Untitled
- Date
- 1960s–early 1970s
- Material
- Bark, pigment
- associated with
- Port Keats Mission, Northern Territory, Australia, Oceania
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 22 1/2 x 48 5/8 in. (57.2 x 123.5 cm) unframed
- Credit Line
- Gift of Frances Knight and Wayne W. Parrish and the Embassy of Australia
- Rights
- © Artists Rights Society, New York
- Object Number
- 2:1998
NOTES
In this work, the artist combined media and styles from diverse regions to create a composition structured by undulating snakes. Nym Bunduk is one of the most prolific and innovative 20th-century artists from western Arnhem Land.
Painting individual sheets of bark became a widespread art form among Aboriginal peoples in Arnhem Land in the mid-20th century. Much work from central and eastern Arnhem Land features complex linear abstractions. The style of Bunduk’s work, however, evokes examples from the Central Desert based on circular motifs. These connections call up a long history of exchange between Aboriginal peoples across Australia.
Provenance
c.1954 -
Dr. Stuart Scougall (1889–1964), Sydney, Australia, collected in Arnhem Land [1]
by 1964 - 1994
Frances (Rita) Knight Parrish, acquired from Dr. Scougall; estate of Frances Knight Parrish [2]
1994 - 1997
People of Australia, given by the estate of Frances Knight Parrish [3]
1997 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Frances Knight and Wayne W. Parrish and the Embassy of Australia [4]
Notes:
[1] Information provided by Penny Amberg, director of cultural affairs at the Embassy of Australia describes how Dr. Scougall traveled to Arnhem Land beginning in 1954 to collect Aboriginal art for the Art Gallery of New South Wales [SLAM document files].
[2] A Deed of Gift dated August 15, 1994 from the conservators of the Frances Knight Parrish Estate documents the gift of this object (with 2-5:1998) to "The People of Australia". A letter dated December 30, 1997 from Penny Amberg further documents the gift from the Parrish estate. Amberg stated this work was "part of the collection of the family of Rita [Frances] Knight, who worked for Dr. Scougall...and remained in contact with him until his death in 1964" [deed and letter in SLAM document files].
[3] See Note [2].
[4] A Deed of Gift dated March 18, 1998 signed by Malcolm Ferguson and Penny Amberg of the Embassy of Australia documents the gift of this object (with 1:1998 & 3-5:1998) to the Saint Louis Art Museum [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 18, 1998.
Dr. Stuart Scougall (1889–1964), Sydney, Australia, collected in Arnhem Land [1]
by 1964 - 1994
Frances (Rita) Knight Parrish, acquired from Dr. Scougall; estate of Frances Knight Parrish [2]
1994 - 1997
People of Australia, given by the estate of Frances Knight Parrish [3]
1997 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Frances Knight and Wayne W. Parrish and the Embassy of Australia [4]
Notes:
[1] Information provided by Penny Amberg, director of cultural affairs at the Embassy of Australia describes how Dr. Scougall traveled to Arnhem Land beginning in 1954 to collect Aboriginal art for the Art Gallery of New South Wales [SLAM document files].
[2] A Deed of Gift dated August 15, 1994 from the conservators of the Frances Knight Parrish Estate documents the gift of this object (with 2-5:1998) to "The People of Australia". A letter dated December 30, 1997 from Penny Amberg further documents the gift from the Parrish estate. Amberg stated this work was "part of the collection of the family of Rita [Frances] Knight, who worked for Dr. Scougall...and remained in contact with him until his death in 1964" [deed and letter in SLAM document files].
[3] See Note [2].
[4] A Deed of Gift dated March 18, 1998 signed by Malcolm Ferguson and Penny Amberg of the Embassy of Australia documents the gift of this object (with 1:1998 & 3-5:1998) to the Saint Louis Art Museum [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 18, 1998.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.