Aboriginal Art > Aboriginal Art Styles > East Kimberley Art > Rover Thomas > Rover Thomas Value

Rover Thomas Value and Auction results

Works Offered at Auction: 643
Sale Rate: 67%
Highest Sale: $700,000 AUD
Median Sale Price: $20,000 AUD

This is a support page for the main Rover Thomas artist page, which covers his biography, painting style, subjects and importance within East Kimberley art.

This page focuses specifically on auction results and the factors that influence the value of Rover Thomas paintings.

The strongest results are usually achieved when period, subject, scale, provenance, documentation and quality all come together.

Works from approximately 1985–91 are generally the most sought after, particularly major paintings connected with the Gurirr Gurirr ceremony, Cyclone Tracy, massacre histories, important East Kimberley Country, rain and river imagery, or subjects such as the Rainbow Serpent, Barramundi and Owl. Large paintings can command exceptional prices, but an important small early work may be worth substantially more than a monumental later canvas.

Provenance is especially important for Rover Thomas. Paintings with a clear history through Mary Macha, Waringarri Aboriginal Arts or other established Kimberley organisations are generally more reassuring to collectors. Original certificates, catalogue numbers, photographs of Thomas with the work, inscriptions, diagrams and recorded explanations can add considerably to a painting’s significance. Major collection, exhibition and publication histories can strengthen it further.

For this reason, Rover Thomas paintings should not be valued by size, age or subject alone. The highest-value works are those in which an important period and subject are matched by exceptional painting quality and strong documentary history.

Rover Thomas Value pre – 1984

Three Owls at Pompei Pillar, 1981

Size
98 × 61.5 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigment on plywood

Auction
Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art), Indigenous Fine Art, Sydney, 8 March 2022, Lot 38

Provenance
Neil McLeod Fine Arts, Victoria; Private Collection, New South Wales. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Neil McLeod Fine Arts.

Price Realised
$70,000 AUD

Warmun – Map of Turkey Creek Community, c.1983

Size: 102 × 121 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on veneer
Auction: Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art), Indigenous Fine Art Auction, Sydney, 23 June 2020, Lot 45
Provenance: Painted at Warmun, Turkey Creek, and acquired directly from the artist c.1983; Fireworks Gallery, Queensland, Cat. No. FW15657; Private Collection, NSW.
Price Realised:

$22,000 AUD

Mount House, 1983–1984 by Rover Thomas, natural earth pigments on plywood

Mount House, 1983–1984
Size: 122 × 183 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on plywood
Auction: Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art), The Rod Menzies Estate – Indigenous and Oceanic Art Collection Part I, Sydney, 8 November 2023, Lot 18
Provenance: Field collected by Neil McLeod, 1985; Lawson-Menzies, Sydney, November 2005, Lot 193; Company Collection, Victoria; Deutscher-Menzies, Sydney, September 2009; Menzies Estate Collection, Victoria.
Price Realised:

$35,000 AUD

Rover Thomas Value 1984

Rover Thomas ochre painting with winding black and dark brown forms, red enclosed shapes and pathways outlined by rows of white dots.

Kalindawurru, c.1984

Size: 62 × 122 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on plywood
Auction: Sotheby’s, Fine Contemporary and Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 28 November 1995, Lot 610
Provenance: Painted at Turkey Creek.
Price Realised:

$8,000 AUD

Abstract ochre landscape by Rover Thomas with broad red and dark brown areas divided by a winding black river-like band edged with fine white dots.

Ord River, 1984

Size
180 × 90 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and natural binder (bush gum) on plywood

Auction
Sotheby’s, Important Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 28 June 1999, Lot 34

Provenance
Not stated in the supplied record.

Price Realised
$87,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting with a large pale pink angular form and nested black geometric shapes outlined with rows of white dots on a red ground.

Kukatja / Wurman Country, 1984
Size: 40.5 × 91.5 cm
Medium: Earth pigments on board
Auction: Deutscher~Menzies, Fine Aboriginal Art and a Collection of New Ireland Malagan Sculptures, Melbourne, 27 June 2000, Lot 329A
Provenance: Inscribed and dated verso: Rover Thomas / Wurman / Country / 1984.
Price Realised:

$4,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting with three large irregular black forms outlined in white dots and separated by narrow vertical brown bands.

Barramundi Dreaming, 1984

Size
69 × 113 cm (irregular)

Medium
Natural earth pigments with bush gum on plywood

Auction
Deutscher and Hackett, Important Aboriginal Art from the Laverty Collection, Sydney, 8 March 2015, Lot 29

Provenance
Mary Macha, Subiaco, Perth; The Collection of Colin and Elizabeth Laverty, Sydney, purchased in December 1993.

Price Realised
$75,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting with irregular brown and black areas divided by winding pathways and boundaries outlined with rows of small white dots.

Untitled (Map of Turkey Creek and Surrounds), c.1984

Size
97 × 122 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and natural binders on composition board

Auction
Deutscher and Hackett, Important Aboriginal + Oceanic Art Auction, Melbourne, 25 May 2016, Lot 5

Provenance
Painted at Warmun, Turkey Creek, and displayed at the Turkey Creek Roadhouse until 1987; Collection of the late Duncan Kentish, Adelaide, acquired directly from the artist in 1987.

Price Realised
$65,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ceremonial board showing a yellow double-peaked form, two upright black kangaroo-like figures and dark rock shapes outlined with white dots on an ochre ground.

Krill Krill (Gurrir Gurrir) Ceremonial Board, 1984

Size: 60 × 122 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on construction ply
Auction: Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art), Aboriginal & Oceanic Art, Sydney, 29 May 2018, Lot 22
Provenance: Field collected at Bedford Downs Station in 1984; Cooee Art, NSW, 1995; Private Collection, Victoria.
Price Realised:

$14,000 AUD

Texas Downs Country, 1984

Size
90 × 180 cm

Medium
Earth pigment on board

Auction
Deutscher~Menzies, 19th and 20th Century Australian & International Paintings, Sculpture and Works on Paper, Melbourne, 20 April 1998, Lot 6

Provenance
Mary Macha, Perth; Private Collection, Melbourne. Accompanied by original documentation from Mary Macha with an annotated diagram explaining the painting’s iconography.

Price Realised
$96,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting with a large orange field crossed and enclosed by winding parallel rows of white dots, with a small looped form at right.

Canning Stock Route, c.1984

Size: 121 × 60 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on composition board
Auction: Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art), Indigenous Fine Art Auction, Sydney, 20 October 2020, Lot 65
Provenance: Field collected in Turkey Creek, c.1986; Kimberley Art, Victoria, Cat. No. K13; Aboriginal Gallery of Dreamings, Victoria; Ebes Collection, Victoria.
Price Realised:

$64,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting with a pale oval claypan surrounded by concentric white and pink bands, beside two winding paths across a dark brown ground.

Claypan at Bedford Downs, 1984

Size: 60 × 90.5 cm
Medium: Synthetic polymer paint on board
Auction: Menzies, Important Australian & International Art, Melbourne, 27 March 2024, Lot 98
Provenance: Aboriginal Gallery of Dreamings, Melbourne, Stock No. TC-C28; Dr Michael and Mrs Patricia Bernard, Melbourne; Menzies, Sydney, 9 August 2018, Lot 123; Private Collection, Sydney; Company Collection, Sydney.
Price Realised:

$20,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting with broad winding black and brown bands edged in white dots, surrounding a dark oval form on a red ochre ground.

