First documented work of Rover Thomas unearthed

Once pinned to a wall in the Wungkul community store, this rare Rover Thomas find offers a glimpse into the beginning of his legacy.

27 Sep 2022

Celina Lei

Visual Arts

First documented work of Rover Thomas. Image supplied, courtesy of the Estate of Duncan Kentish.

Celebrated Wangkajunga and Kukatja artist, Rover Thomas (1926 – 1998) was known for his passion for painting and his ability to translate Country into a unique visual language.

Today, a rare find of the artist’s first documented work has resurfaced from the Estate of South Australian fine art dealer and collector, Duncan Kentish.

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Celina Lei is an arts writer and editor at ArtsHub. She acquired her M.A in Art, Law and Business in New York with a B.A. in Art History and Philosophy from the University of Melbourne. She has previously worked across global art hubs in Beijing, Hong Kong and New York in both the commercial art sector and art criticism. She took part in drafting NAVA’s revised Code of Practice - Art Fairs and was the project manager of ArtsHub’s diverse writers initiative, Amplify Collective. Celina is based in Naarm/Melbourne.