Endunga Dreaming, 1990

97 x 118 cm

Est. $2,000 – $3,500

Hammer $2,800

Provenance: CAAMA Shop, Alice Springs, Cat No. 1-990 Austral Gallery, St Louis (Mary Reid Brunstrom), Invoice No. 732 Private Collection, Albany NY
Artwork story: Ada Bird Petyarr(e), a senior Anmatyerr(e) artist from Mulga Bore, was among the first generation of women painters from Utopia to achieve wide recognition in the early 1990s. Her works draw on ceremonial knowledge associated with women’s Dreamings, expressed in bold linear compositions and expansive dotted surfaces. Endunga Dreaming depicts the story of the Endunga, a wild grass ground into flour for damper. The central roundel marks the ceremonial site, while radiating pathways connect to tree-like forms symbolising the plant itself. The rhythmic bands of ochre, yellow, and white dots evoke both the physical terrain of Mulga Bore and the ceremonial energies that animate it. Executed with characteristic intensity, this painting exemplifies Petyarr(e)’s role in bringing Utopia women’s painting into national and international prominence

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Sale 2 · Lot 11

Ada Bird Petyarre

c.1930 – 2009

97 x 118 cm

Est. $2,000 – $3,500

Hammer $2,800

Provenance: CAAMA Shop, Alice Springs, Cat No. 1-990 Austral Gallery, St Louis (Mary Reid Brunstrom), Invoice No. 732 Private Collection, Albany NY
Artwork story: Ada Bird Petyarr(e), a senior Anmatyerr(e) artist from Mulga Bore, was among the first generation of women painters from Utopia to achieve wide recognition in the early 1990s. Her works draw on ceremonial knowledge associated with women’s Dreamings, expressed in bold linear compositions and expansive dotted surfaces. Endunga Dreaming depicts the story of the Endunga, a wild grass ground into flour for damper. The central roundel marks the ceremonial site, while radiating pathways connect to tree-like forms symbolising the plant itself. The rhythmic bands of ochre, yellow, and white dots evoke both the physical terrain of Mulga Bore and the ceremonial energies that animate it. Executed with characteristic intensity, this painting exemplifies Petyarr(e)’s role in bringing Utopia women’s painting into national and international prominence