Bedford Downs, 1984
Size: 45 × 90 cm
Medium: Natural earth on board
Auction: Theodore Bruce Auctioneers & Valuers, Aboriginal Art, Sydney, 20 March 2023, Lot 9009
Provenance: Utopia Art, Sydney, purchased 11 June 1994.
Price Realised:

$9,000 AUD

Rover Thomas Value 1985

Rover Thomas ochre painting showing two white owl-like figures beside a large dark oval and curved black band outlined with white dots on a red-brown ground.

Life and Death, 1985

Size: 91 × 61 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and bush resins on hardboard
Auction: Lawson~Menzies, Aboriginal Art Auction, Sydney, 23 November 2004, Lot 24
Provenance: Purchased from London; exhibited in Desert Dreamings, 1993; Private Collection, Melbourne.
Price Realised:

$30,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting with a large yellow area meeting black and brown fields, divided by sweeping curved boundaries edged with fine white dots.

Bush Turkey at Frog Hollow

Size
90.5 × 120 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and natural binders on canvas

Auction
Sotheby’s, Aboriginal and Oceanic Art, Sydney, 25 November 2007, Lot 47

Provenance
Painted for Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Kununurra, in 1985; Private Collection, acquired from Waringarri Aboriginal Arts. Bears Waringarri Aboriginal Arts catalogue numbers S-1418 and AP1660.

Price Realised
$120,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting with large red-brown areas, black winding pathways and enclosed oval forms, all bordered by fine rows of white dots.

Ruby Plains Massacre 1, 1985

Size
90 × 180 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and bush gum on canvas

Auction
Deutscher and Hackett, Aboriginal Art from the Luczo Family Collection, USA, Melbourne, 19 October 2016, Lot 10

Provenance
Commissioned in 1985 by Mary Macha, Perth; Holmes à Court Collection, Heytesbury, Western Australia, Accession No. 1260; Sotheby’s, Sydney, 24 June 2002, Lot 113; Private Collection; Sotheby’s, Sydney, 25 November 2007, Lot 79; The Luczo Family Collection, USA.

Price Realised
$300,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting divided into two large pink and red fields by a thick curving black band, with the forms outlined by rows of white dots.

Baragu Country, 1985

Size
60 × 120 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments on composition board

Auction
Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art), Indigenous Fine Art Auction, Sydney, 20 October 2020, Lot 15

Provenance
Field collected in Turkey Creek, c.1986; Kimberley Art, Victoria, Cat. No. K19; Aboriginal Gallery of Dreamings, Victoria; Ebes Collection, Victoria.

Price Realised
$78,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting with large yellow and black rounded forms separated by a winding black snake-like line, outlined with white dots on a red-brown ground.

Hot Springs (Kalumpa – Mythological Snake), 1985
Size: 60.5 × 91.5 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and bush gum on board
Auction: Leonard Joel, The Thomas Vroom Collection, Melbourne, 26 February 2017, Lot 212
Provenance: Bears Mary Macha catalogue number 212/85/R.T.
Price Realised:

$13,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting with two large irregular black forms flanking a central yellow shape, all outlined with white dots on a red-brown ground.

Old Bedford Station, c.1985
Size: 110 × 206 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on board
Auction: Gibson’s, Australian & International Art, Melbourne, 24 October 2021, Lot 90
Provenance: Neil McLeod Fine Arts Studio.
Price Realised:

$50,000 AUD

Rover Thomas Value 1986

Rover Thomas ochre painting showing two diagonal roads crossing at the centre, one brown and one black, edged with rows of pale dots on a deep red ground.

Untitled (Crossroads), c.1986

Size: 92 × 87 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and natural binder on canvas
Auction: Sotheby’s, Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 9 July 2001, Lot 50
Provenance: Painted at Warmun (Turkey Creek); acquired directly from the artist by the vendor; Private Collection, Western Australia.
Price Realised:

$26,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting with a broad pale cream salt pan sweeping across dark brown and black fields, edged by a narrow red-brown band and rows of white dots.

Wurlangawarrin – Salt Pan, 1986

Size
90 × 180 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and natural binder (bush gums) on canvas

Auction
Sotheby’s, Important Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 24 July 2007, Lot 125

Provenance
Not stated in the supplied record.

Price Realised
$370,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting with interlocking rounded black, red and dark brown forms outlined by rows of white dots above a horizontal band.

Untitled, c.1986

Size: 80 × 100 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and natural binder on plywood
Auction: Deutscher and Hackett, Important Australian Indigenous Art, Melbourne, 22 March 2023, Lot 45
Provenance: Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Kununurra; Aboriginal Arts Australia Limited, Sydney; Private Collection, France, acquired June 1990.
Price Realised:

$52,500 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting with a dark sweeping landscape crossed by undulating white-dotted lines, with large brown landforms outlined in white dots.

Bugaltji – Lissadell Country, 1986

Size
90 × 180 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and bush gum on canvas

Auction
Sotheby’s, Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 31 July 2006, Lot 95

Provenance
Painted in 1986 for Mary Macha; Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne; Private Collection, Melbourne. Exhibited by Lauraine Diggins Fine Art in 1997.

Price Realised
$550,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting with a large dark central shape surrounded by looping red and brown bands edged with fine white dots.

Bedford Dreams, c.1986

Size: 122.5 × 182.5 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on board
Auction: Menzies, Fine Australian and International Paintings and Sculpture, Sydney, 21 March 2013, Lot 59
Provenance: Coo-ee Aboriginal Art, Sydney; Utopia Art, Sydney; Private Collection, Sydney; Lawson-Menzies, Sydney, 23 November 2004, Lot 138; Private investment partnership, Victoria.

Price Realised:

$16,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting with two rounded arch-like forms below two horizontal wavy black bands, all marked with white dots on a red-brown ground.

Meree, 1986

Size: 45.5 × 61 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on plywood
Auction: Leonard Joel, The Alan Boxer Collection of Aboriginal Art, Books & Music, Melbourne, 19 May 2016, Lot 119
Provenance: Not stated in the supplied record. Exhibited in The Creative Spirit, Chapman Gallery, Canberra, 1991.

Price Realised:

$11,000 AUD

Rover Thomas Value 1987

Rover Thomas ochre painting showing two large pale owls surrounded by smaller black owl-like figures, with winding dotted bands above on a dark red ground.

Dumbun (Owls), 1987

Size
60 × 59.5 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and natural binder (bush gum) on plywood

Auction
Sotheby’s, Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 26 July 2004, Lot 29

Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist at Warmun (Turkey Creek), Western Australia; Private Collection, Adelaide. Sold with a colour photocopy of an original photograph showing Rover Thomas and Paddy Jaminji standing beside the painting.

Price Realised
$96,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting with a branching black pathway crossing broad brown and red areas, with curved and oval forms outlined by rows of white dots.

Land Around Turkey Creek, 1987

Size
61 × 91 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and bush gum on board

Auction
Menzies, Important Australian & International Art, Sydney, 9 April 2025, Lot 55

Provenance
Acquired from the artist by P. Barry, Western Australia, c.1987; Sotheby’s, Sydney, 9 November 1998, Lot 148; Private Collection, Sydney. Exhibited in Significant First Nations Paintings, Caruana & Reid Fine Art, Sydney, 2004.

Price Realised
$65,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting of a large white owl with raised wings between two concentric oval forms, beneath a winding black line on an olive-brown ground.

Gool Gool the Owl, 1987

Size: 90 × 100 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and natural binders on canvas
Auction: Sotheby’s, Aboriginal Art, Sydney, 20 October 2008, Lot 56
Provenance: Mary Macha, Perth; Sir John and Elaine Cruthers Collection, Perth, acquired in 1995.

