First Nations art at auction: a stronger floor, a softer ceiling

FIRST NATIONS · AUSTRALIA

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the names of people who have died.

The category arrived in 2026 with momentum. In 2024, First Nations art made A$13.48 million at auction, and the first half of 2025 alone made A$10.36 million at Australian houses, according to art adviser D'Lan Davidson's mid-year report (Blue Medium). The centrepiece was Deutscher and Hackett's March 2025 sale: A$4.22 million from 75 lots, 80 per cent sold, ten artist records, and an Emily Kam Kngwarray Untitled (Awelye) (1992) at A$1.2 million (Deutscher and Hackett).

The 2026 edition on 25 March went further on volume. By the ARTWATCH database, 66 of 75 lots sold for A$4.57 million including premium, against total estimates of A$3.11–4.40 million. Kngwarray again led, with Awelye I, II, III & IV (1995) at A$429,545, followed by Rover Thomas (Joolama)'s Langurr (The Rainbow Serpent) making the river (1991) at A$392,727.

The difference is at the top. Last year's leading Kngwarray made double its high estimate; this year's sold within its A$400,000–600,000 estimate only once premium was added. Supply, not demand, may explain it: Deutscher and Hackett secured nine Kngwarray works after her Tate Modern retrospective, and its head of Indigenous art, Crispin Gutteridge, said estimates had risen only slightly (Deutscher and Hackett). Further down, Albert Namatjira's Central Australian landscape (1944) made A$171,818 against an A$30,000–40,000 estimate.

What it means for collectors: the category's depth is real: nine in ten lots sold at the leading sale, and works under A$200,000 are competing hard. At the top, buyers are paying estimate, not chasing records, which makes this a better moment to buy major Kngwarray than to sell it.

Source: ARTWATCH database, from Deutscher and Hackett's published results; prices include buyer's premium. Spelling follows Tate's "Kngwarray"; the houses use "Kngwarreye".