|
Details |
Price excl. GST |
|
 |
1-Kalipinypa
Untitled (Kalipinypa), 1972
Synthetic polymer powder paint on composition board,
inscribed lower right: '4023', inscribed verso:
'19141 / 3 of 9/10/72'
122 x 119 cm,
Est: $70,000-100,000, Bonhams, The Serra Collection
of Aboriginal Art including property from various
vendors, Sydney, 22/07/2020, Lot No. 16 |
$231,800 |
|
|
2-Water
Water Ceremony Story
Synthetic polymer paint on composition board
61 x 45.7 cm,
Est: $80,000-120,000, Smith & Singer, Important
Australian & International Art, Sydney, 18/11/2020,
Lot No. 37 |
$98,182 |
|
|
3-Kangaroo
Kangaroo Story
Synthetic polymer powder paint on board
71 x 60.5 cm,
Est: $50,000-60,000, Deutscher~Menzies, 19th and
20th Century Australian & International Paintings,
Sculpture and Works on Paper, Melbourne, 20/04/1998,
Lot No. 2 |
$90,500 |
| |
|
|
 |
posum-4a
Possum Dreaming, 1972
Natural earth pigments on masonite,
67 x 49 cm, Est: $30,000-50,000, Cooee Art Leven,
Indigenous Fine Art, Sydney, 08/03/2022, Lot No. 36 |
$74,400 |
|
|
|
|
4-Bush
Bush Tucker Story
Synthetic polymer paint on composition board,
inscribed verso with Stuart Art Centre consignment
number 18050
72 x 77 cm,
Est: $40,000-60,000, Bonhams, Important Australian
and Aboriginal Art, Sydney, 14/11/2018, Lot No. 18
|
$70,760 |
|
|
5-Children
Children's Kadaitcha Dreaming
Synthetic polymer powder paint on board
35 x 56 cm,
Est: $60,000-80,000, Deutscher~Menzies, 19th and
20th Century Australian & International Paintings,
Sculpture and Works on Paper, Melbourne, 10/08/1998,
Lot No. 12 |
$63,000 |
|
|
Hunting
Synthetic polymer powder paint on composition board,
bears inscription verso: 7003
76 x 91.5 cm,
Est: $30,000-40,000, Deutscher and Hackett,
Aboriginal Art from the Luczo Family Collection,
USA, Melbourne, 19/10/2016, Lot No. 28 |
$61,000 |
|
|
Mala (Spinifex Wallaby)
Synthetic polymer powder paint on composition board,
bears inscription verso: Stuart Art Centre cat.
18030
60.5 x 51 cm,
Est: $45,000-65,000, Deutscher and Hackett,
Important Australian & International Fine Art;
Important Indigenous Art, Melbourne, 29/11/2017, Lot
No. 45 |
$54,900 |
|
|
Snake Dreaming
Natural earth pigments and bondcrete on composition
board
50 x 40 cm,
Est: $20,000-30,000, Sotheby's, The Anthony &
Beverly Knight Collection of Early Papunya Art (Lots
1 – 46); Important Aboriginal & Oceanic Art (Lots
47, Melbourne, 28/05/2013, Lot No. 19 |
$53,680 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Long Jack Phillipus
Tjakamarra
biography
.png)
Long Jack Phillipus Tjakamarra
was a monumental figure in contemporary Australian art. He
was a founding member of the Papunya Tula Artists,
and its chairman in 1975 and again in the early 1990.
Long Jack was one of the few "men" to paint under
Geoffrey Bardon, present at the very
beginning of the Western Desert art movement.
In
1971 Long Jack Phillipus and
Billy Stockman painted mural 'Widows
Dreaming' and 'Wallaby Dreaming' preceding the major 'Honey
Ant' mural. Long Jack
awards include(1983) Northern Territory
Golden Jubilee Award and (1984)
Alice Springs Caltex Award.
Reference:
Bardon, G. and Bardon, J., Papunya, A Place Made After the
Story: The Beginnings of the Western Desert Painting
Movement, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne, 2004, p. 49.