Price Realised:

$39,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting of a single large white and brown owl with a black face, standing above a pale elongated form on a dark brown ground.

Untitled (Owl), c.1987

Size: 76 × 51 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and natural binders on canvas
Auction: Sotheby’s, Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 9 July 2001, Lot 4
Provenance: Given to the vendor by the artist while he was working in the Warmun community, East Kimberley; Private Collection, Victoria.

Price Realised:

$28,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting with concentric wavy bands of black, red and yellow surrounding a central group of linked circles and elongated forms outlined with white dots.

Corroboree, c.1987

Size: 60 × 101 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and natural binders on canvas
Auction: Sotheby’s, Important Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 24 June 2002, Lot 174
Provenance: Painted at Warmun (Turkey Creek) c.1987; purchased by the then coordinator of Balangarri, the original outlet for the Turkey Creek community; Private Collection, Melbourne. Sold with handwritten documentation and an annotated diagram made when the painting was executed.

Price Realised:

$26,000 AUD

Rover Thomas ochre painting with thick black branching lines dividing a red ground into irregular rectangular areas, each bordered by bold white dots.

Ludunyae (Spring Creek), 1987

Size: 35.5 × 45.5 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and natural binder (bush gum) on composition board
Auction: Sotheby’s, Important Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 25 July 2005, Lot 194
Provenance: Painted at Warmun; Waringarri Art and Crafts, Kununurra. Sold with an accompanying Waringarri card and annotated diagram.

Price Realised:

$10,000 AUD

Rover Thomas Value 1988

Rover Thomas Lake Gregory painting with sweeping black, red and brown ochre shapes outlined by fine white dots.

Lake Gregory (Buragu) in the Wet Season, 1988

Size
121 × 162 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and synthetic binder on canvas

Auction
Sotheby’s, Aboriginal Art, Sydney, 29 July 2003, Lot 106

Provenance
Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Kununurra; exhibited in Aboriginal Art of East Kimberley, presented by Aboriginal Arts Australia for Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, October 1988, Cat. No. 1;

Price Realised
$410,000 AUD

Rover Thomas Yillimbiddi Country painting with sweeping red, black and brown ochre forms outlined by white dots

Yillimbiddi Country, 1988

Size
100 × 140 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and bush gum on canvas

Auction
Sotheby’s, Aboriginal Art, Sydney, 29 July 2003, Lot 127

Provenance
Aboriginal Art of the East Kimberley, presented by Aboriginal Arts Australia for Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Western Australia Crafts Council Gallery, Sydney, October 1988, Cat. No. 8;

Price Realised
$325,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting with two large brown rectangular forms bordered by black bands and rows of white ochre dots.

Untitled, 1988

Size: 61 × 76.5 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and bush gum on canvas
Auction: Deutscher and Hackett, Important Aboriginal + Oceanic Art Auction, Melbourne, 25 May 2016, Lot 18
Provenance: Painted in the East Kimberley for Waringarri Arts; Joel Smoker, Western Australia; Private Collection, Sydney; Sotheby’s, Melbourne, 9 July 2001, Lot 138; Private Collection, Sydney.

Price Realised:

$40,000 AUD

Rover Thomas Gulgoodji painting with a central pink figure, large yellow form and red, black and ochre fields outlined with dots.

Gulgoodji, c.1988

Size: Not stated in the supplied record
Medium: Natural earth pigments and bush gum on canvas
Auction: Sotheby’s, Important Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 29 June 1998, Lot 16
Provenance: Purchased from Mary Macha, Perth; Private Collection, Alice Springs.
Price Realised:

$31,000 AUD

Rover Thomas Bungguldgee Creek painting with flowing brown, black and yellow ochre shapes divided by white dotted lines.

Bungguldgee Creek Wyndham Road, 1988

Size: 60 × 105 cm
Medium: Natural gum and pigment on canvas
Auction: Davidson Auctions, Australian & International Art, Sydney, 10 September 2011, Lot 5
Provenance: Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Twentieth Century Aboriginal, a Myriad of Dreaming, 1989, Cat. No. 102; Private Collection, Sydney.

Price Realised:

$11,000 AUD

Abstract Rover Thomas painting divided into broad red-brown and black areas. Two large curved black shapes enter from the top and bottom edges, each bordered by rows of round white dots and a continuous yellow ochre line. A horizontal black band crosses the lower half, while the surrounding ground is warm reddish brown.

Emu and Dingo Story at Burragu (Lake Gregory), 1988

Size: 45.5 × 60.9 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on canvas board
Auction: Sotheby’s, Important Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 24 July 2007, Lot 118
Provenance: Bears Waringarri Arts and Crafts catalogue numbers S-341 and P-562 verso.

Price Realised:

$10,000 AUD

Rover Thomas Value 1989

Rover Thomas Bungullgi painting in reddish-brown ochre, with five tall irregular black forms rising across the canvas. Each form is edged with fine rows of white dots, while multiple dotted black lines run around the outer edges and along the bottom of the composition.

Bungullgi, 1989

Size
90 × 180.5 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments on canvas

Auction
Deutscher~Menzies, Australian & International Fine Art, Sydney, 25 March 2009, Lot 39

Provenance
The Artist; Private Collection, Warmun (Turkey Creek), Western Australia; Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne; Private Collection, Victoria; Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne; Private Collection, Victoria; Lawson-Menzies, Sydney, 14 November 2007, Lot 59

Price Realised
$440,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting of a large owl-like figure filling a tall narrow canvas. The bird has a rounded head with two circular eyes, a long pale beak and broad cream wings outlined with dark dots. Its body rises from a large purple-brown base, surrounded by mottled pink, cream and earthy brown pigment.

Tumbi (Owl), 1989

Size
120 × 64 cm

Medium
Earth pigments and natural binders on canvas

Auction
Deutscher and Hackett, Important Australian Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 30 March 2022, Lot 9

Provenance
Professor Stephen Muecke, collected on his behalf by Kim Benterrak at Warmun (Turkey Creek) in August/September 1989; John Cruthers, Sydney; Martin Copley AM, Perth; Mossgreen, Melbourne, 20 November 2017, Lot 16; Private Collection, Melbourne.

Price Realised
$210,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting divided into two large areas of flat earth colour. A broad mustard-brown field fills the left side and a rounded dusty pink shape fills the right, separated by a curving black band edged with rows of white dots. A dark brown border and white dots frame the entire painting.

Baragu Country, 1989

Size
110 × 70 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and bush gum on canvas

Auction
Deutscher and Hackett, Important Australian Indigenous Art, Melbourne, 25 March 2026, Lot 28

Provenance
Waringarri Arts, Kununurra, Western Australia; Deutscher Gertrude Street, Melbourne; Peter and Renate Nahum, London, acquired in 1989; Deutscher and Hackett, Melbourne, 15 July 2020, Lot 76; Private Collection, Sydney.

Price Realised
$185,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting of three river paths meeting across fields of reddish-brown and dark brown ochre. Pale pink lines edged with rows of white dots curve down from the top, cross diagonally through the centre and divide again toward the bottom corners.

Bunkangrill Country (Three Rivers)

Size
92 × 102 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and natural binders on canvas

Auction
Sotheby’s, Aboriginal Art, Sydney, 20 October 2008, Lot 159

Provenance
Painted at Warmun (Turkey Creek) in 1989; Texas Down Collection, Mary Macha, Perth. Bears Mary Macha catalogue number 41289 on the reverse.

