Albert Namatjira
Dog Hunting Kangaroo
14.5 x 48 cm
pokerwork on mulgawood
Code #:19926
SOLD
Provenance
Born and raised at Hermannsburg, Namatjira was introduced to the Western style of painting in the early 1930s by visiting artists Rex Battarbee and John Gardner.
Before he became a household name as a celebrated watercolour artist, he and his Arrernte countrymen at Hermannsburg were encouraged to make a range of souvenirs for Central Australia’s burgeoning tourist trade. In response to increasing tourist numbers after the extension of the railway to Alice Springs in 1929, Albert explored a variety of different products and materials to paint on by referencing things that he was familiar with, and that were special to him and his family. Mulga, being used traditionally to make boomerangs and other objects, was a natural medium.
Namatjira was a Lutheran and once he was christened, he became an active member of the church, working briefly as a missionary. He made plaques based on those that the missionaries had in their homes which were inscribed with religious phrases. In this way he began to realise he could make a living in art.
Provenance
Hermannsburg Mission, NT
Private Collection, SA
Inscribed verso: Albert. Hermannsburg, Palm Valley Central Australia
Story
Born and raised at Hermannsburg, Namatjira was introduced to the Western style of painting in the early 1930s by visiting artists Rex Battarbee and John Gardner.
Before he became a household name as a celebrated watercolour artist, he and his Arrernte countrymen at Hermannsburg were encouraged to make a range of souvenirs for Central Australia’s burgeoning tourist trade. In response to increasing tourist numbers after the extension of the railway to Alice Springs in 1929, Albert explored a variety of different products and materials to paint on by referencing things that he was familiar with, and that were special to him and his family. Mulga, being used traditionally to make boomerangs and other objects, was a natural medium.
Namatjira was a Lutheran and once he was christened, he became an active member of the church, working briefly as a missionary. He made plaques based on those that the missionaries had in their homes which were inscribed with religious phrases. In this way he began to realise he could make a living in art.
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