AGOD – Australian Gallery of Dreamings & EBEScontemporary have a responsibiliy to enable our indigenous artists = globally : AGOD seeks to help them eductate the world’s soul & mind. SEASONS is the key to ongoing harmony (living within our means / ecosystem / climate:-
MORE =
https://www.artsy.net/show/wentworth-galleries-minnie-pwerle/info
https://www.artnet.com/artists/minnie-pwerle
https://artgallery.wa.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/six-seasons/
https://creativenative.com.au/blogs/blog/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-seasons
https://bluethumb.com.au/artworks/popular/noongar-seasons
Minnie Pwerle’s artistic journey began later in life and lasted from 1999 (when she first put brush to canvas) until her passing in 2006. Despite this somewhat short career, her profile as a profoundly important artist developed quickly with both local and international acclaim.
Born around 1910 – 1920, Minnie Pwerle grew up as one of eight children in the Utopia Region of the Northern Territory, around 250 km North of Alice Springs. Minnie’s upbringing was traditional Aboriginal Australian, which means that artistic expression was already a big part of the daily life of her community. Moreover, the 1970s batik making movement and its transition to canvases in the 1980s was a game-changing factor in the artistic practices of the Utopia region.
As a teenager, Pwerle had a daughter, Barbara, with Irish pastoral owner Jack Weir. Barbara was separated from her mother when she was taken by native welfare officials at the age of nine under the then existing Australian government’s assimilation policy. She thus became one of the victims of the Stolen Generation, as it was known in years to come.
Eventually, Minnie and Barbara were reunited when Barbara Weir had already become an esteemed artist in her own right. Consequently, in the late 1990s Barbara introduced Minnie to painting on canvas. When visiting Barbara in Adelaide, Minnie expressed a desire to paint at Barbara’s son Fred Torres’ DACOU gallery. After a life spent painting ceremonial designs of the Awelye People onto the body, Minnie transferred these designs onto the canvas with great success and authority reminiscent of the late Emily Kame Kngwarreye.
Evolving her style, Minnie began to paint a series of linear works of her inherited dreaming, the Bush Melon and Awelye Atnwengerrp. The finished pieces were bold, vibrant and free-flowing. The reception was immediately positive and Minnie’s works captured the attention of prominent gallery owners who purchased every canvas she painted. Soon, she was showing her paintings in solo and group exhibitions. In 2004, Minnie was named one of Australia’s 50 most collectable artists by the Australian Art Collector. Her art was added to major public collections such as the Art Gallery of NSW, Art Gallery of South Australia, National Gallery of Victoria and Queensland Art Gallery. It was also included in a 2009 exhibition of Indigenous Australian painting at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Technique, Stories and Style
Minnie Pwerle focused mainly on two series of artworks: Bush Melon and Awelye Atnwengerrp. Her work often described as ‘gestural abstraction’ draws inspiration from the ancient cultural traditions that used visual gestures and pigments for body paintings. This way, she expresses the connection to the country and her ancestors, but her iconic style also shows incredible contemporary sparkle.
Minnie’s choice of bold colours and the evident spontaneity of her brushstrokes inevitably attracts much attention to her work. The Bush Melon paintings often consist of smooth circular rolling effects or luminescent flowing lines with splashes of colour strewn across the canvas. On the other hand, Awelye Atnwengerrp represents the ochre designs painted on the top half of women’s bodies for traditional ceremonies. Minnie translated the circles and lines on the canvas. For example, the U-shapes in her paintings represent women’s painted breasts and the rhythm with which they are painted captures the energy and the movement of the women dancing around open fires in the soft red desert sand.
Seeing her stunning compositions, especially in large formats, the way she layers motifs with lightness and effortlessness, and the way we can clearly see the traces of her brush is a uniquely mesmerising experience. Through Minnie’s rhythmical paintings, we can still feel her vivacity, despite her passing in 2006.