Price Realised
$120,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting of a large white owl standing against a dark red-brown and black background. The owl has a round pale head, two orange circular eyes, a long pointed beak, outstretched curved wings and two small feet. Red-brown markings cover its face and chest, with orange ochre dots tracing the outline of its body.

Owl, 1989

Size
76 × 50.5 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and natural binders (bush gum) on canvas

Auction
Sotheby’s, Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 26 July 2004, Lot 27

Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist at Warmun (Turkey Creek) in 1989 by the manager of the Warmun Child Care Centre; Private Collection, Melbourne.

Price Realised
$114,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting of Country in muted pink, red-brown and golden ochre. Three large rounded mauve-brown shapes hang from the upper edge above a broad red-brown form filling the lower half. A branching golden ochre area winds between them, while rows of small white dots trace every boundary and frame the canvas.

Ngayadi Ngayadi Country, 1989

Size: 120 × 160 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and natural binders on canvas
Auction: Smith & Singer, Important Australian & International Art, Sydney, 20 April 2021, Lot 47
Provenance: Waringarri Arts, Kununurra; Private Collection, Sydney; Sotheby’s Australia; Private Collection, Sydney, acquired in 2003.

Price Realised:

$52,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting with a large black mountain-like form rising in two peaks across the lower half of a brown ochre field. A golden ochre band edged with small white dots follows the peaks and valleys, while a small five-fingered hand-like shape floats in the upper right.

Yillimbiddi Country, 1989

Size: 90 × 120 cm
Medium: Natural ochre and pigment on canvas
Auction: Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art), First Nations Fine Art Auction, Sydney, 18 November 2025, Lot 36
Provenance: Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, WA, Cat. No. AP1823; Private Collection, Victoria; Bonhams, Sydney, June 2011, Lot 15; Private Collection, Victoria.

Price Realised:

$37,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting with two patterned snakes winding across the top of a dark brown ochre field. One snake is decorated with cream, yellow and black scalloped patterns, while the larger snake has a curling body marked with bold black and cream triangles. Below them, a long black wavy form edged in golden ochre and white dots stretches across the canvas.

Yillimbiddi Country (With Snakes), 1989

Size: 100 × 140 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments with bush gum on canvas
Auction: Deutscher and Hackett, Important Aboriginal Art from the Laverty Collection, Sydney, 8 March 2015, Lot 31
Provenance: Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Kununurra; Deutscher Gertrude Street, Melbourne; Colin and Elizabeth Laverty Collection, Sydney, purchased in 1989.

Price Realised:

$30,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting with two large rounded red-brown forms rising from the bottom of an orange ochre field. Thick black curved bands edged with small white dots outline the forms and meet near the centre, enclosing a small triangular area of golden ochre. Black and white dotted lines frame the canvas.

Untitled, 1989

Size: 55 × 84.5 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and binders on canvas
Auction: Sotheby’s, Important Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 7 June 2011, Lot 93
Provenance: Painted at Warmun, Turkey Creek; Mark Anderton, South Australia; Sotheby’s, Melbourne, 20 October 2008, Lot 278; Private Collection, NSW.

Price Realised:

$18,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting in golden yellow and burnt orange ochre, divided by a broad winding line that curves from the top edge, bends across the centre and turns toward the bottom. Parallel rows of white dots and dark brown marks follow the winding boundary, with white dots also framing the rectangular canvas.

Gowarri, 1989

Size: 105 × 60 cm
Medium: Ochre on canvas
Auction: Lawsons, Aboriginal Art, Sydney, 13 September 1994, Lot 107
Provenance: Not stated in the supplied record.

Price Realised:

$2,300 AUD

Rover Thomas Value 1990

Rover Thomas painting with a large pale cream rain cloud filling the upper half above a deep black field. The cloud is surrounded by layered curved bands of black and reddish-brown ochre edged with rows of small white dots. Two narrow vertical bands descend from the cloud into the black area, representing falling rain.

Rain Cloud, 1990

Size
91 × 110.5 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and natural binders on canvas

Auction
Sotheby’s, Important Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 25 July 2005, Lot 46

Provenance
Commissioned by Mary Macha, Western Australia, in 1990; Private Collection, Perth; Sotheby’s, Melbourne, 9 July 2001, Lot 70; Private Collection, USA.

Price Realised
$280,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting of Country in black, dark brown and burnt orange ochre. A large irregular dark shape stretches across the upper half, outlined with reddish-brown bands and rows of white dots. Below it, five orange rectangular areas are separated by narrow vertical black bands, all bordered with white dotted lines.

Rover’s Country (Hills, Creeks and Rock Hole), 1990

Size
90 × 180 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and gum on canvas

Auction
Bonhams, Important Australian Art; Sidney Nolan, The Heide Years, Sydney, 23 August 2022, Lot 16

Provenance
Mary Macha, Perth; Private Collection, Perth, acquired from Mary Macha in 1990; Mary Macha, Perth; Private Collection, Perth, acquired from Mary Macha in May 1996.

Price Realised
$165,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting of a small creek in black, brown and golden ochre. A narrow winding black channel loops tightly through the left side before curving around a large reddish-brown field on the right. Golden ochre bands and closely spaced white dots trace the creek and surrounding boundaries.

Small Creek Near Turkey Creek, 1990

Size
60.5 × 105.5 cm

Medium
Earth pigments and natural binders on canvas

Auction
Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art), First Nations Fine Art Auction, Sydney, 17 June 2025, Lot 25

Provenance
Commissioned by Mary Macha, Western Australia; Private Collection, Victoria, acquired from the above in 1990; Deutscher and Hackett, Sydney, August 2018, Lot 40; Private Collection, Victoria.

Price Realised
$85,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting in muted red, brown and golden ochre, with three large irregular rounded shapes representing hills. Curving golden bands and rows of white dots separate the hills, while several narrow parallel lines sweep across the upper right and curl around a circular form at the edge.

Snake Dreaming in Joondagal (Juntarkal) Country

Size: 120 × 160 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and synthetic binder (bush gum) on canvas
Auction: Sotheby’s, Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 24 November 2009, Lot 68
Provenance: Painted at Warmun for Waringarri Aboriginal Arts in 1990; Dreamtime Gallery, Perth; Private Collection, Perth; Private Collection, London; Sotheby’s, Melbourne, June 2000, Lot 105; Scott Livesey Art Dealer, Melbourne; Private Collection, Melbourne.

Price Realised:

$55,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting divided into four large rectangular fields of dark brown, reddish brown and black. A diagonal red-brown band crosses a vertical band near the centre, forming a crossroads, with thick rows of white dots outlining the roads, each colour field and the edges of the canvas.

Crossroads, 1990

Size: 137 × 101 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on linen
Auction: Deutscher and Hackett, Important Fine Art + Aboriginal Art, Sydney, 2 December 2015, Lot 96
Provenance: Commissioned by Duncan Kentish at Warmun in 1990; Private Collection, Sydney.

Price Realised:

$32,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting of nested rectangular and circular forms in black and reddish-brown ochre. Thick black bands form a series of uneven rectangles that decrease toward the centre, ending in a small black circle. Closely spaced white dots outline every black band and form repeated rings around the central circle.

Untitled, c.1990

Size: 50.5 × 61 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and binders on canvas
Auction: Sotheby’s, Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 31 October 2006, Lot 101
Provenance: Not stated in the supplied record.

Price Realised:

$11,000 AUD

Rover Thomas Value 1991

Rover Thomas painting of heavy rain falling across red, orange and brown Country. Dozens of horizontal rows of white dots and dark ochre lines cover the canvas, becoming especially dense on the right. A narrow vertical band divides the composition, while broad red and orange areas on the left are crossed by more widely spaced dotted lines.

