2008) Rockhole II synthetic polymer paint on canvasboard
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920-2008) Rockhole II synthetic polymer paint on canvasboard inscribed verso with Watiyawanu Artists cat. no. 77-430 25 x 50cm PROVENANCE: Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrngu Aboriginal Corporation, Alice Springs (accompanied by a certificate of authenticity) Private collection, Brisbane
Leonard Joel
Oct. 25, 2022
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920-2008) Rockhole II synthetic polymer paint on canvasboard
Est: $3,000 - $4,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920-2008) Rockhole II synthetic polymer paint on canvasboard inscribed verso with Watiyawanu Artists cat. no. 77-430 25 x 50cm PROVENANCE: Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrngu Aboriginal Corporation, Alice Springs (accompanied by a certificate of authenticity) Private collection, Brisbane
Leonard Joel
Oct. 25, 2022
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920-2008) Rockhole synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920-2008) Rockhole synthetic polymer paint on canvas inscribed verso with artist's name, Watiyawanu Artists stamp and cat. no. 10-06912 72.5 x 35.5cm PROVENANCE: Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrngu Aboriginal Corporation, Alice Springs (accompanied by a certificate of authenticity) Private collection, Brisbane
Leonard Joel
Oct. 11, 2022
Bill Tjapaltjarri Whiskey - Rockholes near the Olgas, 2008
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
Bill Whiskey did not begin painting on canvas until the last four years of his life at 84 years of age, by which time he was widely renowned as a powerful healer and keeper of sacred knowledge. His paintings, the first to depict the major Dreaming story and the creation of major sites throughout his country, are imbued with authority and steeped in traditional knowledge. In this painting of rock holes and country near Kata Juta, water places such as Pirupa Akla are marked by a set of concentric circles. Their dazzling presence represents their powerful life-giving significance, rather than their actual size. The actions of the White Cockatoo and Crow ancestors are encrypted as dotted patches that reference topographic features associated with the Dreaming.
Cooee Art
Aug. 22, 2022
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920-2008) (Pitjantjatjara Language Group) Rockholes Near The Olgas 2006 synthetic polymer paint on Bel...
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920-2008) (Pitjantjatjara Language Group) Rockholes Near The Olgas 2006 synthetic polymer paint on Belgian linen inscribed verso with artist's name, title and Watiyawanu Artists cat. no. 10-0670 150 x 92cm PROVENANCE: Watiyawanu Artists of Amumturrngu Aboriginal Corporation, Alice Springs (accompanied by a copy of the certificate of authenticity) Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne (stamp on stretcher bar) Private collection, Adelaide EXHIBITIONS: Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri, Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne, 5-26 July 2006 OTHER NOTES: Artworks by Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri have been widely collected and well regarded since he began painting at the age of 85. In 2004, he was introduced to painting at the Watiyawanu Artists collective where a short but successful career as an artist ensued. His paintings are often said to sit apart from that of his artistic counterparts in the way that they present the beauty of ancestral stories combined with the transformative effect of mother nature, plant-life and the animals that inhibit it. Tjapaltjarri was born in Pirupa Akla, a small community about 130km south of Kata, in Pitjantjatjara country. As a young boy, he and his family migrated following the devastating drought of the 1920s, settling in Haasts bluff where he eventually met his wife, Colleen Nampitjinpa. Tjapaltjarri moved with his family to an outstation near Mount Liebig, a settlement called Amanturrungu in the Central Desert. Widely respected as a Ngankari (traditional healer), many travelled from afar to be treated by him and he was celebrated in his community for the role he held as a keeper of sacred knowledge. As a protector of traditions, a prime concern of Tjapaltjarri's was the exposure of sacred dreaming stories to public viewing and sale. Given the concerns for their cultural sensitivity, the Pitjantjatjara people were one of the last regions to formally take on the practice of painting as an artform. Tjapaltjarri's works are concerned with deeply powerful dreaming stories and the creation of sacred sites within his country. Like many stories from the Western Desert, Rockholes Near The Olgas 2006 acts as a cultural map. Characterised by a great multitude of white and coloured dots, Tjapaltjarri references waterways, flora and rock sites combined with deep colour harmonies, mimicking a vivid galaxy of stars, only visible in the desert night