Given the recent vibrant activity within the Australian Indigenous art market, both locally and internationally throughout the first half of 2025, I am delighted to share my insights in this mid-year Art Market Report.

Australian Auctions

Australian auction results in this category have thus far recorded AUD $10,361,000 in sales in the first 6 months of the year, which includes:

• Deutscher & Hackett, Melbourne: AUD $4,222,309 (inc. BP) March 2025
• Art Leven, Sydney: AUD $1,155,355 (inc. BP) June 2025

Overseas Auctions

Sotheby’s New York returned this year, with their first auction dedicated to this category since 2023.

• Sotheby’s, New York: USD $884,936 (inc. BP) (approximately AUD $1.35 million) May 2025

According to Australian Art Sales Digest (AASD), Australian auctions of Indigenous art recorded a strong increase in overall sales, which saw a total of AUD $10.361 million. When combined with the AUD $1.35 million generated in the overseas sale at Sotheby’s, New York—this totals AUD $11.7 million in sales in the first 6 months of this year.

When compared to 2024—which saw a​ total of AUD $13.483 million in auction sales trade hands ​i​n the entire 12 months of that year​, and an uptick at local auctions in Australia​—if sale trends continue at these levels, that could translate to a 50% potential overall increase in annual sales at auction!

Specialist auctions with a high level of expertise and experience are now playing catch up—which is truly exciting to see.

Leading the way, under the expertise of Crispin Gutteridge, Deutscher & Hackett had a thrilling market response to their annual Important Australian Indigenous Art auction in March—achieving a total of AUD $4,222,309, equating to 80% by lot and 144% by value of the presale estimate.

Put simply, what sold, sold exceedingly well.

Of note was the sale of Emily Kam Kngwarray’s Untitled – Awelye 1992 which is not an unfamiliar painting to the market, having appeared at auction in 2012 and then again in 2013, where it sold for AUD $168,000. But making a huge splash in the lead-up to Emily’s survey at Tate Modern, this work sold for a whopping AUD $1,196,591 (inc. B.P.) against a presale estimate of only AUD $400,000-600,000.

What was most exciting about this result was that it aligned with what we are seeing in the private sales market—stemming from a growing international appetite for major works by Emily—and in light of the forthcoming retrospective at Tate.

Elsewhere—and as reported recently in the Australian Financial Review—Sotheby’s, New York had a more sobering re-entry to the annual market calendar for Australian Indigenous Art, with only 37% of artworks acquired on auction night for a total of USD $884,936 (inc. BP) against presale estimates of USD $2.8-4 million.

The depth of expertise and knowledge ​w​hich was instrumental to the ​successful establishment of this auction category in New York is,​ of course, ​difficult to replicate. Consequently, the relevance of this ​auction—after a two-year hiatus—in terms of results, is limited on ​the current broader market​.​

While Sotheby’s representative, Alexander Grogan, indicated their intent to continue presenting auctions of Australian Indigenous art, it is crucial for Sotheby’s to invest in the necessary expertise and understanding​ required to maintain the integrity of this vital segment of the art market.​

I hope that they will do so.

EMILY KAM KNGWARRAY | Ankara Merne – Intekwe 1990 | Sold for AUD $552,273 (inc. BP) at Art Leven, Sydney

Back in Australia, Art Leven—under market specialist Mirri Leven—offered a fresh selection of varied priced and quality works that achieved a pleasing outcome. Led by works with impeccable provenance, the sale achieved a very respectable 70% clearance by lot and 70% by value.

Again, Emily led the way with an extraordinary AUD $552,273 achieved for a fine painting, Ankara Merne – Intekwe 1990, measuring 120 x 90cm. Although this result fell within its presale estimate—on this occasion, the estimate was very strong, and rightly so considering the quality of the work and its unique provenance.

What can also be extracted from the results of this sale, and all auctions, is that the finest works continue to sell exceedingly well. Now that local auctions are generally firing on all cylinders, let’s hope that there will be a little more discernment in the selection and that the estimates will be more indicative of true market value.

Simple, really.

MUSEUMS + INSTITUTIONS

There are four major and highly anticipated museum exhibitions ongoing and forthcoming which are leading the way in further raising the profile and appreciation of First Nations art in Australia and internationally:

65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art
30 May – 22 November 2025

Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne celebrates the brilliance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art while confronting the dark heart of Australia’s colonial history and proclaims the importance of Indigenous knowledge and agency. The exhibition features more than 400 works, including rarely seen artworks and cultural objects from the University of Melbourne’s collections, 194 important loans from 78 private and public lenders and six new commissions.

Curated by Associate Provost and Distinguished Professor Marcia Langton AO, Senior Curator Judith Ryan AM, and Associate Curator Shanysa McConville–in consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and custodians of art traditions–the exhibition explores the belated recognition of Indigenous art and its rise to prominence globally.

Yolŋu Power: the art of Yirrkala
21 June – 6 October 2025

The Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney showcases the extraordinary artists of Yirrkala in north-east Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, and the power of their art from the 1940s to the present. The exhibition considers the significant moments in Yirrkala’s history when artists have consciously altered their practice, developed new styles, or embraced new mediums. In covering multiple generations, the exhibition highlights familial connections and cultural continuation. It also contextualises the work of individual artists within the broader school of artists from Yirrkala and surrounding Miwatj Country, whose contribution to both Australian and, increasingly, international art, is profound.

