Namatjira outside Government House, Sydney, circa 1947.

Albert Namatjira (28 July 1902 – 8 August 1959), born Elea Namatjira, was one of Australia's most acclaimed visual artists. He was a Western Arrernte man, an Indigenous Australian of the Western MacDonnell Ranges area. Albert Namatjira is one of Australia's great artists, and perhaps the best known Aboriginal painter. Image File history File links Namatjira_govt_house_sydney. ... Image File history File links Namatjira_govt_house_sydney. ... Government House is located in Sydney and was the official residence of the Governor of New South Wales, Australia. ... is the 209th day of the year (210th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 220th day of the year (221st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Many times, the term art is used to refer to the visual arts. ... Artist Albert Namatjira was a Western Arrernte man. ... Australian Aborigines are the indigenous peoples of Australia. ... The MacDonnell Ranges of the Northern Territory, are a 644 km (400 mile) long mountain range located in the center of Australia (23°42′S 132°30′E), and consist of parallel ridges running to the east and west of Alice Springs. ...

Though in his early career, his use of artwork that he painted a wide variety of subjects, he is best known for his watercolour Australian outback desert landscapes, a style which inspired the Hermannsburg School of Aboriginal art. While his work is obviously the product of his life and experiences, his paintings are not in the highly symbolic style of traditional Aboriginal art; they are richly detailed depictions. He is also notable for being the first Northern Territory Aborigine to be granted Australian citizenship in the sense of being freed from the restrictions of discriminatory legislation that made Aborigines wards of the State. Watercolor is a painting technique making use of water-soluble pigments that are either transparent or opaque and are formulated with gum to bond the pigment to the paper. ... For other uses, see Outback (disambiguation). ... The Hermannsburg School is an art movement, or art style, which began at the Hermannsburg mission in the 1930s. ... Aboriginal hollow log tomb Aboriginal art is art done by Australian Aborigines, covering art that pre-dates European colonisation as well as contemporary art by Aborigines based on traditional culture. ... Australian Aboriginal art refers to art done by Australian Aborigines, covering art that pre-dates European colonisation as well as contemporary art by Aborigines based on traditional culture. ... Citizen redirects here. ...

In his childhood

Born at Hermannsburg Lutheran Mission, Northern Territory, near Alice Springs in 1902, he was raised on the Hermannsburg Mission and baptised after his parents' adoption of Christianity. After a western style upbringing on the mission, at the age of 16, Namatjira returned to the bush for initiation and was exposed to traditional culture as a member of the Arrernte community (which he was to eventually become an elder within). He obtained the love and respect of his land that is seen in his works. After he returned, he married his wife Rubina at the age of 18. His wife, like his father's wife, was from the wrong "skin" group and he violated the law of his people by marrying outside the classificatory kinship system. He was ostracised for several years in which he worked as a camel driver and saw much of Central Australia, which he was later to depict in his paintings. Alice Springs Landsat image Alice Springs is the second largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. ... Topics in Christianity Preaching Prayer Ecumenism Relation to other religions Movements Music Liturgy Calendar Symbols Art Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Central Australia is a term used to describe the area of land surrounding and including Alice Springs in Australia. ...

Although doing a small amount of rough but non-traditional artwork in his youth, he was introduced to western style painting through an exhibition by two painters from Melbourne at his mission in 1934. One of these painters, Rex Battarbee, returned to the area in the winter of 1936 to paint the landscape and Albert acted as a guide to show him local scenic areas. In return Albert was shown how to paint with watercolours, a skill that he quickly excelled at. While he first started with crayons, he quickly progressed onto watercolours and Battarbee soon realised Albert's true potential. This article is about the Australian city; the name may also refer to City of Melbourne or Melbourne city centre (also known as The CBD). ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The height of success

Albert Namatjira started painting in a distinctly unique style. His landscapes normally highlighted both the rugged geological features of the land in the background, and the distinctive Australian flora in the foreground with very old stately and majestic white gum trees surrounded by twisted scrub. His work had a high quality of illumination showing the gashes of the land and the twists in the trees in a breathtaking manner. His colours were similar to the ochres that his ancestors had used to show the same landscape, but his style was appreciated by Europeans because it met the aesthetics of western art.

