Freddie Timms
Ngarrmaliny
BIOGRAPHY
Freddie Timms began painting in 1986, inspired by senior artists working at Frog Hollow, a small outstation associated with the Warmun (Turkey Creek) community in the East Kimberley. At the time he was forty-two years old and had already lived a varied working life as a stockman on cattle stations throughout the region.
Timms was born in 1946 at Police Hole in the East Kimberley. Like many Aboriginal men of his generation, he followed his father into station work, first at Lissadell Station before travelling widely across the pastoral properties of the region. During this period he met and worked alongside Rover Thomas, whose influence on the emerging East Kimberley painting movement would prove enduring.
After retiring from physically demanding station labour, Timms returned briefly to Lissadell before settling at Warmun, where he worked as a gardener at the Argyle Diamond Mine. He later moved with his wife Berylene Mung and their four children to Frog Hollow, where he took on responsibilities as an environmental health worker and community maintenance officer.
It was during this time, surrounded by senior artists including Rover Thomas and Hector Jandanay, that Timms began to develop his own painting practice. He requested materials from Joel Smoker, the first art coordinator at Waringarri Arts in Kununurra, who recognised the strength of Timms’s early canvases and encouraged him to continue painting.
Over a career spanning more than two decades, Timms became known for his distinctive aerial, map-like representations of Country. His paintings often move beyond traditional Dreaming narratives to trace the movements, experiences and historical transformations of Gija people in the aftermath of colonisation. Rather than overtly political imagery, his works tend toward reflective and contemplative interpretations of history and place.
Timms’s first solo exhibition, held at Deutscher Gertrude Street Gallery in Melbourne in 1989, was met with critical acclaim. Among the works produced during this period was the important painting Mandangala, North Turkey Creek (1990), which depicts the landscape around Glen Hill and the Argyle Diamond Mine. The area had been flooded following the damming of the Ord River, submerging campsites, pathways and sacred places that had long been central to Gija life. The quiet restraint of the composition gives the painting a powerful emotional resonance.
Themes of historical change and social inequality recur throughout Timms’s work. In the painting Whitefella–Blackfella, now held by the National Gallery of Australia, he presents a hierarchical arrangement of figures to comment on racial inequality within Australian society. The work exposes rather than endorses these divisions, offering a subtle but pointed critique of structural discrimination.
By the mid-1990s, Timms had become an established exhibiting artist and travelled to Melbourne to work alongside Rover Thomas. During this period he produced a substantial body of work for Kimberley Art Gallery through its association with Warmun. These paintings often employed a broader and more saturated colour palette than the traditional ochres associated with East Kimberley painting. While some critics interpreted this shift as a departure from customary practice, it also reflected broader efforts by dealers such as Frank Watters to position Indigenous artists within the wider contemporary art market.
Timms’s 1999 exhibition at Watters Gallery explored the story of Major, a figure remembered in Gija oral history whose life and death in 1908 remain complex and contested. The series examined themes of resistance, survival and the ambiguities of colonial encounter. Influenced in part by Timms’s encounter with Sidney Nolan’s Ned Kelly series, the works adopt a simplified, iconic visual language while remaining grounded in local historical memory.
Following his departure from Watters Gallery, Timms exhibited with Goold Gallery before returning to the Kimberley. With the support of Tony Oliver, he became involved in establishing the Jirrawun Aboriginal Art Corporation, an organisation dedicated to supporting Gija artists and maintaining cultural authority over the production and distribution of their work.
Although he has sometimes received less public recognition than some of the founding figures of the East Kimberley movement, Timms remains one of the most significant artists of its second generation. His paintings articulate a distinctive Gija perspective on the historical consequences of colonisation, conveying with great sensitivity the enduring sense of displacement, memory and cultural continuity connected to Country.
Timms was born in 1946 at Police Hole in the East Kimberley. Like many Aboriginal men of his generation, he followed his father into station work, first at Lissadell Station before travelling widely across the pastoral properties of the region. During this period he met and worked alongside Rover Thomas, whose influence on the emerging East Kimberley painting movement would prove enduring.
After retiring from physically demanding station labour, Timms returned briefly to Lissadell before settling at Warmun, where he worked as a gardener at the Argyle Diamond Mine. He later moved with his wife Berylene Mung and their four children to Frog Hollow, where he took on responsibilities as an environmental health worker and community maintenance officer.
