Two rare artworks by the great 19th century Wurunjderi artist and leader William Barak will be coming home after 125 years in Switzerland following a bidding rally at Sotheby’s in New York on Thursday (AEST) in which Barak’s descendants prevailed.
The Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Corporation paid record prices for the two culturally significant works: an intricately carved parrying shield and a drawing of a ceremonial gathering of women in possum cloaks, both created around 1897.
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Gabriella Coslovich is an arts journalist with more than 20 years’ experience, including 15 at The Age, where she was a senior arts writer. Her book, Whiteley on Trial, on Australia’s most audacious of alleged art fraud, won a Walkley in 2018.
