After his death in 2021, Gulpilil’s family and mob used planes, boats, vans and helicopters to transport his casket, with a documentary crew in tow. As his son reflects: ‘We have to fulfil his wishes – by any means’

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains images and names of Indigenous Australians who have died

He was a man who danced between two worlds, carried stories across continents and, on his final journey, returned to the land that made him.

Before his death in November 2021, actor David Gulpilil made one final request: to be laid to rest in his ancestral home, deep in remote East Arnhem Land. Honouring that wish became a monumental undertaking and the subject of a documentary releasing across Australia next week called Journey Home, David Gulpilil.

The museum has declined to answer key questions about the decision to return the artwork, prompting the New York-based researcher who uncovered the story to challenge the NGV’s handling of the case

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The National Gallery of Victoria has quietly returned a 17th-century painting to the descendants of a Jewish family who lost it during the Nazi era, without public announcement or explanation.

The painting, Lady with a Fan by Gerard ter Borch, was removed from the NGV’s website in early September. The only public trace of its return appeared weeks later, in an update to the Lost Art Database in Germany.