sky. This complex layering system of dotting results in a magical composition of the rock formations in Tjapaltjarri's country, between Uluru and the Olgas (kata Tjuta) in central Australia, consequently drawing the viewer into a whirlpool of deep spiritual connections to the artist's homeland. Following in the success of the Western Desert painting movement, Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri made his mark independently, experimenting with painting techniques outside of what was unfolding at nearby Papunya Tula. Whiskey has been internationally recognised for the way his paintings intuitively respond to his specific cultural experience, producing a radiant and majestic body of work exhibited internationally in Copenhagen, Singapore and London and held in public collections including the Art Gallery of South Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria. Lucy Foster | Senior Art Specialist
Leonard Joel
Mar. 30, 2022
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, ROCKHOLES NEAR THE OLGAS, 2007
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920 - 2008) ROCKHOLES NEAR THE OLGAS, 2007 synthetic polymer paint on linen 152.0 x 61.5 cm bears inscription verso: artist’s name, title, size and Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu Corp cat. 77-07126 PROVENANCE Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu, Mount Liebig, Northern Territory Coo-ee Aboriginal Art, Sydney Private collection, Melbourne This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu. © Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri/Copyright Agency 2022
Deutscher and Hackett
Mar. 08, 2022
Bill Tjapaltjarri Whiskey - Rockholes Near the Olgas, 2006
Est: $70,000 - $90,000
Bill Whiskeyâs bold bright painting style reflected his indomitable spirit. He did not begin painting on canvas until entering the last four years of his life at 84 years of age, by which time he was widely renowned as a powerful healer and keeper of sacred knowledge. His paintings, the first to depict the major Dreaming story and the creation of major sites throughout his country, are imbued with authority and steeped in traditional knowledge. His subjects included the mythic battle related in the Cockatoo Dreaming that occurred at his birthplace, Pirupa Alka (Rock holes near the Olgas - Kata Tjuta and Ayers Rock - Uluru). During the battle, white feathers were scattered about and the landscape became indented by the entangled combatants crashing to the ground repeatedly. Subterranean streams filled these impressions with water and a circular amphitheatre was created by the sweep of wings. Today, a large, central, glowing white rock signifies the fallen cockatoo, still sipping the life-giving water from the sacred pools. Colourful blues, yellows, and reds, always tempered by cockatoo-white, represent the wildflowers that grow in profusion after rain. In keeping with the depiction of Dreaming stories throughout the Western Desert, the mythic and numinous is inherent within the sacred geography. In this painting, water places such as Pirupa Akla are marked by sets of concentric circles, their dazzling presence representing their powerful life-giving significance rather than their actual size. The actions of the White Cockatoo and Crow ancestors are encrypted as dotted patches that reference topographic features associated with the Dreaming.
Cooee Art
Mar. 08, 2022
Bill Tjapaltjarri Whiskey - Untitled (Rockholes Near the Olgas), 2008
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
50 x 25 cm each, 52.5 x 25.5 cm (framed) each Bill Whiskey did not begin painting on canvas until entering the last four years of his life at 84 years of age, by which time he was widely renowned as a powerful healer and keeper of sacred knowledge. His paintings, the first to depict the major Dreaming story and the creation of major sites throughout his country, are imbued with authority and steeped in traditional knowledge. His subjects included the mythic battle related in the Cockatoo Dreaming that occurred at his birthplace, Pirupa Alka (Rock holes near the Olgas - Kata Tjuta and Ayers Rock - Uluru). During the battle, white feathers were scattered about and the landscape became indented by the entangled combatants crashing to the ground repeatedly. Subterranean streams filled these impressions with water and a circular amphitheatre was created by the sweep of wings. Today, a large, central, glowing white rock signifies the fallen cockatoo, still sipping the life-giving water from the sacred pools. In keeping with the depiction of Dreaming stories throughout the Western Desert, the mythic and numinous is inherent within the sacred geography. In this painting, water places such as Pirupa Akla are marked by sets of concentric circles, their dazzling presence representing their powerful life-giving significance rather than their actual size. The actions of the White Cockatoo and Crow ancestors are encrypted as dotted patches that reference topographic features associated with the Dreaming.
