Kitty Pultara Napaljarri facts for kids
Kitty Pultara Napaljarri (born around 1930) is an Indigenous artist from Australia. She speaks the Anmatyerre language. Kitty was born at Napperby Station, which is east of Yuendumu, Northern Territory. She worked there and started painting around 1986. Her artworks are kept in important places like the Art Gallery of South Australia and the South Australian Museum.
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About Kitty Pultara
Kitty Pultara was born on Napperby Station. This place is in Australia's Northern Territory, east of Yuendumu and north-west of Alice Springs. Her exact birth year is not known for sure. Some records say she was born around 1925, while others suggest June 1, 1938. This is because Indigenous Australians sometimes estimate dates differently. They might compare a person's birth to other big events that happened.
'Napaljarri' is a special name called a skin name. It is part of a system used by Indigenous people in central Australia. These names help show family relationships. They also guide who people can marry. Skin names are not like surnames that Europeans use. So, 'Kitty Pultara' is the part of her name that is unique to her.
Kitty has famous relatives who are also artists. These include her cousin Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri and her brother Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri. Her husband is Malcolm Tjampitjinpa. Her daughter, Beatrix Dixon Nangala, is also an artist. Kitty Pultara used to work at Napperby Station doing household tasks.
Her Art Journey
How Indigenous Art Began
Modern Indigenous art from the Western Desert started in 1971. Indigenous men at Papunya began painting with help from a teacher named Geoffrey Bardon. They used acrylic paints to create designs. These designs often looked like body paintings or ground sculptures. This new art style quickly spread across central Australia. A government art program in 1983 helped it grow even more. By the 1980s and 1990s, this art was shown all over the world.
At first, only men were painting. Some men in central Australia did not want women to paint. But many women wanted to join in. In the 1990s, many Indigenous women started creating paintings. In places like Kintore, Yuendumu, and Balgo, artists began making art especially to show and sell.
Kitty's Painting Career
Kitty Pultara started painting around 1986. Napperby Station was one of the first places where Indigenous artists used modern painting methods. This art movement began there in the mid-1980s. It was around the same time women started painting at Yuendumu in 1983.
Kitty is related to other important Indigenous artists. Her cousin, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, is known for his art setting auction price records. Her brother, Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri, was a key person in starting the painting movement at Papunya in the 1970s.
Kitty's paintings often show themes from nature. For example, her work Kangaroo Dreaming was shown in a big exhibition in 1996. This painting shows events from a kangaroo's daily life. Kitty's art can be seen in the Art Gallery of South Australia and the South Australian Museum.
Art Collections