It was during this time, surrounded by senior artists including Rover Thomas and Hector Jandanay, that Timms began to develop his own painting practice. He requested materials from Joel Smoker, the first art coordinator at Waringarri Arts in Kununurra, who recognised the strength of Timms’s early canvases and encouraged him to continue painting.
Over a career spanning more than two decades, Timms became known for his distinctive aerial, map-like representations of Country. His paintings often move beyond traditional Dreaming narratives to trace the movements, experiences and historical transformations of Gija people in the aftermath of colonisation. Rather than overtly political imagery, his works tend toward reflective and contemplative interpretations of history and place.
Timms’s first solo exhibition, held at Deutscher Gertrude Street Gallery in Melbourne in 1989, was met with critical acclaim. Among the works produced during this period was the important painting Mandangala, North Turkey Creek (1990), which depicts the landscape around Glen Hill and the Argyle Diamond Mine. The area had been flooded following the damming of the Ord River, submerging campsites, pathways and sacred places that had long been central to Gija life. The quiet restraint of the composition gives the painting a powerful emotional resonance.
Themes of historical change and social inequality recur throughout Timms’s work. In the painting Whitefella–Blackfella, now held by the National Gallery of Australia, he presents a hierarchical arrangement of figures to comment on racial inequality within Australian society. The work exposes rather than endorses these divisions, offering a subtle but pointed critique of structural discrimination.
By the mid-1990s, Timms had become an established exhibiting artist and travelled to Melbourne to work alongside Rover Thomas. During this period he produced a substantial body of work for Kimberley Art Gallery through its association with Warmun. These paintings often employed a broader and more saturated colour palette than the traditional ochres associated with East Kimberley painting. While some critics interpreted this shift as a departure from customary practice, it also reflected broader efforts by dealers such as Frank Watters to position Indigenous artists within the wider contemporary art market.
Timms’s 1999 exhibition at Watters Gallery explored the story of Major, a figure remembered in Gija oral history whose life and death in 1908 remain complex and contested. The series examined themes of resistance, survival and the ambiguities of colonial encounter. Influenced in part by Timms’s encounter with Sidney Nolan’s Ned Kelly series, the works adopt a simplified, iconic visual language while remaining grounded in local historical memory.
Following his departure from Watters Gallery, Timms exhibited with Goold Gallery before returning to the Kimberley. With the support of Tony Oliver, he became involved in establishing the Jirrawun Aboriginal Art Corporation, an organisation dedicated to supporting Gija artists and maintaining cultural authority over the production and distribution of their work.
Although he has sometimes received less public recognition than some of the founding figures of the East Kimberley movement, Timms remains one of the most significant artists of its second generation. His paintings articulate a distinctive Gija perspective on the historical consequences of colonisation, conveying with great sensitivity the enduring sense of displacement, memory and cultural continuity connected to Country.
Awards
2004 - DVD 'Artists of the East Kimberley', Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
2001 - 18th NATSIAA, Darwin - Finalist
2000 - 17th NATSIAA, Darwin - Finalist
1999 - 16th NATSIAA, Darwin - Finalist
1999 - ABC TV 'Art from the Heart' produced by Richard Moore & Jeremy Eccles
1992 - 9th NATSIAA, Darwin - Finalist
1991 - 8th NATSIAA, Darwin - Finalist
1990 - 7th NATSIAA, Darwin - Finalist
2001 - 18th NATSIAA, Darwin - Finalist
2000 - 17th NATSIAA, Darwin - Finalist
1999 - 16th NATSIAA, Darwin - Finalist
1999 - ABC TV 'Art from the Heart' produced by Richard Moore & Jeremy Eccles
1992 - 9th NATSIAA, Darwin - Finalist
1991 - 8th NATSIAA, Darwin - Finalist
1990 - 7th NATSIAA, Darwin - Finalist
Exhibitions
2025 – Reverence 2025, D'Lan Contemporary, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2023 – Freddie Timms: NGARRMALINY, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2022 – Freddie Timms: Paintings, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2021 – Reverence, D'Lan Contemporary, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2018 – Mr Timms: Works from the Jirrawun Studio, RAFT Artspace, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2010 – East Kimberley Painting Revisited: Rover Thomas, Freddie Timms, Rusty Peters and Jack Britten, Michael Reid Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2008 – Jirrawun Colour: Rammey Ramsey and Freddie Timms, RAFT Artspace, Darwin, NT, Australia
2008 – Last Tango at Wyndham, Jirrawun Artists, RAFT Artspace, Darwin, NT, Australia
2004 – Freddie Timms, Melbourne Art Fair (Gould Galleries), Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2003 – Freddie Timms, Gould Galleries, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2002 – Freddie Timms, Gould Galleries, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
