A painting by Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, described as one of the most important Australian works of the 20th century, more than doubled the record for Aboriginal art on Monday night when it sold for $A2.4 million.
"Possum's painting is considered an icon of contemporary Aboriginal art. In it he tells stories of the desert. The central narrative takes place in Warlugulong, 200 miles north-west of Alice Springs. It was here, according to legend, that the two sons of Lungkata, a blue-tongued lizard man, killed a kangaroo. Instead of sharing the meat with their father in the customary manner, they ate it all. In his fury, Lungkata started a bush fire which engulfed his sons.
In the centre of the canvas the fire blazes, while to the right, two skeletons lie surrounded by clouds of smoke. Around this scene are woven separate sacred stories, or "dreamings", with footprints marked to signify the journeys of their protagonists. The painting was the first in which an Aboriginal artist attempted to depict several stories in a topographical manner like a Western map."
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