Jul 27, 2026
Lawsons
Sold: AUD5,500
Jul 27, 2026
Lawsons
Sold: AUD5,250
Jul 27, 2026
Lawsons
Sold: AUD3,500
Jul 27, 2026
Lawsons
Sold: AUD2,400
Jul 27, 2026
Lawsons
Sold: AUD2,600
Jul 16, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE, (c.1915-2006), “Awelye – Body Paint”, Acrylic on canvas., 125cm x 108cm
Ozbid Auctions
Sold: AUD3,000
Jul 15, 2026
Minnie Pwerle, Utopia (1915-2006), Body Paint Bush Melon 2004, Acrylic on linen
Theodore Bruce Auctioneers & Valuers
Sold: AUD3,200
Jul 15, 2026
Minnie Pwerle, Utopia (1915-2006), Bush Melon 2002, Acrylic on canvas
Theodore Bruce Auctioneers & Valuers
Sold: AUD3,400
Jun 25, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE, (c.1915-2006), ”Awelye Atnwengerrp”, Acrylic on linen., 91cm x 58cm
Ozbid Auctions
Passed
Jun 25, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE, (c.1915-2006), ”Awelye-Body Paint”, Acrylic on canvas., 89cm x 126cm
Ozbid Auctions
Sold: AUD4,000
Jun 25, 2026
Ozbid Auctions
Passed
Jun 23, 2026
Minnie Pwerle, (1922-2006), Body Painting, 2004, acrylic on linen, 122.5 x 97.5 cm
Shapiro Auctioneers
Sold: AUD3,000
Jun 22, 2026
Lawsons
Sold: AUD4,500
Jun 22, 2026
Lawsons
Passed
Jun 22, 2026
Lawsons
Passed
Jun 15, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE (1922-2006), Bush Melon 2005
Gibson’s
Sold: AUD5,500
May 25, 2026
Lawsons
Sold: AUD2,800
May 17, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE (1922-2006), Awelye-Atnwengerrp
Gibson’s
Passed
May 17, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE (1922-2006), Awelye Atnwengerrp 2000
Gibson’s
Sold: AUD4,800
May 17, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE (1922-2006), Body Paint 2005
Gibson’s
Sold: AUD4,000
May 17, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE (1922-2006), Untitled
Gibson’s
Sold: AUD4,000
May 12, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE, (c.1915-2006), ”Awelye-Body Paint”, Acrylic on canvas., 89cm x 126cm
Ozbid Auctions
Passed
May 07, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE (c1922-2006), Body Paint 1999
Menzies
Sold: AUD5,500
May 07, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE (c1922-2006), Awelye Atnwengerrp 1999
Menzies
Passed
May 05, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE, (c.1915-2006), ”Awelye Atnwengerrp”, Acrylic on canvas., 120cm x 98cm
Ozbid Auctions
Sold: AUD4,250
May 05, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE, (c. 1920 – 2006), Bush Melon Seed 2001, synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Theodore Bruce Auctioneers & Valuers
Sold: AUD6,000
May 05, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE, (c. 1920 – 2006), Bush Melon 2004, synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Theodore Bruce Auctioneers & Valuers
Sold: AUD3,800
May 05, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE, (c. 1920 – 2006), Awelye-Atnwengerrp 2006, synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Theodore Bruce Auctioneers & Valuers
Sold: AUD4,800
Apr 13, 2026
Minnie Pwerle, Utopia, Sandover (1922-2006), Awelye Atnwengerrp, 2005, acrylic on linen
Theodore Bruce Auctioneers & Valuers
Sold: AUD6,500
Apr 13, 2026
Minnie Pwerle, Utopia, Sandover (1922-2006), Awelye Atnwengerrp, 2000, Acrylic on Canvas
Theodore Bruce Auctioneers & Valuers
Sold: AUD4,400
Apr 07, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE, (c.1915-2006), ”Awelye Atnwengerrp”, Acrylic on canvas., 70cm x 41cm
Ozbid Auctions
Sold: AUD1,600
Apr 07, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE, (c.1915-2006), “Body Paint”, Acrylic on canvas., 105cm x 128cm
Ozbid Auctions
Sold: AUD4,750
Apr 07, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE, (c.1915-2006), ”Awelye Atnwengerrp”, Acrylic on canvas., 120cm x 98cm
Ozbid Auctions
Passed
Apr 07, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE, (c.1915-2006), ”Awelye – Womens Ceremony”, Acrylic on canvas., 148cm x 65cm
Ozbid Auctions
Sold: AUD2,100
Mar 23, 2026
Lawsons
Sold: AUD4,500
Mar 17, 2026
Leonard Joel
Sold: AUD4,600
Mar 17, 2026
Minnie Pwerle, (1922-2006), Bush Melon, 2000, acrylic on linen, 122 x 92 cm
Shapiro Auctioneers
Sold: AUD4,000
Mar 17, 2026
Minnie Pwerle, (1922-2006), Awelye – Atnwengerrp, 2004, acrylic on canvas, 120 x 205 cm
Shapiro Auctioneers
Sold: AUD8,000
Mar 08, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE – ANEMANGKERR – DESERT MELONS 2004 – SYNTHETIC POLYMER PAINT ON BELGIAN LINEN
GFL Fine Art
Sold: AUD5,000
Feb 17, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE (1922-2006), Bushmelons 2004
Gibson’s
Sold: AUD900
Feb 17, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE (1922-2006), Untitled
Gibson’s
Sold: AUD1,200
Feb 17, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE (1922-2006), Awelye 2005
Gibson’s
Sold: AUD2,400
Feb 17, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE (1922-2006), Bush Melon 2005
Gibson’s
Sold: AUD700
Feb 08, 2026
Minnie Pwerle (Aboriginal Australian 1915-2006) ‘
Amanda Addams Auctions
Sold: AUD2,600
Jan 26, 2026
MINNIE PWERLE, (c.1915-2006), ”Awelye – Womens Ceremony”.
AGOD / EBEScontemporary has the largest collection of EMILY paintings (if you want to own one – contact us – prices range from under $100,000 to over $1m+++; sizes range from small to extra large (we also have a range or Rovers +++; we have the largest collection of Australian indigenous dot paintings, Aboriginal Art – in the world = all for sale. AND because we own our building and commissioned most of the art directly – with the artists = prior to the art centres even existed (you pay no gallery commission; generally 50%; nor
August 14, 2026
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