In 1938 his first exhibition was held in Melbourne and sold out. Subsequent exhibitions in Sydney and Adelaide also sold out. For ten years Namatjira continued to paint, his works continuing to sell quickly and his popularity continuing to rise. Queen Elizabeth II became one of his more notable fans and he was awarded the Queen's Coronation medal in 1953 and met her in Canberra in 1954. Not only did his own art become wildly recognized, but even a painting of him by William Dargie won the Archibald Prize in 1956. He became popular, critically acclaimed and wealthy. He, however, was always glad to return to the outback. Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the Australian city; the name may also refer to City of Melbourne or Melbourne city centre (also known as The CBD). ... This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. ... For other uses, see Adelaide (disambiguation). ... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen sovereign states, holding each crown and title equally. ... For other uses, see Canberra (disambiguation). ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar). ... Sir William Dargie, (1912-2003) Australian painter, known especially for his portrait paintings. ... Marcus Willss winning painting in 2006, The Paul Juraszek Monolith, was based on this print by an earlier Marcus, Marcus Gheeraerts The Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important portraiture prize, and is the most prominent of all arts prizes, in Australia. ... A car from 1956 Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Artworks

Namatjira's artworks were colourful and varied depictions of the Australian landscape. One of his first landscapes from 1936, Central Australian Landscape, shows a land of rolling green hills. Another early work, Ajantzi Waterhole (1937), shows a close up view of a small waterhole, with Albert capturing the reflection in the water beautifully well. The landscape becomes one of contrasting colours, a device that is often used by Western painters, with red hills and green trees in Red Bluff (1938). Central Australian Gorge (1940) shows detailed rendering of rocks and reflections in the water. In Flowering Shrubs he contrasts the blossoming flowers in the foreground with the more barren desert and cliffs in the background. Namatjira's love of trees was often described so that his paintings of trees were more portraits than landscapes, which is shown in the portrait of the often depicted ghost gum in Ghost Gum Glen Helen (c.1945-49). His skills at colouring trees can be seen clearly in this portrait and Namatjira was fully aware of his own talent, as when describing another landscape painter Namatjira said to William Dargie.

"He does not know how to make the side of a tree which is in the light look the same colour as the side of the tree in shadow...I know how to do better."

His skills kept increasing with experience as is shown in the highly photographic quality of Mt Hermannsburg (1957), painted only two years before he died.

Citizenship and demise

Namatjira on his way to Alice Springs.

Due to his wealth, Namatjira soon found himself the subject of "humbugging", a ritualised form of begging. Arrernte are expected to share everything they own, and as Namatjira's income grew, so did his extended family. At one time he was single-handedly providing for over six hundred people. To ease the burden on his straining resources, Namatjira sought to lease a cattle station to benefit his extended family. Originally granted, the lease was subsequently rejected because the land was part of a returned servicemen's ballot, and also because he had no ancestral claim on the property. He then tried to build a house in Alice Springs, but was cheated in his land dealings. The land he was sold was on a flood plain and was unsuitable for building. The Minister for Territories, Paul Hasluck, offered him free land in a reserve on the outskirts of Alice Springs, but this was rejected, and Albert and his family took up residence in a squalid shanty at Morris Soak -- a dry creek bed some distance from Alice Springs. Despite the fact that he was held as one of Australia's greatest artists he was living in abject poverty. His plight became a media cause celebre, resulting in a wave of public outrage. Image File history File links Albert_Namatjira_refuelling_for_a_trip_to_Alice_Springs. ... Image File history File links Albert_Namatjira_refuelling_for_a_trip_to_Alice_Springs. ... Alice Springs on a large scale map Alice Springs is a large town in the Northern Territory of Australia located at 23°42′ S 133°52′ E. Its population of 28,178 (2001 Census) makes it the second-largest settlement in the Territory (the only other towns of significant size...

