After Dutch expeditions reached New Guinea's Lake Sentani island and Humboldt Bay in the mid-1800s, Western visitors began collecting works by local artists. Ancestors of the Lake is a stunning look at the region's distinctive art, such as its highly stylized wooden sculptures and decoratively and abstractly designed barkcloths. This beautifully illustrated volume brings together many of these important historic pieces for the first time, including the landmark collection of French writer and art dealer Jacques Viot, along with photographs by Paul Wirz. The book also explores how European Surrealist artists found inspiration in the art of New Guinea, highlighted by rarely seen photographs by Man Ray of Sentani sculpture.



Distributed for The Menil Collection

Exhibition Schedule:

The Menil Collection 
(05/06/11-08/28/11)

The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich, UK
(09/27/11-12/11/11)

Contributions by: Anna-Karina Hermkens, Philippe Peltier, Dirk Smidt, Muridan Widjojo