An Indigenous artwork, created over 70 years ago, has been rediscovered after decades in storage at a museum in regional Western Australia.
Discovery Details
The artwork was drawn in 1947 by Claude Kelly, then 12 years old, who was part of Australia's Stolen Generation. It originated from the Carrolup Native Mission School, located near Katanning, south of Perth. The piece was found in a trunk at the Corrigin Historical Society, approximately 200 kilometers from the Carrolup mission.
Corrigin Historical Society curator Steve Brown-Smith stated that the artwork was donated to the society about 25 years ago and had remained undisturbed in a trunk since then. The previous curator, who oversaw the donation, is deceased, leading to a loss of specific information regarding its acquisition.
Broader Context of Carrolup Art
Hundreds of artworks from Carrolup have been dispersed globally.
- In 1949, Florence Rutter, an English woman, received hundreds of Carrolup pieces to exhibit and sell in London.
- American Herbert Mayer maintained a private collection of 127 pieces, which he later donated to Colgate University in New York. This collection remained in storage until its chance discovery in 2004 and was repatriated to Australia in 2013, where it is now housed at the John Curtin Gallery in Perth.
Significance and Preservation
Claude Kelly's rediscovered artwork is currently under the care of the John Curtin Gallery. Patricia Ryder, the gallery's senior Carrolup adviser, highlighted the importance of the piece, particularly for families seeking tangible evidence of their connections. She emphasized viewing these artworks through the historical experiences of the children who created them.
Lisa Liebetrau, a Carrolup collections officer, noted the fragility of the artworks. They were produced after World War II at a mission school using available materials of often low quality due to a lack of government and education department provisions. The Claude Kelly artwork, for instance, showed significant insect damage and accumulated debris, necessitating restoration by paper conservators.
Ongoing Search
The search for additional artworks created at Carrolup is ongoing. Only 17 artists have been attributed to their pieces thus far. Efforts include research and education to identify more artists and families. In 2022, an exhibition of Carrolup artwork was held in the United Kingdom to locate other pieces potentially held in private collections or galleries. While the goal is to return all artworks, the primary objective is to attribute more artists or their families to the existing collection.