WILLIAM (KING BILLY) BARAK

Works by William Barak are most notable in the market for their rarity. With a total of 18 recorded sales dating back as far as 1975 his only recorded failures at auction, other than a boomerang offered at Lawson Menzies in 2005, occurred prior to 1990.

Only one sale of a work on canvas has ever been recorded, in 1998. The painting, executed in natural earth pigments, charcoal and pencil, was a gift from the artist to Mrs. G.M. Davies in 1895. It temporarily set his record price at auction when sold for $74,000 against a pre-sale estimate of $30,000-50,000. Over the following decade only two other works transcended this result. When this lone work on linen was finally re-offered in 2009, it created a new record at a stratospheric $504,000. The record stood until 2016, when a work on paper, fresh to the market, was offered for sale by Amina and Franco Bellgiorno-Nettis through Bonhams. Ceremony,1897 carried a pre-sale estimate of $180,000-250,000 but by the time the dust had settled it was hammered down for $512,400 including buyer's premium. It should be noted that not all of Barak’s works have had success in the secondary market for various reasons. In 2005 a decorated throwing boomerang with a high estimate of $1,500 failed to sell. All other unsold works came to auction prior to 1990. Two watercolours seem to have been overestimated at $15,000-18,000 at that time.

The recent prominence afforded this artist a reassessment of his contribution to Australian art through a major exhibition and catalogue produced by the National Gallery of Victoria. It led to spectacular sales at auction. In 2009, William Barak leapt to 7th place on the list of the most important Aboriginal artists of all time, yet his works rarely appear for sale. In fact, not a single work appeared at auction between 2009, when his former record was set, and 2016 when it was broken. Expect works by this artist to generate a flurry of attention from informed collectors whenever they appear for sale, and his record price to leap when anything of real quality appears in the future.

© Adrian Newstead