The exhibition is presented in partnership with the Indigenous art centre in Yirrkala, Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka.

Installation view of Mulkuṉ Wirrpanda with The Mulka Project ‘Rarrirarri’ 2023, as part of the ‘Yolŋu power: the art of Yirrkala’ exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 21 June – 6 October 2025 © the artists and The Mulka Project, Yirrkala, photo © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Diana Panuccio

Emily Kam Kngwarray
10 July 2025 – 11 January 2026

Opening 11 July 2025, Tate Modern, London will stage a major retrospective of Emily Kam Kngwarray’s work which will be presented as their summer blockbuster exhibition.

Created in collaboration with the National Gallery of Australia (NGA), this will be the first large-scale presentation of Kngwarray’s work ever held in Europe and a celebration of her extraordinary career as one of Australia’s greatest artists.

EMILY KAM KNGWARRAY | Ntang Dreaming 1989 | National Gallery of Australia. © Estate of Emily Kam Kngwarray / DACS 2024, All rights reserved.

The exhibition is organised by Tate Modern, and the National Gallery of Australia based on an exhibition curated by Kelli Cole, Warumungu and Luritja peoples and Hetti Perkins, Arrernte and Kalkadoon peoples. Emily Kam Kngwarray at Tate Modern is curated by Kelli Cole.

D’Lan Contemporary is honoured to have played a supporting role in this important exhibition with financial and logistical contributions.

The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art
18 October 2025 – 1 March 2026

The National Gallery of Art, Washington will introduce North American audiences to the diverse and distinct visual iconographies of Indigenous Australia in The Stars We Do Not See, opening 18 October 2025. Drawn exclusively from the collection of Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria, the exhibition wil offer a rare opportunity to experience some of the most significant examples of modern and contemporary Australian Indigenous art. Charting watershed moments in Indigenous art from the late 19th century to the present, this exhibition reveals a rich history of creativity that predates the arrival of the British.

The exhibition is curated by Myles-Russell-Cook, former senior curator of Australian and First Nations art, National Gallery of Victoria, and current artistic director & CEO of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art. The exhibition will travel to the Denver Art Museum, the Portland Art Museum, the Peabody Essex Museum, and the Royal Ontario Museum.

D’LAN CONTEMPORARY + PACE

Emily Kam Kngwarray: My Country
6 June – 8 August 2025

We are thrilled to have recently partnered with Pace, London to present an exhibition of works by Emily Kam Kngwarray.

My Country—which coincides with Tate Modern’s major survey of the artist in London—traces Kngwarray’s artistic evolution from her early organic forms to her later vibrant, dot-filled colour fields, culminating in the minimalist compositions that defined her mature work. To reflect her profound influence on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, as well as on women artists and the broader Australian art landscape, the exhibition will also include historical and contemporary batiks by artists inspired by Kngwarray’s pioneering practice.

If you are in London over the coming months, we urge you to visit both exhibitions.

Installation view, Emily Kam Kngwarray: My Country, 6 June-8 August 2025, Pace Gallery, London. © Emily Kam Kngwarray/Copyright Agency Photo: Damian Griffiths, courtesy Pace Gallery.

FINALLY…

As reported at the end of last year, 2024 was another extraordinary year for D’Lan Contemporary, in which we opened new gallery spaces in New York and Sydney and participated once again in Frieze Masters, London. And, for the first time this year, we participated in the historic TEFAF (The European Fine Arts Foundation Fair), Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Also, late last year, we reported that our overall sales totalled approximately AUD $30million—with Australian gallery sales totalling AUD $21.6million and New York, approximately AUD $8.35million for the calendar year of 2024.

This financial year has seen a marked increase in sales results at D’Lan Contemporary—when compared to last year—with a total of AUD $37,500,000 in overall sales for the financial year 2024-2025.

In alignment with the opening of our Sydney gallery—our overall Australian gallery operations saw an uplift in sales totalling approximately AUD $28,300,000. And in New York, there was a slight increase with our sales totalling approximately AUD $9,250,000.

What is notable is that these numbers—when combined with the previous two quarters of 2024 already reported, and against the backdrop of international market volatility—demonstrate how strongly this market segment has responded in 2025, particularly in this last June quarter.

Combined with impeccable provenance and discerning quality—the foundations are strong.

Again, Emily was at the forefront of this continued growth, with sales totalling AUD $10,333,000. This impressive figure does not include artworks set aside for, and sales already achieved through our collaborative exhibition at Pace, London—which will fall into the next financial year’s calculations.

I am also pleased to report that following extensive dialogue with Pace, we have jointly committed to contributing 10% of exhibition proceeds to benefit the broader community at Utopia—where Kngwarray began her painting career. This is in addition to the Artist’s Resale Royalty fees which are payable to the Estate.

Finally, as we draw close to the end of Significant 2025, our inaugural international exhibition, I look forward to sharing some exciting results with you in the next Market Report.

​So, while the media frequently focuses on individual auction results, ​overlooking the broader picture, I am pleased to offer these insights, ​and to present a more comprehensive view of the current Australian Indigenous art market.

With an exciting slate of exhibitions due to open for the remainder of the year, and our ongoing participation in national and international art fairs, we look forward to seeing the market prosper further.

D’Lan Davidson.