Cooee Art
Jun. 08, 2021
Bill Tjapaltjarri Whiskey - Rockholes and Country near the Olgas, 2007
Est: $40,000 - $60,000
Cooee Art Indigenous Fine Art Auction "Bill Whiskey did not begin painting on canvas until the last four years of his life at 84 years of age, by which time he was widely renowned as a powerful healer and keeper of sacred knowledge. His paintings, the first to depict the major Cockatoo Dreaming story and the creation of important sites throughout the country of his birth (Pirupa Alka near the Olgas - Kata Tjuta and Ayers Rock - Uluru), are imbued with authority and steeped in traditional knowledge. During the battle between the Cockatoo and the Crow, white feathers were scattered about and the landscape became indented by the entangled combatants crashing to the ground repeatedly. Subterranean streams filled these impressions with water and a circular amphitheatre was created by the sweep of wings. Today, a large, glowing white rock signifies the fallen cockatoo, still sipping the life-giving water from the sacred pools. In Whiskey's emblematic works, blues, yellows, and reds, are tempered by cockatoo-white, representing the wildflowers that grow in profusion after rain. In keeping with the depiction of Dreaming stories throughout the Western Desert, the mythic and numinous is inherent within the sacred geography.+IB0 Contact Cooee Art for more information on this Aboriginal artwork.
Cooee Art
Mar. 17, 2021
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, ROCKHOLES AND COUNTRY NEAR THE OLGAS, 2007
Est: $18,000 - $25,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920 – 2008) ROCKHOLES AND COUNTRY NEAR THE OLGAS, 2007 synthetic polymer paint on linen 150.0 x 101.0 cm bears inscription verso: artist’s name, size and Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu cat. 3 – 07245 PROVENANCE Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu, Mount Leibig, Northern Territory APS Bendi Lango Art Exhibition, Rio Tinto Offices, Melbourne Private collection, Melbourne ESSAY That cocky and crow and eagle that's Whiskey, that's the essence of Whiskey, that's his spirit, that's who he is.'1 Rockholes and Country Near the Olgas, 2007 is a fine example of Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri's shimmering aerial paintings of his birth country Pirupa Akla, located west of Uluru. Completed in the year before Tjapaltjarri died, when the artist was in his late eighties, this work refers to the physical landscape, and to the spirits residing there. Specifically the White Cockatoo story which originated from Pirupa Akla, a creation story of the cockatoo, eagle and their adversary, the crow. The battle between the birds resulted in the formation of various topographical features, such as the rockholes. The artist and his family depended upon these rockholes, and they were a constant focus in Tjapaltjarri's work. This painting is significant not just for the way it reveals his innate 'genius' for handling scale in a spontaneous fashion, but also because it demonstrates how his signature 'style' was fully (and uncannily) articulated at the outset. As Nicolas Kachel recalls, 'in December 2004, Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri walked into the painting room at Mount Leibig, previously the exclusive reserve of women, and requested canvases and paints for himself. And so, at 85 years, he became an artist.'2 Although he had previously painted intricate dot designs on spears and small nulla nullas, over the years 2004 to 2008 he produced a body of work that was astounding in its shimmering vigour, pulsating colour and often monumental scale. 1. The artist quote in documentary Thornton, R. (Producer and Director), That Old Man, 2009, distributed by Thorny Vision, New South Wales 2. Kachel, N., Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri, John Gordon Gallery, Coffs Harbour, 2007, n.p. CRISPIN GUTTERIDGE © Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri/Copyright Agency, 2021
Deutscher and Hackett
Mar. 17, 2021
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, ROCKHOLES NEAR THE OLGAS, 2008
Est: $25,000 - $35,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920 – 2008) ROCKHOLES NEAR THE OLGAS, 2008 synthetic polymer paint on linen 183.0 x 152.5 cm bears inscription verso: artist’s name, title, size and Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu cat. 77 – 08455 PROVENANCE Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu, Mt Leibig, Northern Territory Metro Gallery, Melbourne (label verso) Company collection, Melbourne ESSAY A Pitjantjatjara man, Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri was born at Pirupa Akla near Kata Tjuta (Olgas) to the west of Uluru around 1920. As a young man he traveled across country eventually taking up residence at the Lutheran Mission at Haasts Bluff where he worked as a cook and where he met his wife Colleen Nampitjinpa. Later, he moved with his family north-west to the Amanturrungu Outstation near Mount Liebig in the Central Desert. In 2004 he began to paint, making use of the studio facilities of the local Watiyawanu Artist collective renowned for its support of local women artists such as Wentja Morgan Napaltjarri, Lilly Kelly Napangardi, Ngoia Pollard