The
World Art Market
considers
Long Jack Phillipus Tjakamarra
a
Blue-chip artist, his works offer an alternative investment
on the secondary art market.
Long Jack's market
remains
prestigious
due to the
scarcity and high-quality of
his works, and also historical weight.
Kalipinypa sold for $231,800,
Water Ceremony $98,182,
Kangaroo Story $90,500,
Possum Dreaming $74,400,
Bush Tucker $70,760.
Artistic Significance
Work of
Long Jack Phillipus Tjakamarra
is some of the most important. He was a Luritja/Warlpiri man, a Master artist who integrated deep
Ancient
ceremonial knowledge into his canvases - that became the World's most exciting
Contemporary art.
-
The "First
Eleven": He
was among the small group of men who painted the first
murals on the walls of the Papunya school, sparking the
movement.
-
Style: His work is characterised by a transition from raw,
experimental boards to sophisticated, large-scale
canvases. He maintained a strict adherence to
traditional iconography (circles, tracks, and lines)
while mastering the "dotting" technique to mask sacred
information.
-
Cultural
Leadership: Beyond art, he was an ordained Lutheran pastor,
often bridging the gap between Indigenous spirituality
and Western influence.
Exhibitions at Commercial Galleries Worldwide
His
work has been a staple in major surveys of Aboriginal art
for five decades:
-
Australia: Frequent solo and group show at Gabrielle Pizzi
(Melbourne), Utopia Art Sydney, and Indigenart
(Perth).
-
Europe: Featured in landmark exhibitions at Aboriginal
Signature Estrangin Gallery (Brussels) and
Galerie s’ weisse Haus (Switzerland).
-
USA: Included in the touring exhibition Genesis and
Genius and showcased at Booker-Lowe Gallery
(Houston).
Market Presence at Commercial Galleries Worldwide
-
Primary Market: His work is primarily sourced through Papunya
Tula Artists (the artist-owned cooperative).
-
Secondary
Market: High demand for "early boards" (1971–1972), which
are treated as historical relics rather than just
decorative art.
-
Stability: Unlike some artists, Long Jack’s market
remains
prestigious
due to the quality and scarcity of his works and historical weight.
Significant Institutional Museums and Private Collections
Long
Jack is represented in almost every major public
collections in
Australia and several elite international institutions:
Galleries & Institutions Handling Long Jack’s Work
-
Utopia Art
Sydney (Long-term representation).
-
Papunya Tula
Artists (Alice Springs).
-
D’Lan
Contemporary (Melbourne/International).
-
Alcaston
Gallery (Melbourne).
Sales at Commercial Galleries: Europe & America
-
Europe: Sales are strongest in France,
Belgium, and Germany. Collectors in these regions
often view his work through an "Ethnographic Art" lens,
valuing the 1970s period.
Prices for mid-sized canvases typically range from €8,000
to €25,000.
-
America: Significant interest from high-net-worth private
collectors. Sales are often facilitated through
specialist brokers or Australian galleries exhibiting at
The Armory Show or IFPDA in New York.
Auction Presence and Records: Europe & USA
While
most of his high-volume auction activity occurs in Australia
(Sotheby’s, Bonhams, Deutscher and Hackett), international
presence is growing:
-
Europe: Frequent appearances at Sotheby’s Paris and Artcurial.
Early boards have reached prices exceeding €40,000.
-
USA: Sotheby’s New York (Aboriginal Art sales) has
seen his work consistently outperform estimates.
-
Auction Record: His records often sit in the $50,000 – $100,000
AUD range for exceptional early works, though
standard canvases often sell between $15,000 and
$30,000 AUD.
There is a limited number of Long Jack Phillipus
Tjakamarra's work left. The younger generation learn new
ways to paint their Dreaming stories, livening around the
world, from
Papunya to Paris, from
Arnhem Land to New York.
Long Jack Phillipus Tjakamarra
are becoming
increasingly finite,
the "bushfire" of the movement he helped spark has reached a
global scale.
