# Lin Onus artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/lin-onus/
Profile generated: 2026-05-14T18:27:30.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1948-12-04
- Death date: 1996-10-23
- Nationality: Australian
- Movements: Contemporary Indigenous Australian art
- Common media: Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking

## About Lin Onus

Lin Onus (1948–1996), born William McLintock Onus in Melbourne, was an Australian painter, sculptor, and printmaker of Scottish and Aboriginal heritage. The son of prominent Aboriginal activist Bill Onus, Lin Onus developed a distinctive visual language that merged Western realist techniques with Indigenous Australian iconography and storytelling traditions. He is recognized as a significant figure in contemporary Indigenous Australian art, and his work has been acquired by major public collections. Onus was active from the 1970s until his death in 1996, producing paintings, mixed-media sculptures, and editioned prints that continue to appear in Australian and international art markets.

## Common works and media

Collectors most frequently encounter Lin Onus's acrylic and oil paintings on canvas, many of which combine photorealistic landscapes or still-life imagery with Aboriginal motifs such as cross-hatching (rarrk) and spirit figures. His lily-pad and water-scene paintings are particularly well known. Onus also produced mixed-media sculptures—often incorporating carved and painted elements—and limited-edition prints including linocuts and screenprints. Editioned graphic works and smaller paintings represent a more accessible entry point, while larger canvases and sculptural pieces from his mature period command stronger attention at major Australian auction houses.

## Market and appraisal context

Lin Onus's work appears regularly at auction, with a substantial recorded catalogue spanning paintings, sculptures, and prints. Key factors that affect valuation include the medium and scale of the work, whether it is a unique piece or a limited-edition print, the period within his career it was produced, provenance history, and condition. Works that strongly reflect his signature blend of photorealism and Aboriginal imagery tend to draw particular collector interest. Because the source pack does not include specific realized prices, collectors should consult recent Australian art auction results for comparable lots before estimating value.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine structured artist-identity research from library authority files and public biographical sources with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lot data when those records are available. For Lin Onus, identity data is sourced from the Getty Union List of Artist Names, VIAF, Wikidata, and the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History.

## Sources

- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/318222
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1825603
- VIAF (OCLC): https://viaf.org/viaf/48566541/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500124124
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Onus