All That Big Rain Coming from the Top Side, 1991

Size
180 × 120 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and synthetic binder on canvas

Auction
Sotheby’s, Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 9 July 2001, Lot 66

Provenance
Painted in Perth under commission from Mary Macha in 1991; Private Collection, Perth. The work was sold with a CD recording of Rover Thomas discussing the painting and an annotated diagram. It was the last work Thomas painted for Mary Macha before his selection to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale.

Price Realised
$700,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting in orange, pink and brown ochre with a broad black serpent-like form curving across the upper half. The black form bends from the lower left, arches across the canvas and exits at the right edge. Fine yellow ochre dots outline the serpent and a large rounded brown area below.

Langurr (The Rainbow Serpent) Making the River, 1991

Size
121.5 × 181 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and bush gum on canvas

Auction
Deutscher and Hackett, Important Australian Indigenous Art, Melbourne, 25 March 2026, Lot 11

Provenance
Commissioned by Mary Macha, Perth, in 1991; Aboriginal Dreamings Gallery, Canberra; Private Collection, Canberra; thence by descent; Private Collection, Canberra.

Price Realised
$320,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting in salmon pink, orange, brown and black ochre. Two large irregular black shapes dominate the upper half, with the larger rounded form on the left outlined by orange dots. A small brown circle sits below it, while two long black bands cross the lower canvas and a narrow yellow-orange line runs vertically between the two sides.

Djugamerri and Bolgumerri, 1991

Size
89.5 × 110 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and gum on linen

Auction
Deutscher and Hackett, The Laverty Collection – Part III, Sydney, 5 April 2017, Lot 10

Provenance
Commissioned by Mary Macha, Perth; Private Collection, Western Australia; Mary Macha, Perth; The Collection of Colin and Elizabeth Laverty, Sydney, acquired from Mary Macha in October 2003.

Price Realised
$260,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting of branching river systems in golden yellow ochre across a red-brown landscape. Broad yellow waterways fork and curve from the upper left across the canvas, surrounding a large black area below. A curved red tributary crosses the black field, while fine rows of white and dark dots outline the rivers and frame the painting.

Tributaries of the Ord River, 1991

Size
90.5 × 180 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and bush gum on canvas

Auction
Deutscher and Hackett, Important Australian & International Fine Art, Melbourne, 15 July 2020, Lot 77

Provenance
Mary Macha, Perth; Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne; Private Collection, Melbourne; Deutscher~Menzies, Melbourne, 27 June 2000, Lot 109

Price Realised
$190,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting in orange and golden-brown ochre crossed by two long, winding dark brown forms. The upper band snakes horizontally across the canvas and rises sharply near the right edge, while a broader curved band below loops around a narrow pointed shape. Rows of large white dots outline the dark forms and frame the painting.

Lally Creek, Texas Downs, 1991

Size: 60 × 100 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on canvas
Auction: Menzies, The Collection of Millie Phillips / Important Australian & International Art, Sydney, 23 November 2022, Lot 64
Provenance: Mary Macha, Perth; Caruana Fine Art, Canberra, 2007; Private Collection, Sydney. Accompanied by an audio recording in which Thomas describes the subject.

Price Realised:

$60,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting with a large rounded black rectangular form dominating the centre of an orange and reddish-brown ochre field. A single curving row of small white dots surrounds the black shape, with further white dotted lines framing the outer edges of the canvas.

Marlu Marlu, 1991

Size: 60 × 100 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on canvas
Auction: Mossgreen Auctions, The Estate of Jennifer Phipps, Melbourne, 28 February 2016, Lot 232
Provenance: Mary Macha, Perth; Graham Cornall Antiques, Melbourne.

Price Realised:

$26,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting dominated by vivid purple and magenta, covered with dense flowing rows of yellow and pale dots. The dotted lines curve, bend and converge across the canvas, leaving a large irregular area of uninterrupted deep purple near the upper right.

Untitled, 1991

Size: 60 × 106 cm
Medium: Earth pigment on canvas
Auction: Deutscher~Menzies, 19th and 20th Century Australian & International Paintings, Sculpture and Works on Paper, Melbourne, 10 August 1998, Lot 24
Provenance: Commissioned by Mary Macha, Perth; Private Collection, Northern Territory.

Price Realised:

$20,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting with a large rounded red and orange ochre rectangle filling the centre. The central form is surrounded by a reddish-brown band and rows of large white dots, with broad cream and pale yellow areas along the left, top and right edges. A jagged dark red and brown band runs across the top against a black border.

Nilya, Well 33, Canning Stock Route, 1991

Size: 46 × 61 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and natural binder on canvas
Auction: Sotheby’s, Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 26 June 2000, Lot 189
Provenance: Not stated in the supplied record.

Price Realised:

$10,000 AUD

Rover Thomas Value 1992

Rover Thomas painting in salmon pink, brown, black and white ochre. A large rounded black cave-like form fills the upper left, beside a smaller outlined shape containing a prominent white oval. Three tall narrow forms stand to the right. Across the lower third, five broad wavy white bands alternate with reddish-brown lines dotted in orange.

Untitled (Barramundi Dreaming), 1992

Size: 60 × 80 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on linen
Auction: Mossgreen Auctions, The Alan Boxer Collection of Australian Indigenous Art, Melbourne, 17 March 2015, Lot 10
Provenance: Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Western Australia; Chapman Gallery, Canberra; The Alan Boxer Collection, Canberra.

Price Realised:

$55,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting in brown, golden ochre and white. Four large rounded shapes stand across the upper half, one containing a prominent white circle. Below them, numerous horizontal golden ochre bands and rows of large white dots flow across the canvas like layers of rock.

Barramundi Dreaming, 1992

Size: 60 × 100 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments with bush gum on canvas
Auction: Deutscher and Hackett, Important Aboriginal Art from the Laverty Collection, Sydney, 8 March 2015, Lot 30
Provenance: Mary Macha, Subiaco, Perth; The Collection of Colin and Elizabeth Laverty, Sydney, purchased July 1992.
Price Realised:

$50,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting on a golden yellow ochre ground, filled with two large elongated oval forms. Each is built from multiple irregular dark brown bands outlined by rows of white dots. The larger upper form curls inward at the left, while a smaller narrow form stretches across the bottom.

Untitled, 1992

Size: 45 × 60.5 cm
Medium: Ochre on canvas
Auction: Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art), First Nations Fine Art Auction, Sydney, 17 June 2025, Lot 10
Provenance: Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, WA, Cat. No. AP3706; Utopia Art, NSW; Private Collection, NSW. Accompanied by a Waringarri Aboriginal Arts certificate.

Price Realised:

$25,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting divided into large areas of cream and muted red-brown ochre. A broad red-brown field fills the lower right, meeting a cream field across the top and left along an irregular curved boundary. Rows of white and golden ochre dots trace the boundary and frame the canvas.

Untitled (Barragoo Country), 1992

Size: 40 × 60 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on canvas
Auction: Bonhams, The Serra Collection of Aboriginal Art, Sydney, 22 July 2020, Lot 30
Provenance: Waringarri Aboriginal Art, Kununurra, Cat. Nos. S-3405 and AP3619; Hogarth Galleries, Sydney; Private Collection, Sydney.