1999 – Recent Paintings, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1999 – Recent Paintings, Watters Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1998 – My Country, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
1998 – Freddie Timms and Ken Whisson: Landscape Paintings, Watters Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1997 – Recent Paintings, Watters Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1989 – Turkey Creek: Recent Work, Deutscher Gallery, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2023 – Freddie Timms: NGARRMALINY, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2022 – Freddie Timms: Paintings, Martin Browne Contemporary, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2021 – Reverence, D'Lan Contemporary, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2018 – Mr Timms: Works from the Jirrawun Studio, RAFT Artspace, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2010 – East Kimberley Painting Revisited: Rover Thomas, Freddie Timms, Rusty Peters and Jack Britten, Michael Reid Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2008 – Jirrawun Colour: Rammey Ramsey and Freddie Timms, RAFT Artspace, Darwin, NT, Australia
2008 – Last Tango at Wyndham, Jirrawun Artists, RAFT Artspace, Darwin, NT, Australia
2004 – Freddie Timms, Melbourne Art Fair (Gould Galleries), Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2003 – Freddie Timms, Gould Galleries, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2002 – Freddie Timms, Gould Galleries, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
1999 – Recent Paintings, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
1999 – Recent Paintings, Watters Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1998 – My Country, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
1998 – Freddie Timms and Ken Whisson: Landscape Paintings, Watters Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1997 – Recent Paintings, Watters Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1989 – Turkey Creek: Recent Work, Deutscher Gallery, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Group Exhibitions
2023 - Inspired: The Collectors Edition - Artists from the Kimberley Region, Coo-ee Art, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2023 - Ochre Painters of the Kimberley + Andrew Highfold: On the Lands, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, WA, Australia
2021 - Gillian and Watson McAllister Collection, Coo-ee Art, Bondi, NSW, Australia
2021 - SIGNIFICANT, D'Lan Contemporary, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2021 - Rover Thomas and Kimberley Ochre Painters, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, WA, Australia
2021 - Of the Land, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2021 - Voyage across Aboriginal Australia: Founders' Favourites, Fondation Burkhardt-Felder Arts et Culture, Moitiers, Switzerland
2019 - Earthworks, JGM Gallery, London, UK
2018 - Jooroob: Coming Together, Warmun Art and Jirrawun Artworks Exhibition, Australia
2018 - Moon Dreaming and Other Stories, Tim Melville Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
2017 - Jirrawun Collection, TARNANTHI Festival, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
2017 - When the Sky Fell: Legacies of the 1967 Referendum, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, Perth, WA, Australia
2017 - Group Exhibition, Lindsay Street Gallery, Darwin, NT, Australia
2016 - Cooee Art at Australian Galleries, Australian Galleries, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2014 - Warmun 2014, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2010 - Passing on Tradition: New and Old Kimberley, Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2009 - Parcours des Mondes: Arts d’Australie, Stéphane Jacob Gallery, Paris, France
2008 - Unearthed: Stories Written in the Land, Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2008 - Paintings from Remote Communities: Indigenous Australian Art from the Laverty Collection, Newcastle Regional Gallery, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
2007 - New Legend: Recent Works from the Kimberley, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2006 - Prism: Contemporary Australian Art, Bridgestone Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan
2006 - Great Masters, Aboriginal Art Museum, Utrecht, Netherlands
2006 - Second Shalom Gamarada Aboriginal Art Exhibition, Shalom College, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2005 - Interesting Times: Focus on Contemporary Australian Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2005 - Beyond the Frontier, Sherman Galleries, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2004 - Terra Alterius: Land of Another, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2003 - True Stories: Art of the East Kimberley, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2003 - Kelly Culture: Reconstructing Ned Kelly, State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2003 - Jirrawun Jazz, RAFT Artspace, Darwin, NT, Australia
2002 - Blood on the Spinifex, Ian Potter Museum of Art, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2002 - Rhapsodies in Country, GrantPirrie at Art Miami, Miami, FL, USA
2002 - Jirrawun Artists, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2001 - Four Men, Four Paintings, RAFT Artspace, Darwin, NT, Australia
2001 - A Century of Collecting 1901-2001, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2001 - Ochre, Short Street Gallery, Broome, WA, Australia
2001 - 18th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT, Australia
