Toward the end of his life Tjapaltjarri was recognised as one of Australia's great painters, and in 2004, when the National Gallery of Victoria presented Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, he became the first of the Papunya Tula artists to have a retrospective exhibition at a major Australian art museum. In 1928 police shot and killed nearly 100 Aborigines at the infamous Coniston massacre. In 1988, the Institute of Contemporary Art in London organised a retrospective it was Tjapaltjarris first solo exhibition and the first time an Australian Aboriginal artist had been honoured in this way by the international art world. Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri: Warlugulong (2007) 1,758 views Nov 25, 2013 13 Dislike Share Save AGOD - Aboriginal Gallery Of Dreamings 42 subscribers Clifford's painting featured on the news. No accurate records were ever kept but Possum was born sometime in 1932, in an isolated dry creek bed about 200 kilometres northwest of Alice Springs. / One of the founding fathers of the Papunya Tula Art Movement, this Anmatyerre artist remains the most celebrated artist in the history of Aboriginal Art and was the first Papunya Tula artist to be given a Retrospective, which began in October . Painting, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 202.0 h x 337.5 w cm. By the mid-1970s he was chairman of the company and had emerged as one of its most inventive artists. See opening hours Chicago, Los Angeles and St Louis 1988, 'Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri Paintings 1973-1986', retrospective exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London; 1990 'l'ete . The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. He is considered as one of the most famous Central Western Desert artist to dominate the Aboriginal art scene. That Dreaming carry on. This laid the foundation for traditional Aboriginal Iconography to be placed on canvas. (age70in2002), Basil P. Bressler (48portraits supported). [23] The bank sold it by auction in 1996. When it held an exhibition of his work in 2004, the Art Gallery of New South Wales described his artistic background: He was an expert wood-carver and took up painting long before the emergence of the Papunya Tula School in the early 1970s. The sons' skeletons are on the right hand side of the image, shown against a background representing smoke and ashes. There is greater visual symmetry in this painting than in its 1976 predecessor; symmetry is a strong influence in the works of many of the early Western Desert artists, including Clifford Possum, Billy Stockman Tjapaltjarri and Kaapa Tjampitjinpa. Follow us on our social channels and learn about what AIE artists and their art are showcasing worldwide. Source See Warlugulong in the Kaleidoscope. And they been using them on body different times.Kids, I see them all the time, painted. Intimate knowledge of the land had been passed down through generations of indigenous Australians through ephemeral sand drawings, but Tjapaltjarris transfer of these traditional maps to canvas with the paths and stories they contain can be read as deeds of title, reclaiming ownership of ancestral land. Auction Closed Close product . His final days were spent at the Hetty Perkins Nursing Home in Alice Springs, where he passed away surrounded by close family and friends. At last, The Art of Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri presents a comprehensive account of the work of this extraordinary artist. Although married and father to Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi and Michelle Possum Nungurrayi, Clifford Possum dedicated his time to creating extraordinary three-dimensional artworks widening the circles of knowledge relating to Anmatyerre history, Aboriginal and national history. In 1980 he began visiting the Papunya settlement and came to know Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri, Michael Nelson Jagamara and others, who invited him to paint with them. How much is your Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri worth? An established wood-carver and a skilled painter, in the early 1970s Clifford along with his brother Time Leura Tjapaltjarri joined the painting men which soon transformed into the Papunya Tula Artists. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people. Police claimed that the Aborigines had killed a local dingo hunter. View sold price and similar items: CLIFFORD POSSUM TJAPALTJARRI (c1933 - 2002) Corroboree, Naprerby Station acrylic on canvas 122 x 99.5 cm (stretched and ready to han. Clifford developed his own unique style that included secular non-traditional motifs. Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, one of the acknowledged pioneers of the contemporary Australian Aboriginal art movement which emerged at Papunya settlement in central Australia in the early 1970s, died in Alice Springs on June 21. Geoffrey Bardon came to Papunya in the early 1970s and encouraged the Aboriginal people to put their dreaming . He learnt ancestral stories from elders like One Pound Jim Tjungurrayi, who took on the role of his father, and was famous for his extensive knowledge of the country. Forty years ago, Kaapa Tjampitjinpa, Tim Leura, Clifford Possum and Johnny Warangula were central to the constitution of contemporary desert art at Papunya. Search instead in Creative? The artist's works have gone up for sale at public auction 402 times, mostly in the Painting category. Clifford Possum emerged as an artist during the time Geoffrey Bardon came to Papunya and encouraged the people to place their artworks on canvas instead of the ground. Sep 12, 2021 - Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri was the first recognized star of the Western Desert art movement. Posthumously, Tjapaltjarri's works are drawing increasing attention. After the death of his father, his mother married Gwoya Jungarai who was the first named Aboriginal person to appear on an Australian stamp and was known as 'One Pound Jimmy'. Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri. Realities Gallery in Melbourne then included the work in a major exhibition of Papunya Tula artworks. After learning how to muster and brand cattle, he became a stockman at Hamilton Downs and then head stockman at Narwietooma station. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri died in Alice Springs on the day he was scheduled to be invested with the Order of Australia for his contributions to art and to the Indigenous community. In the late 1970's he expanded the scope of Papunya Tula painting by placing the trails of several ancestors on the same canvas in the fashion of a road map. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons. Learn the market value of your Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri. The Papunya movement began in 1971 when Western Desert men began painting their traditional designs onto small boardsdesigns that were previously confined to . [5] A number of the men developed a distinctive style of narrative painting that, beginning around 1976, resulted in the production of several "monumental" works that included representations of both their traditional lands and of ceremonial iconography. Contemporary Indigenous Australian art is a national movement of international significance with work by Indigenous artists, including paintings by those from the Western Desert, achieving widespread critical acclaim. [23] Warlugulong's buyer was the National Gallery of Australia, which purchased the work as part of its 25th Anniversary Gifts Program. Despite this success and his prolific output, Possums fame did not bring great personal wealth or security. After his father's death in the 1940s his mother married Gwoya Jungarai, better known as One Pound Jimmy, whose image was used on a well known Australian postage stamp. [citation needed]. His older brother Cassidy Possum Tjapaltjarri was a traditionalist who barely gone outside of the Yuelamu community and was one of most respected elder till his passing in 2006, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri was the most famous of the contemporary artists who lived around Papunya, in the Northern Territory's Western Desert area, when the acrylic painting style (known popularly as "dot art") was initiated. 2201 C Street NW | Washington, DC 20520 Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri was an Australian artist born in 1932. Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri is arguably the most famous male Central Western Desert artist, who from 1971 until his death in 2002 dominated the Aboriginal art scene. [24] After hanging in Ebes's living room for eleven years,[24] it was auctioned in Melbourne by Sotheby's on 24 July 2007. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. Born in a creek bed on Napperby cattle station, Clifford Possum worked from late boyhood as a stockman. NAVIGATION Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri is arguably the most widely acclaimed, collected and exhibited Aboriginal artist of . Anmatyerr, Central Desert region. [9][10] The artist's images of this period are visually complex, and contain a wide variety of patterns, unified by strong background motifs and structure. He refined his skill as a woodcarver while continuing to work as a stockman. Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, AO (c.1937 - 2002) Australia's Most Celebrated Aboriginal Artist. [4] He was buried at Yuelamu, which had been the preference of his community and daughters, several weeks after his death.[5]. While white settlers and government officials had driven tens of thousands of Aborigines from Australias richest farming land during the 19th century, the dispossession of central Australian Aborigines did not occur until the early 1900s and continued during the early years of Possums life. Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri (cca. Possums first contact with Europeans was through his father, who sold dingo scalps in exchange for tea and flour at the Jay Creek government ration depot. Reed Enger, "Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Reclaiming the land," in Obelisk Art History, Published January 16, 2020; last modified November 06, 2022, http://www.arthistoryproject.com/artists/clifford-possum-tjapaltjarri/. In 1971, Geoffrey Bardon, a young teacher, arrived at Papunya. Artworks are displayed solely to aid potential purchasers in making their selection. It exemplifies a distinctive painting style developed by Papunya Tula artists in the 1970s, and blends representation of landscape with ceremonial iconography. See our exhibitions Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri (1932-2002) Collections: Artbank Sydney, Art Gallery of New South Wale Read More. Video, Know My Name [notes 1] Owned for many years