A&U acquires artist biography by Andrew Bailey

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this article contains the name of a deceased person.

Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to the nonfiction title Emily: Emily Kame Kngwarreye, the artist who changed Australia by Andrew Bailey.

An Anmatyerr artist from the Central Desert region, the late Emily Kame Kngwarreye only started painting at the age of 79. “She is now regarded by many as Australia’s most important artist, with an international reputation that continues to grow,” said the publisher. “She has twice been represented at the Venice Biennale, and a solo retrospective of her work appeared at the Tate Modern in London in 2025.”

Bailey is a former business executive and publisher of the weekly art newsletter The Easel. He has held roles in the Commonwealth Treasury and McKinsey & Company, and senior executive roles at Optus Communications, Crown Castle Australia and the Department of Climate Change.

The publisher said, “Bailey shows we still greatly underestimate Kngwarreye. This is the previously untold story of the emergence of contemporary Indigenous art, and a compelling insight into how Australia sees itself.”

Bailey said, “Rarely, if ever, has Australia produced an artist –any artist – who so instantly and emphatically claimed national attention. Emily shows how her striking work was a catalyst for profound national cultural change in the final decade of the 20th century.”

Publisher Elizabeth Weiss said, “Andrew Bailey has been able to uncover the remarkable story of Emily Kngwarreye’s rise to prominence with deep support from an Indigenous reference group, and from people who worked with her, such as Utopia Art Sydney gallerist Chris Hodges.”

Allen & Unwin plans to publish Emily in October 2026.

Category: Local news Rights and acquisitions