The Scarcity of Long Jack's Work
As the
last of the founding
group of Papunya artists to continue
painting before his passing in 2020, his available oeuvre is
now largely locked in
major public collections (such as the
National Gallery of Victoria and the
Metropolitan Museum of Art) or held by
private collectors.
-
Market Rarity: Primary sales (buying directly from an art centre)
are virtually non-existent; almost all
acquisitions now happen via the secondary auction
market or specialized brokers.
-
Current
Availability: Rare works, such as large-scale canvases,
occasionally appear for sale with prices around AUD
$28,000, while historical 1970s boards can exceed
AUD $200,000 at major auctions like Bonhams.
From Papunya to Paris & New York
The
innovation of the "Men's Painting Room" has evolved into a
sophisticated global contemporary art movement.
-
New York
(2023–2026): The landmark exhibition Irriṯitja
Kuwarri Tjungu (meaning "Past and
Present Together") is currently touring the U.S.,
showing at the
Grey Art Museum, NYU, through
April 2026. It features 50 years of Papunya Tula art,
showcasing how the "honey ant" mural evolved into
world-class contemporary painting.
-
Paris &
International Presence: Following early international recognition in Paris and London in
the 1980s, the movement's descendants now regularly
exhibit at major global events like Art Basel Hong
Kong and in European galleries, often moving away
from traditional "dots" to abstract
minimalism that appeals to a modern
international aesthetic.
The "New Ways" of Painting
Younger generations are "painting in the footsteps" of
founders like Long Jack but adapting the medium:
1.
Veiling to Abstraction: While
Long Jack used dots to "veil" sacred symbols, many current
artists use high-contrast, linear patterns to represent the vibrancy
and energy of the land.
2.
Digital & Modern Media: Contemporary
artists are now bridging the gap using digital art and
photography to tell Dreaming stories to a global audience
while maintaining their spiritual
essence.
Market Trends and Presence for 2026: Key Aspects
As we
look toward 2026, the market for Long Jack Phillipus
Tjakamarra is entering a "Legacy Phase."
|
Trend |
Market Impact |
|
Scarcity of Early Works |
By
2026, 1970s boards will be almost entirely held in
museums or "forever" private collections, driving
prices for the few that surface to record highs. |
|
Provenance Rigour |
Buyers in 2026 are highly discerning. Canvases with
Papunya Tula (PTA) and Warumpi Arts
provenance and certificates represent the "Golden
Age" of the artist maturity and the investment.
|
|
Posthumous Appreciation |
Following his passing in 2020, the market has
stabilised. He is now cemented as a "Blue Chip"
artist, similar to Clifford Possum or Emily
Kngwarreye. |
|
International Institutional Push |
Increased interest from Asian museums
(Singapore/Hong Kong) is expected to expand his
market base beyond the traditional US/Europe axis. |
Note on 2026:
Investors are increasingly looking at his 1980-90s works,
which are currently "undervalued" compared to his
1970s boards but offer similar cultural depth and scale.
Long Jack Phillipus was
born
circa 1932,
at Kalipinypa, a major Water
Dreaming place, north-east of Walungurru,
in his mother's country.
Long Jack Phillipus biography is in ABORIGINAL
ARTISTS page 350.
The artist’s name ‘Long Jack’ comes from his unusually tall stature. A former
stockman,
Long Jack Phillipus Tjakamarra
was one of the founding members of Papunya Tula Artists, and its chairman in
1975 and again in the early 1990s.
Long Jack Phillipus Tjakamarra was part of the Papunya Community from 1962. He
was employed as a grounds man and was a member of the community council.
Long Jack Phillipus
was among the
first generation
of the Bardon years 1971–1973)
of the
Aboriginal artists to paint under Geoffrey Bardon’s
influence in the early 1970's
and one of the first masters
responsible for the Aboriginal art movement.
Long Jack Phillipus Tjakamarra was
the founding
group member of
Papunya Tula Artists.
Long Jack was a highly respected elder in the Papunya
Community and has a strong influence on the young people,
particularly in maintaining their traditional ways.
Long Jack Phillipus Tjakamarra
is a renown Australian Aboriginal
master-artist.