by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the work was sold by art dealer Hank Ebes on 24 July 2007, setting a record price for a contemporary Indigenous Australian art work bought at auction when it was purchased by the National Gallery of Australia for A$2.4million. The auction house trading the work expected it to fetch around $5,000 and did not make a feature of it in the catalogue, but dealers including Hank Ebes, the successful bidder, recognised the painting's significance and it sold for $36,000 plus commission. During the '70s and '80s, he and his family lived at Papunya, Napperby Station, M'bunghara outstation near Glen Helen, and then Alice Springs. She concludes that there is "a topographic rationale for the order in which the Dreamings appear from left to right (that is, east to west) across the painting [as well as for] the transverse Dreaming trails". http://www.arthistoryproject.com/artists/clifford-possum-tjapaltjarri/. Clifford Possum led a groundbreaking career and was amongst the vanguard of Indigenous Australian artists to be After completing five works of similar scale and style during the 1970s, Possum began experimenting with colour and subtle modifications of traditional symbols. An Anmatyerr man, he was born on Napperby Station near Alice Springs and started his working life in the 1940s as a stockman. He began carving in his late teens and had a reputation as a craftsman before the Papunya painting movement began. Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri 'Warlugulong' Yuuma, Gurruburri. Many of his canvasses have strong figurative elements which stand out from the highly descriptive background dotting. Clifford enjoyed a traditional bush upbringing and was given the name Possum by his paternal grandfather. The art of Clifford Possum is notable for its brilliant manipulation of three-dimensional space. 1-20 out of 145 LOAD MORE. Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri was the first recognized star of the Western Desert art movement. See more ideas about clifford possum tjapaltjarri, aboriginal artists, aboriginal. While Possum never forgot the Christian teachings at Hermannsburg, he never fully embraced the religion, unlike his older brother who studied at Hermannsburg and was ordained as a Lutheran pastor. Got questions, comments or corrections about Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri? This heightened his appreciation of the idea that a painting might function as a map, and as a unified embodiment of place, identity and spirituality. DOB:
He was buried at Yuelamu, which had been the preference of his community and daughters, several weeks after his death. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified. He is and has always been regarded as the leading figure in Australian Aboriginal Art.Copyright Kate Owen Gallery May 2022, Copyright 2022 Kate Owen Gallery Pty Ltd. Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri is perhaps the most famous male Australian Aboriginal artist and his dot art style is very well known - his daughters Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi and Michelle Possum Nungurrayi continue to explore using dot painting techniques today. Works of art from the collection are reproduced as per the, Let me know when this portraits on display. Video excerpt from the ABC documentary 'The Exhibitionists' on Utopia artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye. Human footprints include a set left by dancing women from a place called Aileron; another shows a family group travelling to a place called Ngama, and a third trail is that of a Tjungurrayi man, which lead to his skeleton, representing his death after committing the crime of trying to steal sacred items. TheCompanion is available to buy online and in the Portrait Gallery Store. The image is used according to Educational Fair Use, and tagged Maps. Carved snake (view from behind), 1973, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, pigment on wood, 71 x 40 x 15 cm. [12], When the Australian government in 2009 introduced a resale royalty scheme, the sale history of Warlugulong was frequently used to argue in favour of the scheme, designed to ensure that artists and their families continued to benefit from the appreciating value of old works.[18][26][27]. The National Museum of Australia acknowledges First Australians and recognises their continuous connection to Country, community and culture. For the first time many different legends were told or mapped on one canvas, each story layered one upon the other. Carved snake (view from front), 1973, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, pigment on wood, 71 x 40 x 15 cm. Video excerpt from the ABC documentary 'The Exhibitionists' on First Nations Australian female artist Karla Dickens, Wiradjuri people. It makes accessible the development of a master painter of the Anmatyerre tribe, one . His brother was Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri, whose artwork appeared on another stamp. Check out news and media, U.S. Department of State Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri AO (1932 21 June 2002) was an Australian painter, considered to be one of the most collected and renowned Australian Aboriginal artists. These included a number of paintings depicting Warlugulong, the Bushfire Dreaming story relating to his mother's birthplace. Napperby Station, NT
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