Napaljarri and his wife Colleen Nampitjinpa. Under the guidance of Watiyawanu Artists, his work was included in six group exhibitions in 2006 and his first solo exhibition was held in Coffs Harbour the following year. Rockholes Near The Olgas, 2008 is a large and bold painting that belongs to a group of works done just prior to his death in 2008 at the age of 87. These last works are distinguished by the introduction to his palette of cadmium orange and as in this case, an equally strong cadmium red. Based on his beloved country to the north-west of the Olgas, the paintings are evocative with a sense of ancient, traditional knowledge commensurate with his role as a senior ngangkari or traditional healer. The painting tells of the ancestral creative acts of the Cockatoo, Crow and Eagle, who, through a series of epic confrontations, created the features of the Landscape. The rock holes were formed where the battling birds tumbled and crashed to the ground and the shards of white stone depicted here represent the cockatoo's feathers. CRISPIN GUTTERIDGE © Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri/Copyright Agency, 2021
Deutscher and Hackett
Dec. 08, 2020
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, ROCKHOLES AND COUNTRY NEAR THE OLGAS, 2007
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920 – 2008) ROCKHOLES AND COUNTRY NEAR THE OLGAS, 2007 synthetic polymer paint on linen 150.0 x 101.0 cm bears inscription verso: artist’s name, size and Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu cat. 3-07245 PROVENANCE Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu, Mount Leibig, Northern Territory APS Bendi Lango Art Exhibition, Sydney Private collection, Melbourne acquired from the above in 2007 This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu This work is located at our Melbourne Gallery © Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri/Copyright Agency, 2020
Deutscher and Hackett
Nov. 30, 2020
Bill Whisky Tjapaltjarri c.1920 - 2008
Est: $1,800 - $3,000
Bill Whisky Tjapaltjarri c.1920 - 2008 Untitled Acrylic on canvas Inscribed verso with artists name and no. 7707145 74.5 x 25.7 cm
McKenzies Auctioneers
Oct. 20, 2020
Bill Tjapaltjarri Whiskey - Rockholes and Country near the Olga's, 2007
Est: $25,000 - $35,000
Bill Whiskey did not begin painting on canvas until entering the last four years of his life at 84 years of age, by which time he was widely renowned as a powerful healer and keeper of sacred knowledge. His paintings are imbued with authority and steeped in tradition. This painting depicts the mythic battle related in the Cockatoo Dreaming that occurred at his birthplace, Pirupa Alka near Uluru. During the battle, white feathers were scattered about the landscape which was indented when the entangled combatants crashed into the ground repeatedly. Subterranean streams filled these impressions with water and a circular amphitheatre was created by the sweep of wings. Today, a large, central, glowing white rock signifies the fallen cockatoo, still sipping the life-giving water from the sacred pools. In keeping with the depiction of Dreaming stories throughout the Western Desert, the mythic and numinous is inherent within the sacred geography. In this painting, water places such as Pirupa Akla are marked by sets of concentric circles, their dazzling presence representing their powerful life-giving significance rather than their actual size. The actions of the White Cockatoo and Crow ancestors are encrypted as dotted patches that reference topographic features associated with the Dreaming.
Cooee Art
Oct. 20, 2020
Bill Tjapaltjarri Whiskey - Rockholes Near the Olgas, 2008
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
Bill Whiskeyâs bold bright painting style reflected his indomitable spirit. He did not begin painting on canvas until entering the last four years of his life at 84 years of age, by which time he was widely renowned as a powerful healer and keeper of sacred knowledge. His paintings, the first to depict the major Dreaming story and the creation of major sites throughout his country, are imbued with authority and steeped in traditional knowledge. His subjects included the mythic battle related in the Cockatoo Dreaming that occurred at his birthplace, Pirupa Alka (Rock holes near the Olgas - Kata Tjuta and Ayers Rock - Uluru). During the battle, white feathers were scattered about and the landscape became indented by the entangled combatants crashing to the ground repeatedly. Subterranean streams filled these impressions with water and a circular amphitheatre was created by the sweep of wings. Today, a large, central, glowing white rock signifies the fallen cockatoo, still sipping the life-giving water from the sacred pools. In keeping with the depiction of Dreaming stories throughout the Western Desert, the mythic and numinous is inherent within the sacred geography. In these paintings, water places such as Pirupa Akla are marked by sets of concentric circles, their dazzling presence representing their powerful life-giving significance rather than their actual size. The actions of the White Cockatoo and Crow ancestors are encrypted as dotted patches that reference topographic features associated with the Dreaming.
