Dorothy Napangardi Paintings

Aboriginal Australian, 1950-2013

Dorothy Napangardi spent her early childhood living a nomadic life at Mina Mina near Lake Mackay in the Tanami Desert during the late 1950s and early 1960s. She recalled camping at claypans and soakages with her mother, Jeanie Lewis Napururrla, learning to collect the plentiful bush tucker and grinding seeds for damper cooked on hot ashes. This idyllic life came to a close when her family was forcibly relocated to the government settlement at Yuendumu. Dorothy’s early artistic endeavors were heavily influenced by memories of her childhood. Her subject matter was principally the Bush Plum and Bush Banana, wild fruits that grow in abundance near Mina Mina, changing in colour as they ripen, which she mirrored in her depictions. The paintings, at such an early stage in her career, clearly marked Dorothy as an artist of great talent. Her superb sense of composition created a rhythmic effect as semi-naturalistic depictions were entwined in an altogether geometric formation. In the late 1980s, the government marketing company Aboriginal Arts Australia closed its Alice Springs outlet and its manager Roslyn Premont opened her own, Gallery Gondwana. From 1997 onward, Dorothy began producing works which traced the grid-like patterns of the salt encrustations on the Mina Mina clay pans marking a significant artistic shift in her work. Over a three-year period, her paintings became less and less contrived and increasingly spare, all detail pared back to the barest essentials. These new works, in which Dorothy began to explore the Women’s Digging Sticks Dreaming and other stories related to the travels of the Karntakurlangu, compel the spectator’s eye to dance across the painted surface, just as these ancestral women danced in the hundreds across the country during the region’s creation. Dancing digging sticks magically emerged from the ground at Mina Mina, equipping the large band of women for their travels over a vast stretch of country. The tall desert oaks which are found there today symbolise the emergence of the digging sticks that literally rose up out from beneath the ground itself. As these works developed, her extraordinary spatial ability enabled her to create mimetic grids of the salt encrustations across the claypans of Mina Mina. The lines of white dots trace the travels of her female ancestors as they danced their way, in joyous exultation, through the saltpans, spinifex and sandhills, clutching their digging sticks in their outstretched hands. In 2001 Dorothy Napangardi was the recipient of the 18th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award and in the following year a solo exhibition of her work was curated for the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney. Dorothy’s paintings have enjoyed considerable commercial success. Creating these paintings has in no way undermined her personal integrity. While Dorothy Napangardi’s paintings may be seen as important commodities and major investments, her work can be so beautiful and ethereal, as to border on the sublime.

Artist: Dorothy Napangardi

Dorothy NapangardiSalt on Mina Mina, 2002

$15,500

Salt on Mina Mina

By Dorothy Napangardi

Located in Miami, FL

Dorothy Napangardi spent her early childhood living a nomadic life at Mina Mina near Lake Mackay in the Tanami Desert during the late 1950s and early 1960s. This idyllic life came to...

Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Dorothy Napangardi Paintings

Materials

Linen, Polymer

Dorothy NapangardiWestern Macdonnel Ranges, 1977

Price Upon Request

Western Macdonnel Ranges

By Dorothy Napangardi

Located in Long Island City, NY

Dorothy Napangardi was one of the leading Australian Aboriginal artists who has had her work hung at museums around the world. On the verso of this ...

Category

1970s Abstract Expressionist Dorothy Napangardi Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Marta PokojowczykIn Between Words III, Abstract Landscape, Contemporary Woven and Painted Artwork, 2021

$1,890

H 25.6 in W 19.69 in D 0.79 in

In Between Words III, Abstract Landscape, Contemporary Woven and Painted Artwork

By Marta Pokojowczyk

Located in Salzburg, AT

In Between Words III, 2021, Horizons Series Handwoven painting, linen, cotton yarn, acrylic textile paint, 65 x 50 cm ‘Horizons’ are a symbiosis of two disciplines of art, Painting and Weaving. Handwoven Canvas is entirely constructed on a weaving loom using a painting technique of glazing - applying semi-transparent layers of textile on each other' Inspiration is the colour perspective which exists in nature and the line of the horizon – border of the space visible to the eye and the one hidden by the ground. Marta Pokojowczyk...

Category

2010s Contemporary Dorothy Napangardi Paintings

Materials

Textile, Linen, Yarn, Acrylic

Antique American Modernist Abstract Expressionist Period New York Oil Painting, 1950

$4,400Sale Price|20% Off

H 20 in W 30 in D 2 in

Antique American Modernist Abstract Expressionist Period New York Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Very impressive and amazing mid 1900s abstract expressionist oil painting. Oil on canvas. No signature found. Framed.