Price Realised:

$20,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting dominated by golden yellow ochre, with a large rounded rectangular band surrounding a smaller central yellow field. Brown border areas are densely covered with black, white and ochre dots, while a dotted brown mound rises across the lower right

Country Around Well 33 and Well 34 of the Canning Stock Route (The Seven Sisters Story), 1992

Size: 40.5 × 50.5 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and synthetic binder on canvas
Auction: Sotheby’s, Aboriginal Art, Sydney, 30 November 2010, Lot 61
Provenance: Painted at Kununurra; Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Kununurra, Stock No. 16R20 AP0610; Private Collection, Canberra.

Price Realised:

$10,000 AUD

Rover Thomas Value 1993

Rover Thomas painting in golden yellow, orange and brown ochre, divided into large irregular areas filled with different patterns of dots. A broad golden shape dominates the upper centre, surrounded by dense black, brown, yellow and white dotting. Across the lower half, flowing vertical rows of black dots cover a bright orange field.

Untitled, 1993

Size: 90 × 120 cm
Medium: Ochre on canvas
Auction: Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art), First Nations Fine Art Auction, Sydney, 12 November 2024, Lot 71
Provenance: Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, WA, Cat. Nos. AP3746 and S3981; William Mora Galleries, Melbourne; Private Collection, Victoria.

Price Realised:

$65,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting of Canning Stock Route Country in brown, tan and cream ochres. Dense fields of white, brown and yellow dots form curving bands across the canvas, surrounding a large open reddish-brown area at upper left. A small curved dotted shape lies within this open field, while layered bands sweep down the right side and across the bottom.

Canning Stock Route – Long Long Way, 1993

Size: 80 × 100 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on canvas
Auction: Sotheby’s, Important Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 24 July 2007, Lot 132
Provenance: Not stated in the supplied record.

Price Realised:

$40,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting divided into large fields of pale yellow and reddish-brown ochre by a broad black road that curves vertically through the canvas. Rows of white dots outline both sides of the road, divide the colour fields and frame the outer edges of the painting.

Road Near Turkey Creek, 1993

Size: 80 × 100 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments with synthetic binder on canvas
Auction: Deutscher and Hackett, Important Aboriginal and Oceanic Art Auction, Melbourne, 4 April 2012, Lot 22
Provenance: Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Kununurra; Private Collection, Melbourne. Accompanied by a Waringarri Aboriginal Arts certificate describing the work as relating to a verse of the Goorirr-goorirr ceremony.

Price Realised:

$25,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting divided between bright orange and dark red-brown fields by a broad black track that enters from the left and forks near the centre. Two hand-like shapes outlined with pale dots appear on the red-brown ground at right, together with a small dotted oval. White and brown dots trace the boundaries and edges of the painting.

My Hand, 1993

Size: 90 × 60 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on canvas
Auction: Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art), Indigenous Fine Art, Sydney, 8 March 2022, Lot 22
Provenance: Chapman Gallery, ACT; Private Collection, USA. Accompanied by a Chapman Gallery certificate.

Price Realised:

$18,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting in deep red-brown, orange and black ochres, filled with irregular landforms outlined by rows of white dots. Black branching shapes curve through the composition, while orange forms occupy the left, centre and upper right. A narrow pale vertical band runs from top to bottom near the centre.

Texas Downs, 1993

Size: 45.5 × 61 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and synthetic binders on canvas
Auction: Sotheby’s, Important Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 24 June 2002, Lot 177
Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by the vendor while teaching at Ngalanguapum School, Warmun, in 1993.

Price Realised:

$9,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting divided into a broad red-orange field above and a dark brown-black field below. Three hand shapes in pale pink, red and white are arranged across the lower section, each outlined with small white dots. Curving parallel rows of white dots separate the two colour fields and frame the canvas.

Kukatja / Three Generations, 1993

Size: 61 × 91.5 cm
Medium: Earth pigments on canvas
Auction: Deutscher~Menzies, Fine Aboriginal Art and a Collection of New Ireland Malagan Sculptures, Melbourne, 27 June 2000, Lot 439
Provenance: Not stated in the supplied record.

Price Realised:

$6,000 AUD

Rover Thomas Value 1994

Rover Thomas painting with a large rectangular field of softly brushed pink, mauve, grey, red and pale cream earth colours. Broad overlapping brushstrokes create a cloudy, atmospheric surface, enclosed by a dark brown border edged with a fine line of white dots.

Great Sandy Desert, 1994

Size: 200 × 104 cm
Medium: Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Auction: Lawson~Menzies, Colonial to Contemporary Including Aboriginal Art, Sydney, 25 March 2009, Lot 148
Provenance: Neil McLeod Fine Arts, Victoria; Aboriginal Gallery of Dreamings, Melbourne; Private Collection, Victoria.

Price Realised:

$60,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting in golden yellow, ochre, black and white. A black irregular oval sits near the centre, surrounded by several concentric rows of white dots. Four broad black lines radiate from the central form towards the corners, dividing the golden ochre ground into large sections. White dots outline the black lines and frame the entire painting.

Black Hill, 1994

Size: 102 × 151.5 cm
Medium: Natural pigments and binder on linen
Auction: Lawson~Menzies, Major Fine Art Auction, Sydney, 23 September 2009, Lot 104
Provenance: Painted at Warmun in 1994; Private Collection, Western Australia; Utopia Art, Sydney; Private Collection, USA.

Price Realised:

$45,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting in rich red-brown and golden yellow ochres. A broad golden band curls inward in a large rectangular spiral across the canvas, separated from the dark red-brown ground by continuous rows of small white dots. The spiral tightens towards the centre and the entire composition is framed by dotted lines.

Willy Willy, 1994

Size: 92 × 122 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on Belgian linen
Auction: Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art), The Rod Menzies Estate – Indigenous Art Collection Part II, Sydney, 5 March 2024, Lot 36
Provenance: Warmun Community Council Inc., Cat. No. RT11.94; Kimberley Art, Victoria, Cat. No. KA00253; Private Collection, Victoria; Lawson-Menzies, Sydney, May 2007, Lot 159; Menzies Estate Collection, Victoria.

Price Realised:

$19,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting of rounded hills in pink, orange, yellow, red-brown and black ochres. Four large pink-orange hills rise across the upper half against a dark red-brown ground. A broad black river or creek runs horizontally through the centre, while four smaller black hill shapes appear along the bottom. Fine rows of white dots outline the hills, waterways and edges of the painting.

Nargoroon (Hills), Texas Downs Country, 1994

Size: 110 × 90 cm
Medium: Natural pigments and binder on canvas
Auction: Shapiro Auctioneers, Modern + Contemporary Art, Sydney, 3 December 2002, Lot 153
Provenance: Warmun Aboriginal Corporation, Cat. No. RT06/94; Kimberley Art, Melbourne, Cat. No. KART006/94; Chapman Gallery, Canberra; Private Collection, Canberra. Accompanied by original documentation and photograph of the artist with the painting.

Price Realised:

$13,500 AUD

Rover Thomas painting with a broad golden-yellow crossroads shape extending diagonally towards all four corners against a deep red-brown ground. Small white dots closely outline the yellow roads and form a dotted border around the edge of the canvas.

Roads Cross, 1994

Size: 60 × 80 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and synthetic binders on canvas
Auction: Sotheby’s, Important Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 24 June 2002, Lot 180
Provenance: Painted in 1994; Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Kununurra; Private Collection, Queensland. Sold with a Waringarri Aboriginal Arts certificate.

Price Realised:

$10,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting in golden brown, dark red, black and white. Two large horizontal golden-brown rectangular fields are separated by a broad black band outlined with rows of white dots. Dark red rounded shapes edged in pale pink project into the golden fields from the sides and edges, while black and white dotted borders frame the composition.