Cooee Art
Jun. 23, 2020
Bill Tjapaltjarri Whiskey - Rockholes near the Olga's
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
Bill Whiskeyâs bold bright painting style reflected his indomitable spirit. He did not begin painting on canvas until entering the last four years of his life at 84 years of age, by which time he was widely renowned as a powerful healer and keeper of sacred knowledge. His paintings, the first to depict the major Dreaming story and the creation of major sites throughout his country, are imbued with authority and steeped in traditional knowledge. His subjects included the mythic battle related in the Cockatoo Dreaming that occurred at his birthplace, Pirupa Alka (Rock holes near the Olgas - Kata Tjuta and Ayers Rock - Uluru). During the battle, white feathers were scattered about and the landscape became indented by the entangled combatants crashing to the ground repeatedly. Subterranean streams filled these impressions with water and a circular amphitheatre was created by the sweep of wings. Today, a large, central, glowing white rock signifies the fallen cockatoo, still sipping the life-giving water from the sacred pools. Colourful blues, yellows, and reds, always tempered by cockatoo-white, represent the wildflowers that grow in profusion after rain. In keeping with the depiction of Dreaming stories throughout the Western Desert, the mythic and numinous is inherent within the sacred geography. In this painting, water places such as Pirupa Akla are marked by sets of concentric circles, their dazzling presence representing their powerful life-giving significance rather than their actual size. The actions of the White Cockatoo and Crow ancestors are encrypted as dotted patches that reference topographic features associated with the Dreaming.
Cooee Art
Mar. 18, 2020
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, (c.1920 – 2008), ROCKHOLES NEAR THE OLGAS, 2008, synthetic polymer paint on linen
Est: $40,000 - $60,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920 – 2008) ROCKHOLES NEAR THE OLGAS, 2008 synthetic polymer paint on linen SIGNED: bears inscription verso: Watiyawanu cat. AEBWT77-08479PG DIMENSIONS: 182.0 x 183.0 cm PROVENANCE: Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu, Mt Liebig, Northern Territory Art Equity, Sydney Private collection, Brisbane ESSAY: At the venerable age of 85 Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri (c.1920 – 2008) began painting at the Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrngu Cooperative and almost immediately rose to national prominence as a Western Desert artist with a singular and powerful voice. Over a four-year period, he produced canvases of often monumental scale laden with almost microscopic subtlety and shimmering pointillist effects. In effect he seamlessly wove together an epic impulse (one intent on amplification of the totemic significance of his birthplace country) and a miniaturist’s eye for detail as befits a traditional nomadic man attuned to the import of the slightest dislodgement of a single pebble in a dry creek bed or the tremble in a tussock of grass. It is said that Bill Whiskey did not see a white person until a teenager. In later years, based at Mount Liebig near Papunya, Whiskey had witnessed the evolution of the Western Desert Art Movement and recognizing the importance of painting as a medium for preserving and broadcasting cultural identity heritage had one day decided to simply pick up the brush! His wife, Colleen Nampitjinpa was also already well established as an artist. Though such background might go some way to explain the instant confidence with which he approached a rolled-out canvas it does not explain that inimitable quality that allows us to identify a Bill Whiskey painting at a glance. There is a luminous buoyancy to his often-giant roundels (concentric circles) representing key totem sites connected to the Cockatoo Dreaming; they seem to somehow detach from the surface of the painting and hover. Likewise, as can also be seen in the present work, there is an oscillating quality to the over-all structure of the image. It seems to contract to an invisible central point and at the same time expand pervasively outwards. In this way it playfully acknowledges the inevitable four-sided constraint imposed by the physical medium of “Western” painting and defies it. The result is an endlessly stimulating kinetic dynamism, one richly and densely reinforced by the same oscillating momentum created by the swathes and colour-field boundaries of swarming “dots” that might be said to perform in the background – but only in a certain sense, as this is far from the illustrative terrain of the picturesque