The World’s Local Fine Art

We specialize in the work of renowned Australian artists of high-quality and impeccable provenance

The Art of Giving Quality Service | Shipping Worldwide

Minnie Pwerle (1910-2006) Masterworks for Sale

Minnie Pwerle (also known as Minnie Purla & Motorcar Apwerl) is a global superstar, famous for modern abstraction, is one of Australia's most important indigenous talents. He work is ground-breaking and dynamic. Hank Ebes named Minnie Pwerle "genius" and Vivien Johnson called her style as the upmost contemporary. Awards: Telstra NATSIAA (2001-2003, 2005), Australian Art Collector, (2015) MP0635 was selected for the Australian National Curriculum.

Legacy: National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of NSW, Art Gallery of SA, Queensland Art Gallery, Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory, Art Gallery of WA, Kelton Foundation USA, Kreglinger Collection, Thomas Vroom Collection. Blue-chip Artist. Awelye 2002 sold for $78,000 at Lawson~Menzies, Awelye 2004 sold for $72,000.

Minnie Pwerle (1910-2006)
Awelye 1145 - Original Unique Masterwork

Acrylic on Belgian linen | stretched ready to hang

Price: $19,500 Inquire About This Work

Minnie Pwerle was the sole creator of the state-of-the-art Awelye 11145 masterwork painting which comprises the authentic idiosyncrasies of her painting technique

Price: $48,000 Inquire About This Work

In 2015, the Department of Queensland pick Awelye MP0635 for Australian National Curriculum credit the Pwerle Estate’s, the AAA © Estate of the artist licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency Limited.

Minnie Pwerle was the sole creator of Awelye 1145 Masterwork, and MP0635 Investment-Grade Masterwork.

Minnie Pwerle (1910-2006) Auction Records

The Life, Career, and Legacy of Minnie Pwerle (1910-2006)

Minnie Pwerle (1910-2006) is one the most highly praised Australian artists, recognised by art experts as dynamic, original, ground-breaking and one of the world’s best modern abstract artists. Biography: Australian Aboriginal Artists dictionary of biographies page 33.

Minnie Pwerle and  sister-in-law Emily Kame Kngwarreye (1910-1996), are both the most highly praised Contemporary Australian artists. Both emanated to Western-style the most contemporary, state-of-the-art work. Emily Kame Kngwarreye painting 'Earth's Creation' sold for $1,056,000. The success of female artists snowballed CAAMA’s ‘Summer Project 1988/9’ handling over $1 million in sales for Utopia artists.

Minnie Pwerle was born around 1910 at Utopia Station in the Australian central desert on the banks of the Sandover River, 350 kilometres northeast of Alice Springs. Her country was Atnwengerrp, (pronounced a-NOONG-a-pa), and her languages Anmatyerre and Alyawarr, languages from an area of Central Australia 250 km northeast of Alice Springs. Minnie was one of six children and went on to become the mother of seven children including International artist Barbara Weir. She was married to Jim Motorcar and together they had six children.

Minnie had earlier married an Aboriginal man by the name of Motorcar Jim and had six children; Aileen, Betty, Raymond and Dora Mpetyane (two other daughters passed away and are not spoken of).

All the stories she painted conveyed her deep connection with the land, and knowledge of the foods that it provides. Besides Women's Dreaming,   Minnie Pwerle painted other Dreamings involving the bush melon, and bush melon seed, types of bush tucker traditionally used by her people, once very common, and becoming increasingly rarer. Minnie Pwerle and the other women used to collect this fruit (that was green in colour and then ripened to a brown colour) and scrape out the small black seeds. They would then eat the fruit straight away or cut it into pieces and skewer them onto a piece of wood and dry them to be eaten in the coming months when bush tucker was scarce.

In 1999, after many years of ceremonial body painting and in her late eighties, Minnie started to paint on canvas. Minnie soon attracted a large following, holding her first solo exhibition in Melbourne in 2000. Minnie work rapidly drew the attention of both local and international collectors. Minnie Pwerle painted the Awelye Atnwengerrp Dreamings (Women's Dreaming}.

Minnie Pwerle continued to paint up until her death in March 2006. Minnie passed away on 18th March 2006 at her home in Atnwengerrp. She is survived by her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and siblings Margie, Molly, Emily, Geyla, Lois, Ally and Louie.

Minnie Pwerle work contains a compelling visual and spiritual power, convening her deep connection with the land, clearly evident in all her paintings.  Minnie Pwerle used linear brush-work based on the body painting used for important women’s ceremonies in her native country of Atnwengerrp.

The circular design of the Bush Melon and the patterned lines of the Women's body paint are presented in bold and reminiscent of Emily Kame Kngwarreye work. Minnie paintings have distinctive linear fluidity and rare energy which is infectious to the viewer. Minnie work is immensely joyful, as she experimented with bold, brilliant colours, often painting with a rich array of tones.  

Minnie paintings are held in lots of overseas institutional and private collections as well as the major art galleries in Australia. Minnie’s work has been highly sought after by art international and Australian collectors.