Milky Way, 1994

Size: 52 × 72 cm
Medium: Natural pigments and binder on canvas
Auction: Shapiro Auctioneers, Modern + Contemporary Art, Sydney, 3 December 2002, Lot 154
Provenance: Warmun Aboriginal Corporation, Cat. No. RT09/94; Kimberley Art, Melbourne; Private Collection, Queensland. Accompanied by documentation with a photograph of the artist and painting.

Price Realised:

$7,500 AUD

Rover Thomas Value 1995

Rover Thomas painting in golden yellow, black and white, filled with large irregular black linear forms outlined by fine white dots. A thick black band crosses horizontally through the centre, intersecting looping, angular and branching shapes that extend across the golden ochre ground.

Willy Willy, 1995

Size
192 × 244 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments on Belgian linen

Auction
Deutscher~Menzies, Australian and International Fine Art, Sydney, 12 September 2007, Lot 43

Provenance
Kimberley Art, Melbourne; Private Collection, Melbourne; Lawson-Menzies, Sydney, 23 November 2004, Lot 45; Private Collection, Melbourne.

Price Realised
$380,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting in deep red-brown, black, white and golden yellow ochres. A broad white curving band sweeps from the upper left around the lower half of the canvas, crossed by black pathways. Inside are several distinct forms, including a yellow gridded rectangle, a large yellow oval enclosed in black, a brown circle and a black rectangular shape containing concentric white and black ovals.

Mount House, 1995

Size
193 × 244 cm

Medium
Earth pigments and synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Auction
Deutscher~Menzies, Major Fine Art Auction, Sydney, 23 September 2009, Lot 38

Provenance
Kimberley Art Gallery, Melbourne, Cat. No. KA0038; Private Collection, Victoria; Lawson-Menzies, Sydney, 9 November 2005, Lot 159; Private investment partnership, Victoria. Accompanied by documentation and photographs of Rover Thomas creating the work.

Price Realised
$305,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting in golden yellow, black and white. Thick black angular lines form a large irregular structure across the centre, surrounded by numerous looping and curved shapes outlined in black and fine white dots. The interlocking forms appear to twist and circulate across the golden ochre ground.

Cyclone Tracy – Willy Willy, 1995

Size
182.5 × 180.5 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments on linen

Auction
Lawson~Menzies, Colonial to Contemporary Including Aboriginal Art, Sydney, 25 March 2009, Lot 136

Provenance
Neal McLeod Fine Art, Victoria; Private Collection, Victoria; Lawson-Menzies, Sydney, 14 November 2007, Lot 50; Private investment partnership, Melbourne.

Price Realised
$240,000 AUD

Rover Thomas painting composed of broad intersecting diagonal bands in red and black. The bands cross near the centre, dividing the canvas into four large fields of yellow, cream and dark brown-black. Fine pale dotted lines run along parts of the black and red pathways.

Crossroads, 1995

Size
200 × 266 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments on linen

Auction
Lawson~Menzies, Aboriginal Art, Sydney, 25 May 2004, Lot 41

Provenance
Fireworks Gallery, Melbourne; Private Collection, Gold Coast. Accompanied by working photographs showing the painting at several stages during its execution.

Price Realised
$127,000 AUD

Rover Thomas Bullock Hide Story painting with sweeping ochre pathways and concentric arched forms outlined by white dots against a deep black ground.

Bullock Hide Story, 1995

Size
128 × 196 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments on linen

Auction
Lawson~Menzies, Contemporary, Modern Australian and Important Aboriginal Art, Sydney, 19 June 2008, Lot 254

Provenance
Utopia Art, Sydney; Songlines, Amsterdam; Private Collection, Netherlands; Private company collection, Melbourne.

Price Realised
$90,000 AUD

Great Sandy Desert, 1995

Size
115 × 197 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments on linen with natural binders

Auction
Lawson~Menzies, Colonial to Contemporary Art including Important Australian Art, Sydney, 10 December 2008, Lot 234

Provenance
Commissioned from Rover Thomas during a painting trip to Melbourne in June 1995; Neil McLeod Fine Art Studio, Victoria; Private Collection, acquired in 1995, Cat. No. KA/RT 1260; Private Collection, Victoria; Lawson-Menzies, Sydney, 23 May 2007, Lot 51; Private investment partnership, Melbourne.

Price Realised
$80,000 AUD

Wati Kutjarra Area, 1995

Size
180 × 100 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments on linen

Auction
Lawson~Menzies, Colonial to Contemporary Art including Important Australian Art, Sydney, 10 December 2008, Lot 240

Provenance
Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne; Private Collection, Victoria; Lawson-Menzies, Sydney, 23 May 2007, Lot 64; Private investment partnership, Melbourne. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Flinders Lane Gallery.

Price Realised
$70,000 AUD

Milky Way – Warrurrum, 1995

Size: 95 × 263 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments with binder on canvas
Auction: Christie’s, Australian and European Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings, Part I, Melbourne, 27 August 1997, Lot 96
Provenance: Painted under commission in July 1995; Private Collection, Melbourne. Sold with a Pirra Fine Arts certificate, photographs of the artist painting the work and detailed notes based on discussion with him.

Price Realised:

$60,000 AUD

Rover Thomas Cyclone Tracy – Lightning Bolt 1995, showing a dramatic black zigzag lightning form outlined with white dots against a golden ochre ground.

Cyclone Tracy – Lightening Bolt, 1995

Size: 97.5 × 122 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on Belgian linen
Auction: Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art), The Rod Menzies Estate – Indigenous Art Collection Part II, Sydney, 5 March 2024, Lot 48
Provenance: Outback Alive Gallery, Queensland, Cat. No. OA792NSW; Phillips Auctioneers, Sydney, May 1998, Lot 3; Menzies Estate Collection, Victoria.

Price Realised:

$36,000 AUD

Cross Roads, 1995

Size: 105 × 140 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on linen
Auction: Lawson~Menzies, Aboriginal Art, Sydney, 30 May 2006, Lot 49
Provenance: Commissioned from the artist at Warmun in 1995; Aboriginal Gallery of Dreamings, Melbourne; Private Collection, Sydney.

Price Realised:

$36,000 AUD

Pompey’s Pillar, 1995

Size: 126 × 90 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on Belgian linen
Auction: Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art), The Rod Menzies Estate – Indigenous Art Collection Part II, Sydney, 5 March 2024, Lot 68
Provenance: Utopia Art, NSW; Barry Stern Gallery, Paddington, NSW, Cat. No. BSG214MM; Private Collection, NSW; Lawson~Menzies, Sydney, November 2005, Lot 179; Menzies Estate Collection, Victoria.

Price Realised:

$30,000 AUD

Lissadel Station, 1995

Size: Not stated in the supplied record
Medium: Natural earth pigments and acrylic fixative on linen
Auction: Sotheby’s, Important Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 29 June 1998, Lot 249
Provenance: Commissioned by Kimberley Art, Melbourne; Private Collection, Melbourne. Sold with a certificate and photographs documenting Thomas painting and explaining the work.

Price Realised:

$30,000 AUD

Canning Stock Route, 1995

Size: 107 × 202 cm
Medium: Earth pigments on canvas
Auction: Deutscher~Menzies, Fine Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 29 June 1999, Lot 122
Provenance: Not stated in the supplied record.

Price Realised:

$28,000 AUD

Big Hill at Bedford Station, 1995

Size: 123 × 152.5 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and synthetic binder on linen
Auction: Menzies, Important Australian and International Fine Art and Sculpture, Sydney, 10 December 2015, Lot 92
Provenance: Private Collection, Melbourne.