landscape belonging to Western Cartesian culture. “Dots” is itself a tricky word in these circumstances as they variously represent fields of flowers, outcrops of brilliantly sparkling quartz shards, sudden rocky outcrops, fringed surges of grassland, beds of brightly coloured sand, etc. If one looks carefully and deeply into this swarming activity, one can even discern in some passages the tracery of significant walking tracks carefully mapped and then obscured beneath dots now performing as camouflaging veil, just as did Emily Kngwarreye – in her case to disguise sacred body painting designs. With its tender pastel palette and constantly circulating trio of bold icons this is an impressive example of the artist’s work. Dated 2008, it belongs to the last phase of his all-too short career. ROSS MOORE
Deutscher and Hackett
Dec. 03, 2019
Bill Tjapaltjarri Whiskey (c.1920-2008) Rockholes and Country, near the Olga's
Est: $5,000 - $7,000
Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri was a Pitjantjatjara man born in the 1920s at Pirupa Akla, country located near the Olgas and to the west of Ayers Rock. By the time he was a young man, most of Whiskey's family had passed away. Many of his people had begun moving towards Haasts Bluff mission, about 250 kms to the north east. Whiskey joined a group of people who were about to make that journey. No one had yet seen white people, and when they arrived at the mission, the desert people were completely naked. Whiskey, along with some of the others, decided not to stay. as they were frightened when they saw white people for the first time. Their fear came from the belief that the white people were Mamu, or bad spirit people. They eventually arrived at an area near Areyonga, where a white missionary Pastor called Patupirri had established a camp. In time, Whiskey moved back to Haasts Bluff mission, and it was here that he met his wife Colleen Nampitjinpa, never to return to his home country. Whiskey was a traditional healer, and people would come from afar to be treated by him. He took a job as cook for the contract fencers and mustering crew. He came to be called Whiskers, owing to his long white beard, and the name eventually evolved into Whiskey. He began painting in 2004. The main images in his works are the Rockholes near Pirupa, Ayers Rock, and the story of his own journeys to Areyonga and Haasts Bluff. Whiskey was a very traditional man with an extremely jovial personality.
Cooee Art
Jun. 04, 2019
Â Bill Tjapaltjarri Whiskey (c.1920-2008) Rockholes and Country near the Olga's 2006
Est: $25,000 - $35,000
Bill Whiskey's country lay to the north of Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), hidden in some of the most arid and uncompromising land on the continent. He lived with his family for a time at Areyonga, before moving further north to settle at Amunturrngu (Mount Liebig), then an outstation of Papunya. He chose not to participate in painting until 2005, when in his mid 80s, he took up the brush. While this is a compelling work depicting his country, it is intentionally cryptic. Specific information about the Dreaming is purposefully suffused in fields of ambiguous dots. Water places, such as Pirupa Akla are marked by sets of concentric circles, their dazzling presence representing their powerful life-giving significance, rather than their actual size. The actions of the White Cockatoo and Crow ancestors are encrypted as dotted patches that reference topographic features associated with the Dreaming. The depiction of country in this particular work conveys the distance between landmarks in Whiskey's country, where isolated water places are concealed among swathes of vegetation. Remaining true to the conduct of his ancestors, who had kept their distance from explorers, Whiskey protects the secrets of his country behind a veil of descriptive dotting and sections of white, indicating the refraction from shattered quartz and the smoke of signal fires.
Cooee Art
Feb. 24, 2019
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, (c.1920 – 2008), ROCKHOLES AND COUNTRY NEAR OLGAS, 2007, synthetic polymer paint on linen
Est: $30,000 - $40,000
© Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri/Copyright Agency, 2019 BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, (c.1920 – 2008), ROCKHOLES AND COUNTRY NEAR OLGAS, 2007, synthetic polymer paint on linen SIGNED: bears inscription verso: artist’s name, title, size and Watiyawanu Artists cat. 0307370 DIMENSIONS: 135.0 x 180.0 cm PROVENANCE: Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu, Mt Leibig Japingka Gallery, Fremantle Private collection, Perth CONDITION REPORT: This work is in excellent, stable and original condition.
