Albert Namatjira

Albert Namatjira was an Australian Arrente artist largely credited with pioneering contemporary indigenous Australian art and popularizing it worldwide. 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. He was taught to paint by Rex Batterbee while he guided the artist around Central Australia and had his first solo show two years later in Melbourne, becoming an overnight sensation. His paintings often depict color-contrasted landscapes: purple rolling mountains in the background and bright white trees in the foreground, such as Ghost Gum, Glen Helen (1949) and Alice Springs Country (1955). Namatjira's work drew the attention of Queen Elizabeth II, who awarded him the Queen's Coronation Medal in 1953. Despite his fame, Namatjira gave most of his newfound wealth away to his Arrente family and found himself living in extreme poverty. He was later incarcerated for the murder of an Aboriginal woman, and Namatjira died soon after charges were dropped on August 8, 1958 in Alice Springs, Australia at the age of 57. A museum in his name showcasing his work was established in hometown of Alice Springs in 1991.