GINGER RILEY MUNDUWALAWALA

Ginger Riley reached unprecedented status as an artist just prior to his death in 2002, the year in which his record price was achieved at Sotheby's with the 161 x 172.5cm canvas Untitled (Limmen Bight Country). Though he had already established himself on the market with The Four Archers and Garimala 1988 selling for $25,300 as early as 1997, this stellar sale for $100,375 set a benchmark which, despite the many quality works offered since, has not been transcended. The artist’s then second highest price of $54,550 was set for a 123 x 172 cm entitled Limmen Bight Country 1990, estimated at $35,000-45,000 in Sotheby’s July 2004 auction (Lot 149). And the following year, a major early work conveying an epic narrative, Limmen Bight Country 1989, carried a pre-sale estimate of $80,000-100,000. It was expected to exceed the record but failed to sell.

A record price that stands so long would generally indicate its exceptional status or rarity. It could also be indicative of an artist who has fallen out of favour. Since 2007 no less than eight works have entered Ginger Riley's top ten results, of which six were sold from 2009 onward. This would at first appear to be a remarkable result given the doldrums in which the market in general languished, though 78 of the total 154 offerings of his works have been made during that time.

As would be expected Riley’s large canvases fetch the highest prices, especially those of Limmen Country, in which the sea eagle Ngak Ngak is present along with the Rainbow Serpent. There have been only about 20 of these large canvases that have come to auction. Smaller canvases and boards sell for $10,000-25,000. The one exception was an early career 38 x 43 cm work on plywood, exhibited in the artist’s first exhibition at William Mora Gallery, around which Ginger had screwed plastic moulding found in the local dump as a frame. Perhaps its quirky nature and the charm of the image ensured that this work, illustrated on the cover of the catalogue for Lawson-Menzies May 2005 auction, became his top-selling small work when sold for more than 2 1/2 times its top estimate (Lot 17).

Late in his career in 1999, Ginger Riley participated in a workshop and produced a significant body of works outside of his relationship with his agent Beverley Knight. During the well-documented workshop, many images similar to those in the National Gallery of Victoria retrospective catalogue were commissioned. Only one of these works has ever been offered for sale due to an ongoing dispute with the artist’s estate. Limmen Bight-River Country 1999, one of the largest of these 'unauthorised' canvases (285.5 x 197 cm), was offered at Deutscher~Menzies 2000 sale with a presale estimate of $40,000-50,000 (Lot 84). It sold for a mere $32,825 , yet this is still the artist’s 16th highest price to date. These ‘unauthorised’ works, held in several private collections nationally, may be offered for sale from time to time, but they are unlikely to sell in Tier I auction houses or for prices commensurate with those authenticated by the artist’s estate. Moreover, it is unlikely that copyright permission allowing the reproduction of these images in auction catalogues will be granted by the estate.

Riley's average price during the 2007 and 2008 years was a very impressive $27,393 per work against his then-career average of just $18,519. His work faired well in 2010, despite general market malaise. Two works entered his top ten sales, making second and fourth place. His average price for the five works sold that year was $35,640. Since then, there has been a consistent rise in interest in his work. Though far less work was on offer in 2009, two works sold above $45,000, establishing both a third and sixth record.

However, Riley's clearance rates remain relatively low, hovering just below 60%, indicating the lack of interest in his early career and smaller works. In 2012, two works created in 1988 and 1994 set his 2nd highest prices at auction. Both Garimala and Bulukbun, 1988 and The Wet-My Mother's Country, 1994 sold for $96,000.It was a stellar year for the artist overall, in which he was the 8th best-performing artist in spite of his overall position as the 29th most successful of the entire movement at that time.

Ginger Riley consistently produced high-quality paintings of unique character. In a career marked by occasional brilliance, he created many luminous eye-catching works. It is a true mark of his artistic genius that just as during his lifetime, Ginger Riley challenged the very nature of our perception of Aboriginal art, he continues to do so long after his death. There were very few good sales from 2014--2019. However, should his results continue on the trajectory set during the previous 4 years, his overall standing in the history of the movement should eventually see him settle to a position around the 30th most successful artist of the entire movement.

© Adrian Newstead