Deutscher and Hackett
Nov. 27, 2018
Bill Tjapaltjarri Whiskey (c.1920-2008) Rock Holes and Country Near The Olgas 2008
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
Bill Whiskey's country lay to the north of Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), hidden in some of the most arid and uncompromising land on the continent. From the late 1880s police were posted to protect the interests of the advancing pastoralists in this region, and they pursued those tribesmen who killed cattle to protect their waterholes far into the 'back country'. They were tracked, chained and taken for trial in Port Augusta. As a climate of fear descended, Anangu (Western Desert people) left their country for the relative safety of mission-run ration stations. The country to the west and southwest of the MacDonnell Ranges was gradually depopulated, and during the 1920s, a period of prolonged drought saw Anangu gravitate to outposts established by Lutheran evangelists on the margins of the desert. Bill Whiskey and his family lived for a time at Areyonga, before moving further north to settle at Amunturrngu (Mount Liebig), then an outstation of Papunya. He chose not to participate in painting until 2005, when in his mid 80s, he took up the brush. In this painting, Rock Holes and Country Near The Olgas, water places such as Pirupa Akla are marked by sets of concentric circles, their dazzling presence representing their powerful life-giving significance, rather than their actual size. The actions of the White Cockatoo and Crow ancestors are encrypted as dotted patches that reference topographic features associated with the Dreaming.
Cooee Art
Nov. 27, 2018
Bill Tjapaltjarri Whiskey (c.1920-2008) Rock Holes and Country Near The Olgas 2007
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
Bill Whiskey's country lay to the north of Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), hidden in some of the most arid and uncompromising land on the continent. From the late 1880s police were posted to protect the interests of the advancing pastoralists in this region, and they pursued those tribesmen who killed cattle to protect their waterholes far into the 'back country'. They were tracked, chained and taken for trial in Port Augusta. As a climate of fear descended, Anangu (Western Desert people) left their country for the relative safety of mission-run ration stations. The country to the west and southwest of the MacDonnell Ranges was gradually depopulated, and during the 1920s, a period of prolonged drought saw Anangu gravitate to outposts established by Lutheran evangelists on the margins of the desert. Bill Whiskey and his family lived for a time at Areyonga, before moving further north to settle at Amunturrngu (Mount Liebig), then an outstation of Papunya. He chose not to participate in paintings on canvas until 2005, when in his mid 80s, he took up the brush. In this paintings on canvas, Rock Holes and Country Near The Olgas water places, such as Pirupa Akla are marked by sets of concentric circles, their dazzling presence representing their powerful life-giving significance, rather than their actual size. The actions of the White Cockatoo and Crow ancestors are encrypted as dotted patches that reference topographic features associated with the Dreaming.
Cooee Art
Oct. 25, 2018
Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri (c1920 - 2008) - Rockholes Near Pirupa 56 x 82cm
Est: $300 - $500
Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri (c1920 - 2008) Rockholes Near Pirupa collograph, ed. 22/50 56 x 82cm signed ''X'' lower right
Lawsons
Sep. 04, 2018
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920-2008) Rockholes near the Olgas 2007 acrylic on linen
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920-2008) Rockholes near the Olgas 2007 acrylic on linen inscribed verso with artist name, title, and Watiyawanu Artists cat. no. 77-07126 155 x 61cm PROVENANCE: Watiyawanu Artists, NT (accompanied by a certificate of authenticity) Private collection, Melbourne
Leonard Joel
Aug. 29, 2018
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, (c.1920 – 2008), ROCKHOLES NEAR THE OLGAS AND COUNTRY, 2006, synthetic polymer paint on linen
Est: $30,000 - $40,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, (c.1920 – 2008), ROCKHOLES NEAR THE OLGAS AND COUNTRY, 2006, synthetic polymer paint on linen SIGNED: bears inscription verso: artist’s name, title, size and Watiyawanu Artists cat. 3-0615 DIMENSIONS: 200.0 x 150.0 cm PROVENANCE: Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu, Mt Liebig Bond Aboriginal Art, Adelaide Private collection, Melbourne ESSAY: Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri was born at Pirupa Akla around 1920 and his language group was Pitjantjatjara. As a young man he traveled across country to work as a cook at Haasts Bluff Mission where he met his wife Colleen Nampitjinpa. Later, he moved with his family to the Amanturrungu Outstation near Mount Liebig in the Central Desert. Whiskey was also known as a