Description: Albert Namatjira 1902-1959 THE VALLEY, MACDONNELL RANGES, NORTHERN TERRITORY (1956) watercolour over pencil on paper signed 'ALBERT NAMATJIRA' lower right 36 X 51CM PROVENANCE Finke River Mission, Alice Springs Sir Horace Frank Richardson, Melbourne Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne Private Collection, Melbourne Ghost gums with luminous white trunks, palm-filled gorges and red mountain ranges turning purple at dusk are the hallmarks of the Hermannsburg school. He is known for watercolours of desert landscapes rather than the symbolic style of traditional Aboriginal art. Albert Namatjira (1902 – 1959) Albert Namatjira Heavitree Gap, Ngurratjuta Collection, Alice Springs Albert Namatjira is one of Australia’s great artists, and perhaps the best known Aboriginal painter. Namatjira's paintings express his relationship with the Arrernte country, particularly the Western Arrernte lands, for which he was a traditional custodian. Namatjira was born on July 28, 1902 in Alice Springs, Australia and adopted Christianity at an early age, dividing his cultural upbringing between a Western and Aboriginal one. The arts establishment immediately embraced the work – and a large part of his initial success was the perception that his paintings met the norms of Western art. Another early work, Ajantzi Waterhole (1937), shows a close up view of a small waterhole, with Namatjira capturing the reflection in the water. Through his intense scrutiny of specific places and his sensitive response to their individual qualities, Namatjira enables us to see the centre as a multi-faceted region of Australia. Namatjira's artworks were colourful and varied depictions of the Australian landscape. Albert Namatjira painting Namatjira then proceeded to develop a style featuring distinctive Australian flora set against rugged geological features and landscapes. Albert Namatjira’s paintings reflect the scenes of his childhood in the Northern Territory of Australia. Central Australian Gorge (1940) sho… Cattleman, horses with riders, and hunters were all key subjects in Albert Namatjira's prints. 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). His western style landscapes – different to traditional Aboriginal art, made him famous. Artworks Albert Namatjira was an Australian Arrente artist largely credited with pioneering contemporary indigenous Australian art and popularizing it worldwide. Indigenous Australian artist Albert Namatjira (1902–1959) is arguably Australia's best known Aboriginal painter. Although not the first Aboriginal artist to work in a European style, Albert Namatjira is certainly the most famous. Portrait of Australian artist Albert Namatjira in Alice Springs, in 1958. Hermannsburg Mission was established by Lutheran missionaries in 1877 on the banks of the Finke River, west of Mparntwe (Alice Springs). One of his first landscapes from 1936, Central Australian Landscape, shows a land of rolling green hills.