Sunfly Tjampitjin Value and Auction results
Works Offered at Auction: 21
Sale Rate: 76%
Highest Sale: $170,000 AUD
Median Sale Price: $15,000 AUD
This page documents the auction history and market values of Sunfly Tjampitjin paintings. For his biography, painting style, cultural significance , see the main Sunfly Tjampitjin biography and painting style page.
Sunfly Tjampitjin paintings have achieved prices ranging from a few thousand dollars to well over $100,000 AUD, with the strongest results generally associated with major works from the late 1980s and early 1990s. His auction record in this survey is $170,000 AUD for Yapinti – Pinki Dreaming, 1991, sold by Sotheby’s in Melbourne in 2004. The large Wanayarra the Rainbow Snake in the Artist’s Country, 1990 achieved $120,000 AUD at Sotheby’s in 2007.
Values vary considerably according to date, size, subject, provenance, exhibition history and visual quality. Important paintings associated with Tingari Law and Sunfly’s own Country can command substantially more than smaller or less significant works. Artist’s Own Country, 1989, for example, realised $72,500 AUD, while Men’s Law at Artist’s Country at Murunpa, 1991 realised $65,000 AUD.
This page documents Sunfly Tjampitjin auction results and market values using individual works, provenance, dimensions and prices realised. For his life, painting subjects, distinctive style and importance to the development of Balgo Art, see the main Sunfly Tjampitjin Aboriginal artist page.
If you own a Sunfly Tjampitjin painting and would like an opinion on its value or are considering selling it, send me clear photographs of the front and back, its dimensions, and any Warlayirti Artists certificate or provenance documentation.
f you have a painting by Sunfly Tjampitjin that you want to sell, please send me clear photographs of the front and back, its dimensions, and any Warlayirti Artists certificate or provenance documentation. I can give you an opinion on its value and discuss whether I may be interested in buying it.
Sunfly Tjampitjin Value 1986-1989
Untitled, 1986
Size
121.5 × 91 cm
Medium
Synthetic polymer paint on linen
Auction
Sotheby’s, Important Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 25 July 2005, Lot 262
Provenance
Commissioned by Duncan Kentish in 1986; Private Collection, Adelaide.
Price Realised
$19,000 AUD
Two Women at Yataru, 1987
Size
113 × 83 cm
Medium
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Auction
Sotheby’s, Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 26 June 2000, Lot 298
Price Realised
$8,000 AUD
Liltjin, 1989
Size
121 × 86 cm
Medium
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Auction
Lawson~Menzies (now trading as Menzies), Aboriginal Art, Sydney, 22 November 2006, Lot 190
Provenance
Warlayirti Artists, Balgo Hills (cat. 236/89); Private Collection, Tasmania.
Price Realised
$22,000 AUD
Artist’s Own Country, 1989
Size
120 × 85 cm
Medium
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Auction
Lawson~Menzies (now trading as Menzies), Fine Aboriginal Art, Sydney, 31 May 2005, Lot 46
Provenance
Warlayirti Artists, Balgo Hills (cat. 378/89); Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne; Private Collection, Melbourne.
Price Realised
Sunfly Tjampitjin Value 1990-1993
Wanayarra the Rainbow Snake in The Artist’s Country, 1990
Size
149.5 × 74 cm
Medium
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Auction
Sotheby’s, Important Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 24 July 2007, Lot 57
Price Realised
$120,000 AUD
Yapinti – Pinki Dreaming, 1991
Size
118 × 84.5 cm
Medium
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Auction
Sotheby’s, Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 26 July 2004, Lot 71
Provenance
Painted in 1991 at Wirrimanu (Balgo Hills) for Warlayirti Artists; Dreamtime Gallery, Queensland; The Sam Barry Collection.
Price Realised
$170,000 AUD
Men’s Law at Artist’s Country at Murunpa, 1991
Size
100 × 75 cm
Medium
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Auction
Bonhams, The Laverty Collection: Contemporary Australian Art, Sydney, 24 March 2013, Lot 72
Provenance
Warlayirti Artists, Wirrimanu (Balgo Hills), Western Australia; purchased from Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, July 1992.
Price Realised
$65,000 AUD
Small Birds Travels Near Kininyuru, 1991
Size
100.5 × 50 cm
Medium
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Auction
Sotheby’s, Important Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 28 June 1999, Lot 92
Price Realised
$48,000 AUD
Luurnpa – Travels of the Kingfisher Ancestral Spirits, 1992
Size
47.5 × 23.5 cm (irregular)
Medium
Synthetic polymer paint on carved wood coolamon
Auction
Art Leven (formerly Cooee Art), Indigenous Fine Art, Sydney, 8 March 2022, Lot 9
Provenance
Warlayirti Artists Aboriginal Corporation, Western Australia; Thomas Vroom Collection, The Netherlands; Bonhams, The Thomas Vroom Collection, Sydney, September 2015, Lot 64; Private Collection, Tasmania.
Price Realised
$8,000 AUD
Ceremonial Site, 1992
Size
60 × 120 cm
Medium
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Auction
Lawson~Menzies (now trading as Menzies), July Paintings Sale, Sydney, 17 July 2005, Lot 168
Provenance
Warlayirti Artists, Balgo Hills, Western Australia; painted 1992; certificate 570/92.
Price Realised
$3,000 AUD
Artist’s Country (Purnanuul), 1992
Size
75.4 × 49.6 cm
Medium
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Auction
Mossgreen Auctions, The Peter Elliott Collection, Day 2, Sydney, 31 August 2015, Lot 206
Provenance
Warlayirti Artists Aboriginal Corporation, Western Australia.
Price Realised
$2,000 AUD
Moorun Near Lake Mackay: Sandhills During Flooded Summer Rains, 1993
Size
89 × 59.5 cm
Medium
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Auction
Deutscher and Hackett, Important Aboriginal and Oceanic Art, Melbourne, 24 March 2010, Lot 71
Provenance
Warlayirti Artists, Balgo Hills; James and Wendy Cowan Collection, New South Wales.
Price Realised
$15,000 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.
All images featured in this article are presented strictly for educational and informational purposes.
This website may include copyrighted material for which specific authorization has not been obtained from the copyright owner.
All such images are presumed to be the intellectual property of the respective artist or their estate, and are used in accordance with principles of fair dealing or fair use under applicable copyright law.