Inscription on Namatjira's Grave

Back to the Namajira picture in the gallery

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ALBERT NAMATJIRA

Born at Hermannsburg July 26th, 1902
Died at Alice Springs August 8th, 1959

Albert Namatjira was a man of the Western Arrernte People. He was born in Hermannsburg in 1902 and died in Alice Springs in 1959.

He began painting in water colours at the age of 33 and became famous during his own lifetime for his beautiful painting of the country to the west of Alice Springs. Other Aboriginal people from the Hermannsburg area followed, founding the Hermannsburg School of water colourists.

Albert's work is internationally known and has become extremely valuable. Not only is he the most famous Aboriginal artist Australia has known, but he was a wonderful Central Australian man who expressed a rare artistic genius in a social context of poverty, discrimination and difficulty.