Many of Minnie’s paintings reflect possibly the oldest designs of art in the world; the body painting for women’s ceremony – Awely. These are linear designs that are painted onto the chest, breasts, arms and thighs. Powders ground from red ochre (clay) and ash are used, and applied with a flat stick with soft padding. This stick is called a ‘typale’. During the ceremony, Minnie and the women would sing the songs associated with their awely, paint each other and dance. Awely ceremonies are performed to demonstrate respect for the country and the total well-being and health of the community. 

Minnie Pwerle work is dynamic, and ground-breaking. She was recognised as one of the world’s best modern abstract artists and most successful in the World Art Market

Professor Vivien Johnson, a Desert art specialist said that   Minnie Pwerle style was 'radically different' from other ‘painting communities’ in the Western Desert art movement, stunningly contemporary and most successful in the World Art Market.

Hank Ebes named Minnie Pwerle "a genius". Michael Eather (Contemporary Australian artist who helped cross-cultural artistic collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists) paralleled   Minnie Pwerle work to Emily Kngwarreye, and also Tony Tuckson paintings. John Anthony Tuckson, was an Australian Abstract Expressionist artist exhibited in National Gallery of Australia.

Indigenous art expert Jenny Green (who worked with the Anmatyerre and Alyawarre people, recording and noting their language) believes Minnie's work continues the tradition of "gestural abstractionism" established by Emily Kngwarreye, in the works of Western Desert artists.

An Australian-born art critic, writer and editor, Benjamin Genocchio, illustrated   Minnie Pwerle work on the cover of his book 'Dollar Dreaming'. VIDEO: Dollar Dreaming: Ben Genocchio on the world of Aboriginal art.

Minnie paintings have distinctive linear fluidity and rare energy which is infectious to the viewer. Minnie work is immensely joyful, she experimented with bold, brilliant colours, painting with a rich array of tones.

Minnie Pwerle's style was characterized by one reviewer as 'broad, luminescent flowing lines and circles'.

Minnie's creative style comprises two key themes. The first, embodies the body painting (designs used in women's ceremonies, or Awelye). These are free-flowing parallel lines in a pendulous outline.

The second, circular forms portrays bush tomato (Solanum chippendalei), bush melon, and northern wild orange (Capparis umbonata), among a number of forms of bushfood represented in her works. Minnie Pwerle style, both: circular design and the patterned lines are presented in bold and reminiscent of Emily Kame Kngwarreye work.

VIDEO: Dollar Dreaming: Ben Genocchio on the world of Aboriginal art

Many of the works in the National Museum's Papunya collection had been rarely seen in Australia, until Papunya Painting exhibition in 2007 in Canberra.

AWARDS

2001 the 18th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award   Minnie Pwerle entered

2002 first selected to exhibit in the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award

2003 Exhibited National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award Awelye Atnwengerrp
The artist's price $44,000 was the second-highest in the exhibition and the highest for an artist from the central and western deserts.

2005 Exhibited National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award competition Awelye Atnwengerrp no.2

2004 recognised one of Australia's 50 most collectible artists Minnie by Australian Art Collector

2015
  Minnie Pwerle Awelye Atnwengerrp MP0635 masterwork was selected by the Department of Education, Queensland Government for the Australian National Curriculum, with the acknowledgments to the artist Pwerle Estate’s representative, the AAA © Estate of the artist licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency Limited and credits to Galeria Aniela art gallery

COLLECTIONS

Art Gallery of South Australia (Adelaide)

Queensland Art Gallery (Brisbane)

National Gallery of Australia (Canberra)

Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory (Darwin)

Art Gallery of New South Wales

Art Bank Sydney

National Gallery of Victoria

Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne)

Art Gallery of Western Australia

Homes a Court Gallery and gallery Collection

Kelton Foundation USA

Kreglinger Collection

Fred Torres Collection

Museum of Victoria

National Museum Australia

Kreglinger Collection

Thomas Vroom Collection Holland

Australian Heritage Commission, Canberra

Exhibitions

2021    Desert Colours 2021, Incinerator Art Space, Sydney

2001   ‘Women Artists of the Australian Desert’, exhibition, Gallery 2021, Auckland, NZ