Long Jack
was
one of
the first few men to paint under
Geoffrey Bardon
that began
Papunya Art Movement.
In
1971 Tjakamarra and
Billy
Stockman
painted mural
'Widows Dreaming' and 'Wallaby Dreaming'
preceding the major 'Honey Ant' mural.
Long Jack
awards
include(1983) Northern Territory Golden Jubilee Award and
(1984)
Alice
Springs Caltex Award.
Long Jack Phillipus Tjakamarra is one of the
first founding members of the Papunya Tula Artists. Long
Jack is considered one of Australia’s leading Aboriginal
Artists, his unique paintings are acknowledged within the
World’s most contemporary works of fine art.
Long Jack Phillipus
Tjakamarra,
Water Dreaming
A former stockman, he was one of the founding
members of Papunya Tula Artists, and its chairman in 1975
and again in the early 1990s. During his childhood he lived
with his family on their traditional lands, before moving to
Haasts Bluff settlement when he was in his teens. In 1984 he
was ordained as a Lutheran pastor and in the same year won a
major art award. He was the last of the founding group of
Papunya artists to continue to paint.
Born in his mother’s country ‘Kalipinya’ [an
important Rain Dreaming site] Long Jack grew up in the bush
west of Pilininyanu until his teenage years when his family
settled in Haasts Bluff.
Long Jack was working as a stockman until in
1959 when Papunya was established and he moved location to
work as a councillor and school yardman. Along with Billy
Stockman Tjapaltjarri, Kaapa Tjampitjinpa, Long Jack were
instrumental to paint ‘Honey Ant Dreaming’ mural on the
school wall.
Long Jack was a Lutheran pastor, his was
family man with five children. Long Jack skills regarding
hunting and tribal knowledge are unsurpassable.
Long Jack exquisite artworks pay homage and
acts as instruments to preserve his culture ancestral
traditions.
The prominence
of Indigenous art is due in part to the motivation and considerable effort of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, particularly painters, who have
played a major role in introducing both Australia and the rest of the world to
Australia's Indigenous cultures.
In
2010 Long Jack Phillipus said to Luke Scholes:
"We started it, like a bushfire, this
painting business, and it went every
way: north, east, south, west, Papunya
in the middle.
Long Jack
Phillipus
work
encompasses significant Dreamings that include: the Spinifex Wallaby, Kingfisher, Dingo, Possum
and Emu Dreamings.
Long Jack paintings also
depict Hare, Wallaby, Kingfisher, Dingo and other Dreamings in the Mt
Singleton area.
A number of his early works on board
depict decorated ceremonial participants and ritual objects
perhaps occasioned by the heightened environment in the
Men's Painting Room, which prompted the artists to
demonstrate visually the strength of their culture and law.
Long Jack Phillipus has worked for
Warumpi Arts,
the first Aboriginal Community
Art Gallery fully operated by Aboriginal artists
Warumpi Arts was the first Aboriginal Community
Art Gallery fully operated by Aboriginal artists, Owned and
Directed by
Aboriginal people.
In 1994 the
Papunya Community Council established its own art centre to give Aboriginal
people of Papunya increased involvement in the commercial aspects of
Aboriginal art. This centre, called
Warumpi Arts, maintained a gallery in
Alice Springs until September 2004 and was the main centre for paintings by
Papunya Tula Artists.
The Papunya
Community Council then decided to close the gallery with the aim of later
opening an art centre in Papunya.
The Papunya Tula
Art Movement began in 1971 when a school teacher, Geoffrey
Bardon,
encouraged some of the men to paint a blank school wall. The
murals sparked off tremendous interest in the community and
soon many men started painting. In 1972 the artists
successfully established their own company.
The company is entirely owned
and directed by traditional Aboriginal people from the
Western Desert, predominantly of the Luritja/Pintupi
language groups. It has 49 shareholders and now represents
around 120 artists. The company derives its name from
Papunya, a settlement 240km north-west of Alice Springs. The
Papunya Tula painting style derives directly from the
artists’ knowledge of traditional body and sand painting
associated with ceremony. To portray these dreamtime
creation stories for the public, has required the removal of
sacred symbols and the careful monitoring of ancestral
designs.
