$1mn painting kept in storeroom
Published on: 19-Dec-2007
A painting believed to be worth up to AUS$1 million was kept rolled up gathering dust for 15 years in the storeroom of a remote Australian cattle ranch.Aboriginal artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye's work was found by the Holt family on their homestead.
The family has placed 13 other paintings by her, also in their possession, for sale but they intend to keep the picture entitled Kame - Summer Awelve 2 in their collection.
Kngwarreye lived next door to the Holts in the aboriginal community of Utopia and she used to do a lot of painting on their verandah until her death in 1996.
Regarded by many in the art world as a genius, her pictures, dubbed 'Emilys' made her some money in her lifetime which she mainly gave away to her vast family.
Mr Holt told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper that she loved giving. "She knew her own mind and just gave money when she felt like it."
The artist's works are reportedly in total worth more than those of any other Australian Aboriginal artist - her Earth's Creation painting set a record for an Aboriginal painting at $1,056,000 million in 2007.
Can't find art to match your decor? You can now...
