Rare Papunya works from a landmark private collection headline D Lan Galleries’ Significant 2026

A group of rare early Papunya paintings from the private collection of Melbourne couple Carey Lyon and Jo Crosbywill headline Significant 2026, D Lan Galleries’ major annual exhibition running 14 May–27 June across Naarm/Melbourne, Gadigal/Sydney and New York/Lenapehoking.

At the centre of the presentation is Kaapa Mbitjana Tjampitjinpa‘s Honey Ant Travelling Dreaming (1971), created during the pivotal 1971–72 period when senior Aboriginal men at Papunya first translated ceremonial knowledge onto portable surfaces — a moment now understood as the founding gesture of the contemporary Indigenous Australian art movement. The cultural weight of the Honey Ant Dreaming narrative was already recognised at the time: it was chosen as the culminating subject of the Papunya school mural project, and its completion is widely regarded as a defining episode in the history of the Western Desert Art movement.

The ten works were assembled over more than fifteen years through direct relationships with artists and art centres, and time spent on Country. The collection also includes works by Johnny Warangula Tjupurrula and Uta Uta Tjangala, and several pieces have previously been loaned to public institutions. Lyon has spoken of the collection’s origins in learning rather than acquisition. “It grew out of time spent on Country and learning from artists,” he said. “Honey Ant Travelling Dreaming, in particular, carries an extraordinary cultural weight — it is both visually powerful and deeply grounded in knowledge systems that predate Western art history by millennia.”

Proceeds from the sale will support a new philanthropic initiative focused on architecture and design, reflecting the collectors’ longstanding interest in the intersection of cultural practice and the built environment.

The presentation comes amid intensifying international demand for historically significant First Nations Australian works, with growing interest across the United States and Europe. D’Lan Davidson, founder of D Lan Galleries, describes the collection as among the most important in Australian art, full stop. “These works are widely considered some of the most historically important and beautiful in all of Australian art, whether that be Indigenous or non-Indigenous,” he said. “And increasingly they are now being understood and recognised in that context globally.”

Alongside the Lyon and Crosby works, Significant 2026 will present nearly sixty museum-quality pieces including Shorty Lungkata‘s Man Dreaming (1972) and the rarely seen Special Ceremony (1972) by Yumpululu Tjungurrayi.

Founded in Naarm/Melbourne in 2016, D Lan Galleries operates across three cities and contributes 30 per cent of net profits back to First Nations artists, projects and communities, alongside a voluntary resale royalty scheme.

Significant 2026 opens 14 May at D Lan Galleries’ Naarm/Melbourne, Gadigal/Sydney and New York locations. Visit dlangalleries.com for full details.