respected healer ( Ngnagkari). In 2004 he began to paint utilising the studio facilities of the local Watiyawanu Artist collective where significant inspirational women artists such as Wentja Morgan Napaltjarri were already working. Skillfully represented by Watiyawanu Artists, his work was included in six group exhibitions in 2006 and his first solo exhibition was held in Coffs Harbour the following year. This large and bold work is distinguished by its relatively early date in Whiskey's short painting career between 2004 and 2008. With its intense, even pungent colours, dramatic tonal shifts and vibrantly-rendered textures, it contains all the key iconic elements of the later, often large-scale paintings – always with the same name – that would follow in the next two years. Notice, for example, how carefully orchestrated superimposed layers of colour dotting, often strongly contrasting, simultaneously constrain and open swathes of the painting's surface. The optical effect is to release and dissolve any fixity of form. Energetically and playfully manipulating pictorial kineticism in this way, Whiskey manifests the inherent vitality of country. Belonging to Whiskey’s earliest exhibition period, this painting is typical of his subject matter and depicts the rock holes near Pirupa Akla, country located near the Olgas to the west of Uluru. The white areas represent the shimmering quartz country associated with his white cockatoo, crow and eagle ancestral story which involves an epic creation battle between the birds. The rock holes were formed where the battling birds tumbled and crashed to the ground and the shards of white stone depicted here represent the cockatoo's feathers
Deutscher and Hackett
Jun. 13, 2018
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, (c.1920 - 2008), ROCKHOLES NEAR OLGAS, 2007 , synthetic polymer paint on linen
Est: $30,000 - $40,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, (c.1920 - 2008), ROCKHOLES NEAR OLGAS, 2007 , synthetic polymer paint on linen SIGNED: bears inscription verso: artist's name, title, size and Watiyawanu Artists cat. 0307370 DIMENSIONS: 135.0 x 180.0 cm PROVENANCE: Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu, Mt Liebig, Northern Territory Japingka-Gallery, Fremantle Private collection, Perth ESSAY: Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri lived and worked in Mt Liebig/Haasts Bluff, Northern Territory language group: Pitjantjatjara SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2008 Masterpieces from the Western Desert, Peta O'Brien Contemporary Art, COSA, London 2008 Desert Mob, Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs 2007 Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri, John Gordon Gallery, Queensland 2007 Desert Mob, Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs 2006 Desert Mob, Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs 2006 Colliding Worlds, National Aboriginal Art and Cultural Institute - Tandaya, Adelaide 2006 Finalist, 23rd National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin 2005 Finalist, 22nd National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin SELECTED LITERATURE McGregor, K., and Zimmer, J., Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri, Macmillan Publishers, Melbourne, 2009 SELECTED COLLECTIONS Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide Kerry Stokes Collection, Perth National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, USA
Deutscher and Hackett
Mar. 20, 2018
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920-2008) Rockholes Near the Olgas acrylic on linen
Est: $4,800 - $6,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920-2008) Rockholes Near the Olgas acrylic on linen inscribed verso with artist name, title, and Japingka cat no. Jap004645 120 x 30cm PROVENANCE: Japingka Fine Art Gallery, Fremantle, August 2008 (certificate of authenticity included) Private collection, New South Wales
Leonard Joel
Nov. 28, 2017
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920-2008) Rockholes near the Olgas acrylic on linen
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI (c.1920-2008) Rockholes near the Olgas acrylic on linen inscribed verso with artist name, title, and Japingka cat no. Jap004645 120 x 30cm PROVENANCE: Japingka Fine Art Gallery, Fremantle, August 2008 (certificate of authenticity included) Private collection, New South Wales
Leonard Joel
Sep. 20, 2017
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, (c.1920 2008), ROCKHOLES AND COUNTRY NEAR ULURU, 2006, synthetic polymer paint on linen
Est: $12,000 - $16,000
BILL WHISKEY TJAPALTJARRI, (c.1920 2008), ROCKHOLES AND COUNTRY NEAR ULURU, 2006, synthetic polymer paint on linen DIMENSIONS: 150.0 x 125.0 cm PROVENANCE: Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu, Mount Leibig, cat. 81-0614 Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne Private collection, Sydney This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Watiyawanu Artists of Amunturrungu.
Deutscher and Hackett