ALBERT NAMATJIRA - ARANDA LANDSCAPE

 ALBERT NAMATJIRA
ARANDA LANDSCAPE,  0.195
23.5 x 33.5 cm
Watercolour and pencil on paper
 
PROVENANCE
Hermannsburg Central Desert, NT
Private Collection, N.TPrivate Collection, VIC 
 
STORY
Albert Namatjira began painting in the early 1930s and his aptitude in capturing the high colouring of the desert landscape, the gorges and valleys of the country of his birth and his Dreaming,Ā brought him instant success. He typically painted his desert country from a slightly elevated point of view, as if looking down, ever so slightly on the landscape. He was able to capture the subtleties of colour as the desert changes from the soft tones of summer heat, to the rich colours of the early morning and late evening light. The majority of his paintings lack a central focal point yet a visual emphasis on the edges holds the composition in balance without either a dominance of forms near the centre or a hierarchy of formsā€™. While he is 'often characterized as a tragic figure trapped between two worlds and two art traditions' Albert Namatjiraā€™s paintings of the Western MacDonnell Ranges, Mount Sonder and the surrounding desert have endured to become synonymous with a romantic vision of the Australian outback.
 
EXHIBITED
Cooee Art Gallery at Australian Galleries, April 2016, Australian Galleries Sydney