BIBLIOGRAPHY Literature Source & FURTHER REFERENCES

• Australian Aboriginal Artist dictionary of biographies Kreczmanski, Janusz B and Birnberg, Margo (eds.): Aboriginal Artists: Dictionary of Biographies: Central Desert, Western Desert and Kimberley Region JB Publishing Australia, Marleston, 2004.
• Aboriginal Artists of the Western Desert - A Biographical Dictionary by Vivien Johnson, published by Craftsman House 1994
• The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture edited by Sylvia Kleinert and Margo Neale published by OUP 2000
• Aboriginal Artists: Dictionary of Biographies: Central Desert, Western Desert & Kimberley Region JB Publishing Australia, Marleston, 2004
• Brody, A. 1989 Utopia women’s Paintings: the First Works on Canvas, A summer Project, 1988-89 exhib. Cat. Heytesbury Holdings, Perth Brody
• A. 1990 Utopia, a picture Story, 88 Silk Batiks from the Robert Homes a Court Gallery and gallery Collection, Heytesbury Holdings LTD Perth NATSIVAD database, Latz, P. 1995, Bushfires & Bushtucker, IAD Press, Alice Springs
• Brody, A. 1989 Utopia women’s Paintings: the First Works on Canvas, A summer Project 1988-89 exhib. Cat. Heytesbury Holdings, Perth Brody
• Amadio, N. und Kimber, R., Wildbird Dreaming. Aboriginal Art from the Central Deserts of Australia, Greenhouse Publ., Melbourne 1988; Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland 1990, Ausst. Kat.; Australian Aboriginal Art from the Collection of Donald Kahn. Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami (Hrsg.), 1991, Ausst. Kat.; Droombeelden - Tjukurrpa. Groninger Museum (Hrsg.), Groningen 1995, Ausst. Kat.; Isaacs, J., Australia´s Living Heritage. Arts of the Dreaming, Lansdowne Press, Sydney 1984; Isaacs, J., Australian Aboriginal Paintings. Lansdowne, Sydney 1989, ISBN 186302011X; Johnson, V., Aboriginal Artists of the Western Desert. A Biographical Dictionary, Craftsman House, East Roseville 1994, ISBN 9768097817; Modern Art - Ancient Icon. The Aboriginal Gallery of Dreamings (Hrsg.), o.O. 1992, ISBN 0646080520; Nangara. The Australian Aboriginal Art Exhibition from the Ebes Collection. The Aboriginal Gallery of Dreamings (Hrsg.), Melbourne 1996, Ausst. Kat.; Stourton, P. Corbally, Songlines and Dreamings. Lund Humphries Publ., London 1996, ISBN 0853316910; The Painted Dream. Contemporary Aboriginal Paintings. Johnson, V. (Hrsg.), Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland 1991, Ausst. Kat.; Tjinytjilpa. The Dotted Design. Aboriginal Art Galleries of Australia (Hrsg.), Melbourne 1998, Ausst. Kat.; Traumzeit - Tjukurrpa. Kunst der Aborigines der Western Desert. Die Donald Kahn-Sammlung, Danzker, J.B. (Hrsg.), Prestel, München und New York 1994, Ausst. Kat.; Voices of the Earth. Paintings, Photography and Sculpture from Aboriginal Australia. Gabrielle Pizzi (Hrsg.), Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne 1996, Ausst. Kat., ISBN 0646288954.

Galeria Aniela: Investment-Grade Artworks of Flawless Provenance

An independent advisory and procurement service for significant original artworks by renowned Australian artists. Combining over 30 years of fine art expertise, we help you seamlessly navigate the art market, optimising your time and securing maximum value.

• Borderless Procurement: We transitioned to a fully integrated international digital model, catering to an international clientele of global collectors while proudly supporting Australian artists.

• Trusted Connections: By cultivating meaningful personal relationships, we build deep trust and genuine, long-term partnerships, delivering an exceptional and rewarding acquisition experience since 1994.

Acquire or Sell Investment-Grade Artworks

Three Decades of Fine Art Heritage and Global Acclaim

A Visionary Legacy: Founded in 1994 in Kangaroo Valley, Galeria Aniela Fine Art Gallery & Sculpture Park pioneered museum-quality exhibitions program, bringing world-class masterworks and blue-chip Australian artists to a pristine regional setting.

Institutional Recognition: The only commercial gallery in Australia listed in the National Gallery of Australia's Artonview exhibition guide alongside elite national institutions, state galleries and museums (1997-2004).

Fine Art Market Prestige: No other commercial gallery shares Galeria Aniela’s art prestige, highlighted by landmark modernist retrospectives officially launched by leaders of Australia’s peak art institutions:

• Arthur Boyd Retrospective (1997): Opened by Cameron O’Reilly, Deputy Chairman of the National Gallery of Australia (Broadcasted on ABC TV National News).

• John Perceval Retrospective (2000): Opened by Justin Miller, Chairman of Sotheby’s Australia.

• Charles Blackman Retrospective (2002): Opened by Rodney Menzies, Executive Chairman of Menzies Art Brand (Broadcasted on SBS TV ArtScream).

• A Century of Boyd collection (2012): Opened by Bob Hawke, former Australian Prime Minister.

Distinguished Guests & Cultural Icons: Over the years, Galeria Aniela has had the unique privilege of welcoming esteemed guests, celebrities, and art patrons to our exhibitions. Featured below are historic visits from international icon Sir David Attenborough, Cameron O’Reilly, and former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ What people say

Jamie Boyd and Aniela Kos with Cameron O’Reilly (1997) | Aniela Kos and Cameron Menzies (Nov. 2023)

Fine Art is one of the most enjoyable and viable investments, essential to wellbeing.

Art-As-Investment |  Buy-Value-Sell |  Resources

Copyright | Disclaimer | | | |