The Western Desert art movement has
come to be seen as one of the most significant art movements of the 20th century.
NGV Symposium – 'Tjukurrtjanu:
Origins of Western Desert Art
give prominence to paintings produced at Papunya and also establishes the vital connection between
the works of art and their sources in ephemeral designs made for use in
ceremony.
Long Jack Phillipus father was a Warlpiri man, from Parikurlangu came to the
north of Kalimpinpa and Long Jack mother was of mixed Warlpiri/Luritja
woman, she also came from Kalimpinpa.
Long Jack
Phillipus grew up in the bush west
of Mt Farewell and came into Haasts Bluff settlement with his whole
family as a teenager. He lived in Papunya and was close to
his 'brother', Michael NELSON, with whom his family camped Haasts Bluff in the
early years before the Papunya settlement. His younger sister, Pauline
WOODS, is a well-known Western Desert artist currently working out of
Alice Springs. He worked at Haasts Bluffas and married Georgette Napaltjarri. They have two sons,
three daughters and many grandchildren.
Jack Phillipus was
one of the most senior and important artists of Papunya, he has painted
continuously
the important Rain Dreaming, north-east of Kintore since
in 1971.
L EGEND
C oncentric circle represent the sacred site
West
Papunya in which ceremonies
and various other deeds were performed by ancestors of the desert Aboriginal
people.
These ancestors travelled the area in the Dreamtime world-creation
period and their ceremonies created and modified many aspects of the landscape,
to become what it is today.
Corroboree men of both the past and the present
perform these ceremonies at the ceremonial sites today. The curvy lines joining
the concentric circles are journey lines of the
ancestors
space time
travels and present people travelling.
Collections
Long Jack
Phillipus
work is
represented
around the world including
Australian National Gallery of Victoria
Richard Kelton Foundation
Santa Monica
Lowe Art Museum University of Miami
National Museum of Australia
Tim and Vivien Johnson
Collection NZ
Museum of
Victoria
Art Bank,
National Art Gallery of New Zealand
National Gallery of Australia
Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Bristol UK
Australian National University Canberra
Museum
and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
Art
Gallery of Western Australia
Art Gallery of South Australia
Homes
a Court Collection
Kerry Stokes collection
Powerhouse
Museum
Christensen Collection Victoria
School
of Archaeology Anthropology
Australia
Qantas Art Collection
Donald Kahn art
collection
and others
AWARDS
1983 won the
Northern Territory Golden Jubilee Art Award
1984
won first prize in the
Alice Springs Caltex
Art Award
1984
ordained as a Lutheran pastor
1990's
Chairman
of Papunya Tula Artists
Exhibitions
1971 National
Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
1971 Art Gallery
of Western Australia, Perth
1974 Anvil Art
Gallery, Albury
1974 Art of
Aboriginal Australia, touring exhibition Canada, Rothmans of Pall Mall
Canada Ltd
1976 Aboriginal
Australia, Second touring exhibition Canada
1977 Christ
College, Oakleigh, Victoria
1983 Mori Gallery,
Sydney
1984 Papunya and
Beyond, Araluen Centre, Alice Springs
1985 The Face of
the Centre: Papunya Tula Paintings
1984 National
Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
1987 Circle Path
Meander, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
1987 A selection of Aboriginal Art owned by the ANU,
Drill Hall Gallery, Australian Capital Territory
1988 ANCAAA and Boomalli,
Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Ko-operative, Sydney
1988 Recent
Aboriginal painting, AGSA, Adelaide
1989 Mythscapes,
Aboriginal Art of the Desert, National Gallery of Victoria
1989 A selection of
Aboriginal Art owned by the ANU, Drill Hall Gallery, Australian Capital
Territory
1989 A Myriad of Dreaming: Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art,
Westpac Gallery Melbourne
1989
Design Warehouse Sydney Lauraine Diggins
Fine Art
1990 l'ete Australien a' Montpellier, Musee
Fabre Gallery, Montpellier, France
1990 From the Centre to the Sea, Boomalli
Aboriginal Artists Co-operative Chippendale, Sydney
1991 The Painted Dream: Contemporary
Aboriginal Paintings from the Tim and Vivien Johnson Collection
1991
Auckland City Art Gallery and Te Whare Taonga
1992 Aoteroa
National Art Gallery, New Zealand
1993 Tjukurrpa, Desert Dreamings,
Aboriginal Art from Central Australia
1993 Art Gallery
of Western Australia, Perth
1994 Power of the Land, Masterpieces of
Aboriginal Art, National Gallery of Victoria
Selected Bibliography
Literature
Source
& FURTHER
REFERENCES
Australian Aboriginal Artist dictionary of biographies
Kreczmanski, Janusz B and Birnberg, Margo (eds.): Aboriginal
Artists: Dictionary of Biographies: Central Desert, Western
Desert and Kimberley Region JB Publishing Australia,
Marleston, 2004.
