Janangoo Butcher Cherel: Unearthed

A treasure trove of museum-quality paintings by one of Australia’s significant Indigenous artists, Janangoo Butcher Cherel (c. 1920-2009) has been discovered in the basement of an Adelaide home almost 25 years after they were painted.

The works are among the collection of the late fine art dealer and collector Duncan Kentish, who died in 2012. Consultant Greer Adams was cataloguing the collection of Kentish’s son in November 2013 and unearthed the body of work.

“I could not believe it”, Ms Adams said. “The quality of the paintings is outstanding. These are some of the earliest works on canvas produced by Janangoo”.

The canvases, painted between 1989 and 1991 in Western Australia’s Fitzroy Crossing, “are incredibly rare because very few acrylic paintings on canvas by the artist are known to exist from his early period particularly of this size”, said Adams. “Butcher was operating independently prior to joining the Aboriginal owned art centre Mangkaja Arts Resource Agency in 1992, selling and marketing his work to local individuals including Kentish.”

Butcher was born at Jalnganjoowa, near the original homestead on one of the oldest stations in the Kimberley, Fossil Downs. In the late 1980s, Butcher began painting his country and culture often depicting the “microscopic” detail of bush food, vegetation, ceremonial dress, body painting and the seasons of his land.

Kentish, met Butcher in 1987 in Fitzroy Crossing after he had established strong working relationships with other artists from the region including Jarinyanu David Downs (c. 1920-1995) and Pijaju Peter Skipper (c. 1929-2007).

Butcher is well represented in both public and private collections nationally and internationally. A selling exhibiting of fourteen of the historically significant works found will be held by Greer Adams Fine Art at Project Space at Gallerysmith, North Melbourne.

To enquire about the paintings and prints or to receive a catalogue of the exhibition please contact: info@greeradamsfineart.com

Greer Adams Fine Art
at Gallerysmith Project Space
24 October to 2 November, 2014
North Melbourne

 

Janangoo Butcher Cherel (c.1920-2009), Untitled, 1991, synthetic polymer paint on linen, 137 by 101.5cm
Janangoo Butcher Cherel (c.1920-2009), Untitled (Dilly Bag), 1990, synthetic polymer paint on linen, 137 by 101.5cm

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