2000 - Opening 2000, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2000 - 17th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT, Australia
2000 - From Appreciation to Appropriation: Indigenous Influences and Images in Australian Visual Art, Flinders University Art Museum City Gallery, Adelaide, SA, Australia
2000 - Land Mark: Mirror Mark, Northern Territory University, Darwin, NT, Australia; Columbus State University, Georgia, USA; Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA
1999 - Mapping Our Countries, Djamu Gallery, Australian Museum, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1999 - 16th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT, Australia
1999 - A Thousand Journeys: Aboriginal Art from North Western Australia, Tin Sheds Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia, touring exhibition
1999 - My Country, Northern Territory University Gallery, Darwin, NT, Australia
1999 - Painting Country, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
1998 - The Laverty Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1998 - Jirrawun Aboriginal Artists, Martin Browne Fine Art, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1998 - Jirrawun Artists from Crocodile Hole, Jemma Stowe Gallery, Perth, WA, Australia
1998 - Summer Exhibition No. 13, Watters Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1997 - Summer Exhibition, Watters Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1997 - Pallingjang: Saltwater, Wollongong City Gallery, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
1996 - Art Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
1996 - Galerie Baudoin Lebon, FIAC, Paris, France
1996 - Utopia Art, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1995 - Turkey Creek Artists, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
1993 - Images of Power: Aboriginal Art of the Kimberley, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
1993-1994 - ARATJARRA: Art of the First Australians, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany; Hayward Gallery, London, UK; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark
1992 - Ninth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT, Australia
1991 - Eighth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT, Australia
1991 - Hogarth Galleries, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1991 - Lindsay Street Gallery, Darwin, NT, Australia
1990 - Seventh National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT, Australia
1990 - Dreamtime Gallery, Perth, WA, Australia
2023 - Ochre Painters of the Kimberley + Andrew Highfold: On the Lands, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, WA, Australia
2021 - Gillian and Watson McAllister Collection, Coo-ee Art, Bondi, NSW, Australia
2021 - SIGNIFICANT, D'Lan Contemporary, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2021 - Rover Thomas and Kimberley Ochre Painters, Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, WA, Australia
2021 - Of the Land, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2021 - Voyage across Aboriginal Australia: Founders' Favourites, Fondation Burkhardt-Felder Arts et Culture, Moitiers, Switzerland
2019 - Earthworks, JGM Gallery, London, UK
2018 - Jooroob: Coming Together, Warmun Art and Jirrawun Artworks Exhibition, Australia
2018 - Moon Dreaming and Other Stories, Tim Melville Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand
2017 - Jirrawun Collection, TARNANTHI Festival, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
2017 - When the Sky Fell: Legacies of the 1967 Referendum, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, Perth, WA, Australia
2017 - Group Exhibition, Lindsay Street Gallery, Darwin, NT, Australia
2016 - Cooee Art at Australian Galleries, Australian Galleries, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2014 - Warmun 2014, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2010 - Passing on Tradition: New and Old Kimberley, Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2009 - Parcours des Mondes: Arts d’Australie, Stéphane Jacob Gallery, Paris, France
2008 - Unearthed: Stories Written in the Land, Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2008 - Paintings from Remote Communities: Indigenous Australian Art from the Laverty Collection, Newcastle Regional Gallery, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
2007 - New Legend: Recent Works from the Kimberley, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2006 - Prism: Contemporary Australian Art, Bridgestone Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan
2006 - Great Masters, Aboriginal Art Museum, Utrecht, Netherlands
2006 - Second Shalom Gamarada Aboriginal Art Exhibition, Shalom College, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2005 - Interesting Times: Focus on Contemporary Australian Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2005 - Beyond the Frontier, Sherman Galleries, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2004 - Terra Alterius: Land of Another, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2003 - True Stories: Art of the East Kimberley, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2003 - Kelly Culture: Reconstructing Ned Kelly, State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2003 - Jirrawun Jazz, RAFT Artspace, Darwin, NT, Australia
2002 - Blood on the Spinifex, Ian Potter Museum of Art, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2002 - Rhapsodies in Country, GrantPirrie at Art Miami, Miami, FL, USA
