Namatjira, Albert

Namatjira, Albert

(born July 28, 1902, Hermannsburg, near Alice Springs, N.Terr., Austl.—died Aug. 8, 1959, Alice Springs) Australian Aboriginal painter. A member of the Aranda tribe, Namatjira learned European watercolour painting techniques at a Lutheran mission school. In 1936 he sold his first painting, and, in 1938, he sold all 41 watercolours on display in his first major solo exhibition in Melbourne. He exhibited his work—generally depictions of the desertlike landscape of central Australia—frequently in the next two decades and became well known in Australia and overseas. One of his paintings was presented to Queen Elizabeth II in 1954.