Albert namatjira biography

Biography

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Albert Namatjira

Albert Namatjira was born on 28 July , the first son of Namatjira and Ljukuta. His father was baptised at the Hermannsburg Lutheran Mission in and adopted the name ‘Jonathan’, and his mother was blessed with the name ‘Emilie’. In the same ceremony, their son Elea, was also baptised and given the now famous name, ‘Albert’.

The Hermannsburg Lutheran Mission was located at the base of Mt. Hermannsburg on the banks of the Finke River in central Australia. Established by missionaries Pastor Kemp and Schwarz in , the settlement was named after the German town, Hermannsburg, where they had trained. Namatjira attended the Lutheran Mission school as a young boy and at thirteen underwent his traditional initiation.

Around eighteen years of age, Namatjira left Hermannsburg to elope with Ilkalita. The couple returned to the mission with their three children in where Ilkalita was baptised and adopted the name ‘Rubina’.

To support his family, Namatjira worked on neighbouring cattle stations and made mulga wood plaques decorated with hot poker designs. He was a competent craftsman, however, following a meeting with Melbourne artist Rex Battarbee during an exhibition of his work at the mission, Namatjira seriously turned his mind to the idea of painting for a living.

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Namatjira, Albert ( - )

Albert Namatjira was the first indigenous artist to paint and exhibit professionally in Western style. He painted his country and was both prodigious and successful, producing approximately two thousand pictures and founding a school of painting that continues today.

Namatjira, an Arrernte man, was born on 28th July near Ntaria (site of the Hermannsburg Mission, about kilometres from Alice Springs). Visiting artist Rex Battarbee first taught him the technique of watercolour painting. In Battarbee took Namatjira on an eight-week painting tour, giving him the only tuition he was to receive.

Namatjira&#;s first solo exhibition of 41 works was held in Melbourne in All works sold quickly. Over the next ten years exhibitions were held in various capital cities of Australia and Namatjira became a celebrity. He was awarded the Queen&#;s Coronation medal in ; was flown to Canberra to meet the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in ; his portrait, by William Dargie, won the Archibald prize in ; and in he was granted citizenship (a status denied to most Aboriginal people at the time). Before his death on 8 August at least three films had been made about him.

Source: Australia Post web site, July , on release of Namatjira Centenary stamp series.
Photo: , Nati