Category

1940s Abstract Expressionist Dorothy Napangardi Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Marta PokojowczykHorizon, Cabo Sardão - Abstract Landscape, Contemporary Painted + Woven Artwork, 2020

$2,303

H 53.15 in W 25.6 in D 0.79 in

Horizon, Cabo Sardão - Abstract Landscape, Contemporary Painted + Woven Artwork

By Marta Pokojowczyk

Located in Salzburg, AT

‘Horizon. Cabo Sardão’ 2020 Handwoven painting, linen, woollen, silk, cotton yarn, acrylic textile paint, 135 x 65 cm Handwoven painting from the series ‘Horizons’, based on a portuguese landscape...

Category

2010s Contemporary Dorothy Napangardi Paintings

Materials

Textile, Linen, Yarn, Acrylic

Adele BeckerLarge Signed Exhibited Abstract Expressionist Original Framed Oil Painting, 1970

Sold|~~$1,196~~

H 24 in W 28 in D 2 in

Large Signed Exhibited Abstract Expressionist Original Framed Oil Painting

By Adele Becker

Located in Buffalo, NY

Antique American signed abstract expressionist oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed.

Category

1950s Abstract Expressionist Dorothy Napangardi Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Marta PokojowczykThe Heat - Handwoven Abstract Landscape, Contemporary Woven and Painted Artwork, 2021

$1,949

H 23.63 in W 19.69 in D 0.79 in

The Heat - Handwoven Abstract Landscape, Contemporary Woven and Painted Artwork

By Marta Pokojowczyk

Located in Salzburg, AT

‚The Heat’, handwoven landscape, linen yarn, organic cotton, acrylic textile paint, 60 x 50 cm, 2021. This work are a symbiosis of two disciplines of art, Painting and Weaving. Handw...

Category

2010s Contemporary Dorothy Napangardi Paintings

Materials

Textile, Cotton, Linen, Yarn, Acrylic

Antique American School Signed Abstract Expressionist Framed Oil Painting, 1970

$556Sale Price|20% Off

H 14 in W 20 in D 2 in

Antique American School Signed Abstract Expressionist Framed Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Antique American school signed abstract oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Image size, 19L x 13H.

Category

1950s Abstract Expressionist Dorothy Napangardi Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Marta PokojowczykTimeless - Handwoven Landscape Painting, Modern Painted and Woven Artwork, 2022

$1,949

H 23.63 in W 31.5 in D 0.79 in

Timeless - Handwoven Landscape Painting, Modern Painted and Woven Artwork

By Marta Pokojowczyk

Located in Salzburg, AT

"Timeless", from the series Horizons, handwoven painting, linen yarn, acrylic textile paint, 60 x 80 cm, 2022. Canvas is entirely constructed on a weaving loom...

Category

2010s Contemporary Dorothy Napangardi Paintings

Materials

Textile, Linen, Yarn, Acrylic

Mid Century Modern Abstract Expressionist Framed Original Large Oil Painting, 1960

$620Sale Price|20% Off

H 42 in W 30 in D 2 in

Mid Century Modern Abstract Expressionist Framed Original Large Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Nicely painted mid century abstract cubist oil painting. Great color and composition. Framed.

Category

1960s Abstract Expressionist Dorothy Napangardi Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Marta PokojowczykSenses - Abstract Landscape, Contemporary Woven and Painted Artwork, 2021

$1,890

H 25.6 in W 19.69 in D 0.79 in

Senses - Abstract Landscape, Contemporary Woven and Painted Artwork

By Marta Pokojowczyk

Located in Salzburg, AT

Senses, 2021, Horizons Series Handwoven painting, linen, cotton yarn, acrylic textile paint, 65 x 50 cm ‘Horizons’ are a symbiosis of two disciplines of art, Painting and Weaving. ...

Category

2010s Contemporary Dorothy Napangardi Paintings

Materials

Textile, Linen, Yarn, Acrylic

American Signed Abstract Expressionist Framed Mid Century Modern Oil Painting, 1960

$460Sale Price|20% Off

H 12 in W 16 in D 2 in

American Signed Abstract Expressionist Framed Mid Century Modern Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Nicely painted mid century abstract oil painting. Great color and composition. Framed. Signed.

Category

1960s Abstract Expressionist Dorothy Napangardi Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Large Antique American Abstract Expressionist Vintage Signed Framed Oil Painting, 1960

$1,980Sale Price|20% Off

H 37 in W 49 in D 2 in

Large Antique American Abstract Expressionist Vintage Signed Framed Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Nicely painted mid century abstract cubist oil painting. Great color and composition. Framed. Signed.

Category

1950s Abstract Expressionist Dorothy Napangardi Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Harriet Holden NashTrees Park Slope, 1957

$2,400

H 16 in W 20 in

Trees Park Slope

By Harriet Holden Nash

Located in Buffalo, NY

Harriet was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and lived with her husband in Park Slope for over 35 years. She attended the Brooklyn Museum School at...

Category

1950s Abstract Expressionist Dorothy Napangardi Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Dorothy Napangardi paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Dorothy Napangardi paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Dorothy Napangardi in canvas, fabric, oil paint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1970s and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Dorothy Napangardi paintings, so small editions measuring 35 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Sylvia Schwartz, Elwood Howell, and Doris Warner.