The government granted Albert and his wife Australian citizenship in 1957, in the sense of exempting them from the restrictive legislation that applied only to Aborigines. This entitled them to vote, own land, build a house and buy alcohol. Although Albert and Rubina were legally allowed to drink alcohol, his Aboriginal family and friends were still Wards of the State, and were not. The nomadic Arrernte culture expected him to share everything he owned, even after they ceased being nomads. It was this contradiction that was to bring Namatjira into conflict with the white man's law. Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Voting is a method of decision making wherein a group such as a meeting or an electorate attempts to gauge its opinion—usually as a final step following discussions or debates. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

When an Aboriginal woman Fay Iowa was killed at Morris Soak, Namatjira was held responsible by Jim Lemaire the Stipendiary Magistrate for bringing alcohol into the camp. He was reprimanded at the coronial inquest. It was against the law for an Australian citizen to supply alcohol to a native. Albert was charged with leaving a bottle of rum in a place i.e. on a car seat where a native, a clan brother and fellow Hermannsburg artist Henoch Raberaba, could get access to it. He was sentenced to six months in prison for supplying an Aboriginal with liquor. After a public uproar the Minister for Territories, Paul Hasluck intervened and the sentence was served at Papunya Native Reserve. He was released after only serving two months due to medical and humanitarian reasons.

Despondent after his incarceration, he continued to live with Rubina in a cottage at Papunya, where he suffered a heart attack. There is evidence that Albert believed that he had the bone pointed at him by a member of Fay Iowa's family. That Albert was being "sung" to death was also held by Frank Clune, a popular travel writer, aboriginal activist, and organiser of Albert's whirlwind 1956 trip.

After being transferred to Alice Springs hospital, Namatjira astonished his mentor Rex Battarbee by presenting him with three of the best landscapes he ever painted, with a promise of more to come; a promise unrealised. He died soon after of heart disease complicated by pneumonia on September 8, 1959 in Alice Springs, only two years after he was granted citizenship.

Since the death of Albert Namatjira

At the time of his death Namatjira had painted a total of around two thousand paintings and had two short biographical films made about him. His unique style of painting however was denounced soon after his death by many indigenous art puritans as being a product of his assimilation into western culture, rather than his own connection to his subject matter or his natural style.^{[citation needed]} This view, although still present in some critics thoughts,^{[citation needed]} has been largely abandoned and Albert Namatjira is hailed as one of the greatest Australian artists of all time and a pioneer for Aboriginal rights.

Namatjira's work is on public display in some of Australia's major art galleries, with some noteworthy exceptions. The Art Gallery of NSW rejected Namatjira's work. In the words of Hal Missingham, the then Director of the gallery: "We'll consider his work when it comes up to scratch".

Albert Namatjira is the subject of a song of the same name by the Australian band Not Drowning, Waving, included on their 1993 album, Circus. He is also referenced in Midnight Oil's song, Truganani, We Are Australian and in Archie Roach's song, Native Born. Not Drowning, Waving were a musical group formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1983 (though they first performed as a group in 1984) by David Bridie and John Phillips. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Truganani is a song by Australian band, Midnight Oil. ... Archie Roach (born 1956, Mooroopna, Victoria) is an Australian musician. ...

References

• Kleinert. Namatjira, Albert {Elea) (1902 - 1959). Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved on 2007-11-16.
• Biography - Australian National Botanic Gardens

The Dictionary of Australian Biography is a reference work containing information on notable people associated with Australian history. ... The Australian National University, or ANU, is a public university located in Canberra, Australia. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Seeing the Centre: The art of Albert Namatjira 1902-1959, a National Gallery of Australia travelling and online exhibition
• Albert Namatjira photograph collection, National Library of Australia
• Namatjira's works in the National Gallery of Australia