Lily Kelly Napangardi

Topsy Peterson Napangardi

New works

28 August - 10 September 2008

 Art Equity's Art Director Ralph Hobbs pictured with Lily Kelly Napangardi and Topsy Peterson Napangardi (Right) in Alice Springs in July

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Lily Kelly Napangardi


Lily Kelly Napangardi is a senior law woman of the Watiyawanu community, near Haasts Bluff, north-west of Alice Springs. Lily moved to Papunya in the 1960's, and was later noted for the assistance she gave to her husband, the painter Norman Kelly. She began painting in the 1980's. Lily holds authority over the "Women Dreaming " story associated with Kunajarrayi. Her hypnotic 'Sand Hills' paintings are made up of fine dots and dashes, their muted tones building up a mysterious, hidden topography of her land. She depicts her country's sandhills, especially the sandhills near Kintore. Her dreamings portray the effect of wind and rain upon the desert. Lily Kelly won the Northern Territory Art Award for excellence in Aboriginal Painting in 1996 and in 2003, she was a finalist in the Telstra NATSIAA award. Lily Kelly has also been selected by Australian Art Collector Magazine as one of Australia's 50 most collectable artists for 2006.

• Auction record $39,600 (176x120cm, Sotheby’s Melbourne, July 2007)
• 2003 - Finalist in the Telstra Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Award for painting
• Held in many Private and Public collections domestically and internationally: NGV, Art Gallery of South Australia, Linden Museum (Stuttgart, Germany), Kelton Foundation (Santa Monica, Los Angeles, USA), Kaplan-Levi Collection (Seattle, WA, USA), The Vroom Collection (Amsterdam, Netherlands), The Erskine Collection (Sydney) and the Kerry Stokes Collection (Perth)
• 2005 & 2006 - Named in the Australian Art Collector Magazine 50 Most Collectable Artists list

Lily Kelly Napangardi's auction record was set last year at Sotheby’s with the sale of a Sandhills painting for $39,600 (incl. buyer’s premium) against a pre-auction estimate of $12000 - $16000.  The market is significantly moving in her favour with good works exceptionally hard to find.

Topsy Peterson Napangardi

Topsy Peterson Napangardi, also a member of the Watiyawanu Artists Corporation (Mt Liebig) is the sister of Lily Kelly Napangardi.  Her vivid paintings skillfully depict the sandhills (Tali) of her country near Nyirripi, in Central Australia. It is the story that was passed onto her by her father. Topsy’s paintings are constructed using small dots in a series of colours creating an sense of intense movement.

In Topsy's words..."'I paint my father's country west of Yuendumu. He was a Yuendumu man, a Warlpiri man. Sandhills and scrub country, same as Lily, same Dreaming, but my way’.