By Geoffrey Williams, Founder and Publishing Curator, The Indigenous Art Book
Founded by Jane Lewis in 2008 on Wadawurrung land in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, Raintree Art welcomes national and international visitors to their popular Australian Aboriginal Art gallery, retail and event space, and also operates as an online gallery and shop that is popular with customers from all over Australia and the world.
The name ‘Raintree Art’ has a fascinating history within the Australian Aboriginal Art Movement. In 1986, the late Aunty Shirley Collins (26 August 1938–19 July 2022) established her own Raintree Aboriginal Fine Art Gallery that would be recognised as the first Indigenous-owned and operated Aboriginal Art Gallery in the Northern Territory. As well as being a fastidious keeper of the sacred and ancient details and stories shared in the paintings she acquired for her gallery, Shirley Collins forged a ground-breaking and transcendent international pathway for Indigenous Art and fashion.
‘I first met Aunty Shirley in 2001 when I was living in Darwin selling postcards,’ Jane recalls. ‘Over the years, Shirley and I became good friends, and I ended up working with her in 2005 until her gallery closed. I was pregnant when I finished with Shirley, and just before my son turned two, my partner and I decided to move to Ballarat to be closer to family. Shirley wanted to know what I would be doing with my time. I suggested that would be a lady of leisure and she wasn’t amused! Before I knew it, Shirley was collecting Australian Aboriginal Art in Darwin, and I was selling it on the internet.’
Jane Lewis (left) and Aunty Shirley Collins pictured in 2014 at the opening of Jane’s ‘Raintree Art’ in Ballarat.
Image courtesy of Raintree Art. © 2024. All rights reserved. Reproduction is strictly forbidden in all national and international jurisdictions.
‘In 2008, Shirley gifted me the name Raintree Art and her logo to continue her dream of an Aboriginal Art gallery, and she continued to work with me in an advisory role until she sadly passed away in 2022. As my son has grown, so has Raintree Art. What began as a part time job has become an all-consuming passion for me, and we are now open six days a week and send our beautiful paintings and giftware to their new homes.’
Q&A with Jane Lewis
What do you enjoy the most about owning and operating your Aboriginal Art Gallery?
It’s a very peaceful space to work in, and the people you meet are wonderful.
What is the most challenging aspect of owning and operating your Aboriginal Art Gallery?
It can be challenging at times because people can have misconceptions about how the industry works.
What advice would you give someone who was considering beginning their own collection of Australian Aboriginal Art?
Buy what you like, and don’t worry what anyone else thinks.
Family Swimming by the Sea by Deidre Burgoyne Rosier. Painted in 2024. Acrylic on canvas. 126cm x 67cm.
Image courtesy of Raintree Art. © 2024. All rights reserved. Reproduction is strictly forbidden in all national and international jurisdictions.
If you were able to choose a favourite painting that is for sale in your gallery, what would it be and why?
My current favourite piece is this beautiful painting by Deidre Burgoyne Rosier called ‘Family Swimming by the Sea’. You can see the ocean move. I just love it! It reminds me of summer as a kid down the beach.
Raintree Art, 64 School Lane, Cambrian Hill, Victoria Australia
The fascinating life story of Aunty Shirley Collins – Shirley Collins: My Country, My Life by Shirley Collins with Deborah Bisa and Matthew Stephen – is available from Raintree Art here: https://raintreeart.com.au/products/shirley-collins-my-country-my-life-pre-order
Geoffrey Williams is the Founder and Publishing Curator of The Indigenous Art Book. He is based in Darwin, Australia. The Traditional Owners of Darwin and the surrounding region are the Larrakia (Saltwater) people. Larrakia country runs far beyond the municipal boundaries of Darwin, covering the area from the Cox Peninsula in the west to the Adelaide River in the east.
What a beautiful article that describes with great understanding the beginnings and progress of Raintree Art. The memory of Aunty Shirley lives on as Jane works with Indigenous artists to paint stories with profound meaning. M. L.