2002 - Jirrawun Artists, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2001 - Four Men, Four Paintings, RAFT Artspace, Darwin, NT, Australia
2001 - A Century of Collecting 1901-2001, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2001 - Ochre, Short Street Gallery, Broome, WA, Australia
2001 - 18th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT, Australia
2000 - Opening 2000, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
2000 - 17th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT, Australia
2000 - From Appreciation to Appropriation: Indigenous Influences and Images in Australian Visual Art, Flinders University Art Museum City Gallery, Adelaide, SA, Australia
2000 - Land Mark: Mirror Mark, Northern Territory University, Darwin, NT, Australia; Columbus State University, Georgia, USA; Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA
1999 - Mapping Our Countries, Djamu Gallery, Australian Museum, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1999 - 16th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT, Australia
1999 - A Thousand Journeys: Aboriginal Art from North Western Australia, Tin Sheds Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia, touring exhibition
1999 - My Country, Northern Territory University Gallery, Darwin, NT, Australia
1999 - Painting Country, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
1998 - The Laverty Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1998 - Jirrawun Aboriginal Artists, Martin Browne Fine Art, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1998 - Jirrawun Artists from Crocodile Hole, Jemma Stowe Gallery, Perth, WA, Australia
1998 - Summer Exhibition No. 13, Watters Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1997 - Summer Exhibition, Watters Gallery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1997 - Pallingjang: Saltwater, Wollongong City Gallery, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
1996 - Art Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
1996 - Galerie Baudoin Lebon, FIAC, Paris, France
1996 - Utopia Art, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1995 - Turkey Creek Artists, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
1993 - Images of Power: Aboriginal Art of the Kimberley, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
1993-1994 - ARATJARRA: Art of the First Australians, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany; Hayward Gallery, London, UK; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark
1992 - Ninth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT, Australia
1991 - Eighth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT, Australia
1991 - Hogarth Galleries, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1991 - Lindsay Street Gallery, Darwin, NT, Australia
1990 - Seventh National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT, Australia
1990 - Dreamtime Gallery, Perth, WA, Australia
Collections
Aboriginal Art Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Adelaide City Council, Adelaide, SA, Australia
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
Artbank, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Gabrielle Pizzi Collection, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Holmes à Court Collection, Perth, WA, Australia
Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, CA, USA
Laverty Collection, Sydney, NSW, Australia
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT, Australia
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Private Collections, United Kingdom
Wollongong City Gallery, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
Adelaide City Council, Adelaide, SA, Australia
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
Artbank, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Gabrielle Pizzi Collection, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Holmes à Court Collection, Perth, WA, Australia
Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, CA, USA
Laverty Collection, Sydney, NSW, Australia
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT, Australia
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Private Collections, United Kingdom
Wollongong City Gallery, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
Market Analysis
Freddie Timms’s work first appeared at auction in 1995, when a single painting measuring 60 × 80 cm, with Waringarri Arts provenance, sold at Sotheby’s for $1,840. Today a comparable work would likely achieve many times that figure, reflecting the steady growth of Timms’s market over the past three decades.
By the end of 2001, a total of 23 works had appeared at auction, with 21 successfully sold, achieving an impressive early clearance rate of 91% and an average price of approximately $5,140. Although the clearance rate has moderated over time to around 70%, the artist’s average auction price has continued to strengthen, reaching approximately $10,000.
Unlike some artists whose markets are strongly influenced by provenance or particular stylistic periods, the value of Timms’s paintings tends to be determined primarily by scale and aesthetic strength. Works with balanced compositions and a clear, harmonious use of colour consistently attract the strongest prices. Large-scale paintings have generally performed best, with major works (larger than 180 × 200 cm) averaging around $30,000, while mid-sized paintings typically achieve around $8,000–$10,000, and smaller works around $5,000.
