The art of Clifford Possum is notable for its brilliant manipulation of three-dimensional space. Many of his canvases have strong figurative elements which stand out from the highly descriptive background dotting. He expanded the scope of Papunya Tula painting by placing the trails of several ancestors on the same canvas in the fashion of a road map.
Within this framework, he depicted the land geographically. In doing so Clifford, as well as the other artists involved with the Papunya Tula Movement helped to develop the true definition of Aboriginal art, an art revolving around a culture, The Jukurrpa.
Clifford’s majestic painting Warlugulong (previously bought by the Commonwealth Bank for just $1200) was auctioned by Sotheby’s on 24 July 2007. Pre-auction, the work was expected to make art history as the most expensive Aboriginal canvas at auction. The work was tipped to fetch up to A$2.5 million, more than double the then-record for Aboriginal art at auction.
The work in fact sold for $2.4 million and the day after the auction it was revealed that the National Gallery of Australia was the buyer.