Price Realised:

$17,000 AUD

Cyclone Tracy, 1995

Size: 91 × 121 cm
Medium: Ochre on linen
Auction: Elder Fine Art, Important Australian Paintings, Adelaide, 18 May 2025, Lot 66
Provenance: Purchased from Kimberley Australian Aboriginal Art, Flinders Lane, Melbourne; Private Collection, Adelaide. Certificate available bearing photographs of the artist with the work.

Price Realised:

$13,500 AUD

Mook Mook the Owl at Tunnel Creek, 1995

Size: 102 × 81 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and PVA on canvas
Auction: Sotheby’s, Important Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 29 June 1998, Lot 206
Provenance: Accompanied by an Outback Alive Gallery certificate, Cat. No. OA746/44972, and two photographs showing the artist painting the work.

Price Realised:

$12,000 AUD

Seed Carrying Vessel, c.1995

Size: 56.5 cm high × 17.5 cm wide × 8 cm deep
Medium: Natural earth ochres on wood
Auction: Gibson’s, Australian & International Art, Melbourne, 24 October 2021, Lot 89
Provenance: Neil McLeod Fine Arts Studio. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

Price Realised:

$6,000 AUD

Hills at Bottle Tree Creek, 1995

Size: 45 × 60 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigment and binder on linen
Auction: Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art), Aboriginal Works of Art, Sydney, 3 December 2019, Lot 76
Provenance: Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Kununurra, WA, Cat. No. AP0423; Cooee Art Gallery, NSW, Cat. No. 620; Private Collection, Queensland.

Price Realised:

$3,800 AUD

Rover Thomas Value 1996

Waringarri – The Meeting Place, 1996

Size
180 × 240 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments with synthetic binder on canvas

Auction
Deutscher and Hackett, Important Aboriginal and Oceanic Art Auction, Melbourne, 4 April 2012, Lot 32

Provenance
Executed at the ‘Kaltya Business’ Conference, Northern Territory University, Darwin, 1996; Red Rock Art, Kununurra; Private Collection, Western Australia.

Price Realised
$90,000 AUD

Barragoo (Lake Gregory), 1996

Size
160 × 200 cm

Medium
Natural earth pigments and synthetic binder on canvas

Auction
Deutscher and Hackett, Important Australian Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 17 March 2021, Lot 16

Provenance
Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Kununurra, Western Australia; Chapman Gallery, Canberra; Private Collection, Sydney, acquired from the above in 1997.

Price Realised
$80,000 AUD

Untitled, 1996

Size: 73.5 × 100 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and synthetic binders on linen
Auction: Mossgreen Auctions, Australian, Indigenous & Oceanic Art, Melbourne, 21 July 2015, Lot 29
Provenance: Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Western Australia; Private Collection, Queensland.

Price Realised:

$55,000 AUD

Wahrooroo (Milky Way), 1996

Size: 61 × 76 cm
Medium: Ochre on canvas
Auction: Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art), First Nations & Australian Fine Art Auction, Sydney, 19 May 2026, Lot 72
Provenance: Warmun Traditional Artists, Western Australia, Cat. No. RT0012; acquired during an art collecting trip in 1996; Collection of Dame Marie Bashir and Sir Nicholas Shehadie, Sydney.

Price Realised:

$40,000 AUD

Places I’ve Been, 1996

Size: 100 × 140 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on canvas
Auction: Mossgreen Auctions, The Ian & Sue Bernadt Collection, Sydney, 30 August 2010, Lot 19
Provenance: Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Western Australia. Accompanied by a certificate from Red Rock Art.

Price Realised:

$38,000 AUD

Marumaru (Black One), 1996

Size: 90 × 60 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigment on canvas
Auction: Mossgreen Auctions, Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 8 April 2008, Lot 121
Provenance: Warmun Traditional Artists; Private Collection, Melbourne, Cat. No. RT0060.

Price Realised:

$27,000 AUD

Dingo Dreaming, 1996

Size: 100.5 × 140 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments and synthetic binders on linen
Auction: Lawson~Menzies, Colonial to Contemporary, including Important Aboriginal Art, Sydney, 16 December 2009, Lot 142
Provenance: Warmun Traditional Artists, Western Australia; Kimberley Art Gallery, Melbourne, 1998, Cat. No. KA-RT-0104/96; Private Collection, USA; Lawson-Menzies, Sydney, 31 May 2005, Lot 199; Private Collection, South Australia.

Price Realised:

$25,000 AUD

‘Bubba’ Dog Dreaming, 1996

Size: 104 × 98 cm
Medium: Natural earth pigments on Belgian linen
Auction: Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art), Aboriginal & Oceanic Works of Art, Sydney, 16 November 2017, Lot 74
Provenance: Warmun Traditional Artists, Cat. No. RT0056; Adam Knight Fine Art, Melbourne; Private Collection, NSW.

Price Realised:

$17,000 AUD

Meeting Place, Warmun or Kununurra, 1996

Size: 90 × 120 cm
Medium: Ochres on canvas
Auction: Theodore Bruce Auctioneers & Valuers, Art | Australian, Aboriginal & International, Sydney, 17 May 2021, Lot 6085
Provenance: Commissioned by Patrick Hoppe of Red Earth Art at Warmun in 1996. Accompanied by a letter from Hoppe and photograph of the artist with the work

Price Realised:

$12,500 AUD

Pompeii Pillar, 1996

Size: 61 × 91 cm
Medium: Earth pigment on canvas
Auction: Deutscher~Menzies, 19th and 20th Century Australian & International Paintings, Sculpture and Works on Paper, Melbourne, 10 August 1998, Lot 21
Provenance: Commissioned by Kimberley Art, Melbourne, in 1996; Private Collection, Tasmania; Private Collection, Melbourne. Accompanied by original documentation and a photograph of the artist painting the work.

Price Realised:

$7,000 AUD

About This Artist Value Page

The headline auction statistics at the top of this page — including the number of works offered, sale rate, highest recorded sale and median sale price — are calculated from the auction records reviewed for this artist.

Everything below those figures should be regarded as a curated and subjective selection rather than a complete record of the artist’s auction history.

This is not a database of works sold. For comprehensive Australian art auction records and market data, I recommend the Australian Art sales Digest

I select works primarily to show the variety, development and quality of an artist’s work. I favour works with good-quality images over those represented by small or poor auction photographs, and I naturally include paintings that I find particularly interesting or useful in understanding the artist. Although I try to choose representative examples from different periods, subjects, sizes and price levels, these choices inevitably introduce bias.

The highest auction results also require caution. An artist’s three, four or five strongest results may be for exceptional works that entered Australian or international public collections or attracted unusually strong institutional and collector competition. Such prices should not automatically be regarded as representative of the broader market for that artist.

These pages are part of my continuing education in Aboriginal art and are intended primarily for people who enjoy the art and want to explore the variety and evolution of an artist’s work. Apart from the headline auction statistics, the selection, commentary and interpretation on this page are subjective and should not be relied upon for valuation, investment, insurance, taxation or other commercial purposes.

Rover Thomas Joolmala references

Painting the land Story

Roads Cross The paintings of Rover Thomas

Rover Thomas: I want to Paint

All images in this article are for educational purposes only.

This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which was not specified by the copyright owner.

Home Page

Contact Me

Gallery

If this post has been informative please take the time and make the effort to share it on social media. By clicking any of the share buttons below you create a link from your social site to this article. Links are what google uses to calculate what information on the web is useful. By sharing this article you are letting google know you found my article / images of some value. Thanks!

← Freddie Timms value Emily Kame Kngwarreye →