Aboriginal
Artists of the Western Desert - A Biographical Dictionary by
Vivien Johnson, published by Craftsman House 1994
The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture edited by
Sylvia Kleinert and Margo Neale published by OUP 2000
Aboriginal Artists: Dictionary of Biographies: Central
Desert, Western Desert & Kimberley Region JB Publishing
Australia, Marleston, 2004
Brody, A. 1989 Utopia women’s Paintings: the First Works on
Canvas, A summer Project, 1988-89 exhib. Cat. Heytesbury
Holdings, Perth Brody
A. 1990 Utopia, a picture Story, 88 Silk Batiks from the
Robert Homes a Court Gallery and gallery Collection,
Heytesbury Holdings LTD Perth NATSIVAD database, Latz, P.
1995, Bushfires & Bushtucker, IAD Press, Alice Springs
Brody, A. 1989 Utopia women’s Paintings: the First Works on
Canvas, A summer Project 1988-89 exhib. Cat. Heytesbury
Holdings, Perth Brody
Amadio, N. und Kimber, R., Wildbird Dreaming. Aboriginal Art
from the Central Deserts of Australia, Greenhouse Publ.,
Melbourne 1988; Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland 1990,
Ausst. Kat.; Australian Aboriginal Art from the Collection
of Donald Kahn. Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami (Hrsg.),
1991, Ausst. Kat.; Droombeelden - Tjukurrpa. Groninger
Museum (Hrsg.), Groningen 1995, Ausst. Kat.; Isaacs, J.,
Australia´s Living Heritage. Arts of the Dreaming, Lansdowne
Press, Sydney 1984; Isaacs, J., Australian Aboriginal
Paintings. Lansdowne, Sydney 1989, ISBN 186302011X; Johnson,
V., Aboriginal Artists of the Western Desert. A Biographical
Dictionary, Craftsman House, East Roseville 1994, ISBN
9768097817; Modern Art - Ancient Icon. The Aboriginal
Gallery of Dreamings (Hrsg.), o.O. 1992, ISBN 0646080520;
Nangara. The Australian Aboriginal Art Exhibition from the
Ebes Collection. The Aboriginal Gallery of Dreamings (Hrsg.),
Melbourne 1996, Ausst. Kat.; Stourton, P. Corbally,
Songlines and Dreamings. Lund Humphries Publ., London 1996,
ISBN 0853316910; The Painted Dream. Contemporary Aboriginal
Paintings. Johnson, V. (Hrsg.), Auckland City Art Gallery,
Auckland 1991, Ausst. Kat.; Tjinytjilpa. The Dotted Design.
Aboriginal Art Galleries of Australia (Hrsg.), Melbourne
1998, Ausst. Kat.; Traumzeit - Tjukurrpa. Kunst der
Aborigines der Western Desert. Die Donald Kahn-Sammlung,
Danzker, J.B. (Hrsg.), Prestel, München und New York 1994,
Ausst. Kat.; Voices of the Earth. Paintings, Photography and
Sculpture from Aboriginal Australia. Gabrielle Pizzi (Hrsg.),
Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne 1996, Ausst. Kat., ISBN
0646288954.
|
The World’s Local Fine Art