Among the artist’s most notable auction results is Mandangala, North Turkey Creek (1990), measuring 120 × 160 cm, which sold for $52,200 at Sotheby’s in 2005. The following year a monumental five-panel painting, My Country (1996), measuring 120 × 240 cm per panel, realised $66,000 at Lawson-Menzies in 2006. This same work later sold privately through Cooee Art (now Art Leven) in 2019 for $100,000, demonstrating the continuing strength of the artist’s market for major works.
Another significant early result was Lake Argyle Triptych (1996), measuring 180 × 360 cm, which achieved a strong result at Lawson-Menzies in 2005. In 2010, the painting Top Country (1996) realised $53,479 at Mossgreen, confirming that both the artist’s earlier ochre-based works and later acrylic paintings can achieve strong prices when the composition and scale are compelling.
Timms also produced a number of limited-edition prints during the later part of his career. These have generally remained close to their original retail prices on the secondary market, with prints and works on paper achieving more modest results compared to his major paintings.
Auction activity increased during the 2000s, with the majority of the artist’s highest results recorded after 2003. While the number of works offered fluctuated during the following decade, demand for well-resolved paintings remained steady. Even in quieter years the artist continued to rank among the more successful East Kimberley painters on the secondary market.
Freddie Timms passed away in 2017, by which time he had firmly established himself as one of the leading artists of the second generation of the East Kimberley painting movement. Following his death, and with the closure of Jirrawun Arts, new works have largely disappeared from the primary market. As a result, collectors now rely predominantly on the secondary market to acquire significant examples of his work.
With a substantial body of work produced over several decades and continued institutional recognition of the East Kimberley movement, Timms’s paintings remain highly regarded by collectors. While his market has developed steadily rather than dramatically, the combination of strong historical significance, distinctive visual language and increasing scarcity suggests that his best works will continue to strengthen in value over time.
By the end of 2001, a total of 23 works had appeared at auction, with 21 successfully sold, achieving an impressive early clearance rate of 91% and an average price of approximately $5,140. Although the clearance rate has moderated over time to around 70%, the artist’s average auction price has continued to strengthen, reaching approximately $10,000.
Unlike some artists whose markets are strongly influenced by provenance or particular stylistic periods, the value of Timms’s paintings tends to be determined primarily by scale and aesthetic strength. Works with balanced compositions and a clear, harmonious use of colour consistently attract the strongest prices. Large-scale paintings have generally performed best, with major works (larger than 180 × 200 cm) averaging around $30,000, while mid-sized paintings typically achieve around $8,000–$10,000, and smaller works around $5,000.
Among the artist’s most notable auction results is Mandangala, North Turkey Creek (1990), measuring 120 × 160 cm, which sold for $52,200 at Sotheby’s in 2005. The following year a monumental five-panel painting, My Country (1996), measuring 120 × 240 cm per panel, realised $66,000 at Lawson-Menzies in 2006. This same work later sold privately through Cooee Art (now Art Leven) in 2019 for $100,000, demonstrating the continuing strength of the artist’s market for major works.
Another significant early result was Lake Argyle Triptych (1996), measuring 180 × 360 cm, which achieved a strong result at Lawson-Menzies in 2005. In 2010, the painting Top Country (1996) realised $53,479 at Mossgreen, confirming that both the artist’s earlier ochre-based works and later acrylic paintings can achieve strong prices when the composition and scale are compelling.
Timms also produced a number of limited-edition prints during the later part of his career. These have generally remained close to their original retail prices on the secondary market, with prints and works on paper achieving more modest results compared to his major paintings.
Auction activity increased during the 2000s, with the majority of the artist’s highest results recorded after 2003. While the number of works offered fluctuated during the following decade, demand for well-resolved paintings remained steady. Even in quieter years the artist continued to rank among the more successful East Kimberley painters on the secondary market.
Freddie Timms passed away in 2017, by which time he had firmly established himself as one of the leading artists of the second generation of the East Kimberley painting movement. Following his death, and with the closure of Jirrawun Arts, new works have largely disappeared from the primary market. As a result, collectors now rely predominantly on the secondary market to acquire significant examples of his work.
With a substantial body of work produced over several decades and continued institutional recognition of the East Kimberley movement, Timms’s paintings remain highly regarded by collectors. While his market has developed steadily rather than dramatically, the combination of strong historical significance, distinctive visual language and increasing scarcity suggests that his best works will continue to strengthen in value over time.
