About

Adrian Newstead OAM

DirectorGallery · Auctions

Adrian Newstead is one of Australia's most respected authorities on Aboriginal art. He is the current President of the Aboriginal Art Association of Australia and has been a leading advocate for Indigenous artists and culture for over four decades. Adrian founded the Aboriginal art department at Lawson Menzies in 2003 and went on to serve as Managing Director of Menzies Art Brands. A former President of the Art Consulting Association of Australia and Director of Aboriginal Tourism Australia, he has written extensively on the Aboriginal art market and Indigenous cultural affairs, contributing to numerous publications, monographs and media outlets.

Read the full story of Adrian's forty-five years in Aboriginal art →

Jasmin Smith

Gallery ManagerGallery · Auctions

Jasmin Smith spent her early years in the Aboriginal communities of Yuelamu and Alpurrurulam, and was raised in Alice Springs (Mparntwe), NT, where her love for Aboriginal art took root. In 2018 she moved to Sydney to study a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) at UNSW Art & Design, majoring in painting and drawing. Alongside her studies she worked for five years as a paralegal and executive assistant in a family law firm. She became Gallery Manager at Newstead Art in 2023, where she brings her lifelong appreciation for Aboriginal art to her role.

Anne Newstead

Artwork ConservationGallery · Auctions

Anne Newstead has lived and worked across Europe, Argentina and New York in diverse roles including research science, hospitality and education. Since returning to Australia, she has collaborated with her husband Adrian on a range of creative projects involving Indigenous textiles, design and art events both locally and internationally. She plays a crucial role behind the scenes at Newstead Art, overseeing the conservation, restoration and archival care of artworks. She is also an avid reforestation advocate, devoting time to planting native trees on her property in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales.

Dr Jim Elmslie

Senior SpecialistAuctions

Dr Jim Elmslie is an economist, political scientist, and long-standing dealer and specialist in Aboriginal and Oceanic art. He began his career in the field in 1983, running a gallery on Oxford Street, Sydney, for fifteen years before transitioning into the auction industry in 2004. Jim holds a PhD from the University of Sydney and currently serves as President of the Oceanic Art Society. His academic and commercial expertise has underpinned decades of engagement with Oceanic and Indigenous cultural material.

Kathleen Roberts

Research and Cultural Heritage LawAuctions

Kathleen Roberts is a Perth-born scholar currently completing a PhD in Art History at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Her academic and professional trajectory has spanned major cultural institutions across Sydney, where she earned a Master of Museum and Heritage Studies at the University of Sydney. Her work has continually engaged with the intersection of art and cultural heritage law, supported by further studies at the Université de Genève, Universiteit Leiden, and in Juris Doctor studies at the Australian National University. A long-time collaborator of both Adrian Newstead OAM and Dr Jim Elmslie, Kathleen currently resides in Munich.

Mia Collis

ConsultantAuctions

Mia Collis is a consultant and auction catalogue designer for Newstead Art. With academic foundations in Art History and Economics from the University of Sydney, Mia has held roles at Shapiro Auctioneers and Cooee Art, where she specialised in decorative arts and auction operations. Having lived in London, Tokyo, Paris and Sydney, she brings a cosmopolitan perspective to the business of art, balancing intellectual insight with a pragmatic approach to event curation and collection management.