Emily Kame Kngwarreye - Earth's Creation

Earth's Creation - The Million Dollar Painting

On 23 May 2007, Mbantua Gallery owner Tim Jennings made Australian art history when he acquired Emily Kame Kngwarreye's monumental masterpiece Earth's Creation at a Lawson-Menzies auction in Sydney.

The painting sold for $1,056,000, making it the highest price ever paid at the time for an Australian Aboriginal artwork and the highest price ever paid for a work by a female Australian artist. It was also the first work by an Aboriginal artist to sell for more than $1 million.

For Tim, acquiring Earth's Creation was about much more than its record-breaking price. The painting came from Utopia, the community and artists that Mbantua Gallery represents, and he recognised the extraordinary importance it could have for Utopia artists, Alice Springs and the wider recognition of Aboriginal art.

As Tim has said, 'I bought it because it comes from here, from the community I represent in my gallery. It will give an enormous sense of pride to the Utopia artists. It will encourage people to visit Alice Springs and be exposed to Utopia art.'

A Monumental Masterpiece

Measuring an extraordinary 2.7 metres high and 6.3 metres wide across four panels, Earth's Creation is one of Emily Kame Kngwarreye's most ambitious and celebrated works.

The painting was commissioned in 1995 by fellow Utopia artist Barbara Weir and her son Fred Torres. The enormous linen was supplied to Emily in four separate panels, which Barbara Weir joined together before Emily began painting.

Created on this monumental scale, Earth's Creation demonstrates Emily's remarkable artistic confidence and her ability to work instinctively with colour, movement and mark-making.

Emily Kame Kngwarreye

Emily Kame Kngwarreye (c. 1916-1996) was a senior Anmatyerre woman from the Utopia region of Central Australia and is now recognised as one of Australia's most celebrated Aboriginal artists.

Emily's artistic journey began long before she picked up a paintbrush. Throughout her life she participated in traditional forms of artistic expression, including body painting and sand drawing. In the late 1970s she became involved in batik workshops established in the Utopia region, working with other women to create dyed textiles.

Emily began painting with acrylics in the late 1980s, when she was already in her seventies. Over the following eight years, she produced an extraordinary body of work, estimated at more than 3,000 paintings and works on paper before her death in 1996.

Sharing Emily's Genius with the World

Before Earth's Creation was offered at auction in Sydney, the National Museum of Australia requested that the painting be made available for the landmark Utopia: The Genius of Emily Kame Kngwarreye exhibition in Japan in 2007.

The exhibition was conceived by Akira Tatehata, then director of the National Museum of Art in Osaka, who had developed a deep appreciation for Emily's work and was determined to introduce her art to a Japanese audience.

The exhibition was a remarkable success, attracting more than 130,000 visitors.

A Journey Across Australia

Following its exhibition in Japan, Earth's Creation travelled to the National Museum of Australia in Canberra before being displayed in the Great Hall of Parliament House in Darwin.

After its journey across Australia, the painting returned to Alice Springs. Because of its extraordinary dimensions, a dedicated room was created within Mbantua Gallery to accommodate the work.

International Recognition

Emily Kame Kngwarreye's reputation continued to grow after her death, with leading Australian and international academics and art institutions recognising the significance of her work.

Her paintings have been discussed alongside the work of influential modern artists including Claude Monet, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko.

Earth's Creation at the Venice Biennale

In January 2015, Okwui Enwezor, curator of the 56th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, contacted Tim Jennings regarding the possibility of exhibiting Earth's Creation in Venice.

The painting subsequently travelled to Italy and was exhibited at the 56th Venice Biennale for six months in 2015, allowing thousands of visitors from around the world to experience one of Australia's most significant examples of Indigenous contemporary art.

A Legacy That Continues

Earth's Creation remains one of Emily Kame Kngwarreye's most significant works and a treasured part of the Mbantua Gallery collection. From its creation in Utopia to its record-breaking sale and exhibitions across Japan, Australia and Venice, the painting has travelled far beyond the Country from which it emerged.

Yet its story always returns to Emily, her Country and her culture. Earth's Creation is a powerful expression of Alhalkere and the "whole lot" that Emily carried with her throughout her life.

For Mbantua Gallery, preserving and sharing this remarkable work is an important part of celebrating Emily's legacy and the artists of Utopia.

Emily Kame Kngwarreye - A brief timeline