Geoffrey Bardon came to Papunya in the early 1970s and encouraged the Aboriginal people to put their dreaming stories on canvas, stories which had previously been depicted ephemerally on the ground. Each artwork featured an intricately detailed surface of dots and lines in rich reds and ochres. STAY CONNECTED Some features and content of this website may not work as intended. See opening hours He began carving during the same period and had established a reputation as a craftsman before becoming one of the first men to take up painting at Papunya, a settlement established 240 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs in the 1960s. Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Anmatyerr people (1932-2002), Warlugulong 1977. Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, post 1976, Alice Springs/Northern Territory/Australia, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri and his brother Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri were selected by Papunya Tula Artists. Clifford developed his own unique style that included secular non-traditional motifs. Tjapaltjarri amalgamated . 1-20 out of 145 LOAD MORE. He began carving in his late teens and had a reputation as a craftsman before the Papunya painting movement began. Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri Aboriginal Australian (Anmatyerre), 1932-2002 Perentie Dreaming, c. 1986 Acrylic on canvas Signed in graphite to verso, unframed. Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri (cca. Clifford enjoyed a traditional bush upbringing and was given the name Possum by his paternal grandfather. He worked extensively as a stockman on the cattle stations in and around his traditional country. His work has travelled extensively around the world, including 'Dreamings - The Art of Aboriginal Australia' in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and St Louis. Sale Date: October 23, 2021. In the early 1950s the artist went to live at a recently opened lodge that catered to tourists drawn to the area by the landscapes of the Hermannsburg Mission watercolourists. May 10, 2020 - Australian Aboriginal Artist. Clifford Possum was born in 1932 on Napperby Station. While Possum had two small exhibitions in Brisbane and Melbourne in 1987, his first major retrospective was at Londons Institute of Contemporary Art in 1988. He is one of Australia's most distinguished and best-selling painters of the late twentieth century. He was the chairman of the Papunya Tula Artists from the 1970's to the 1980's. Clifford Possum was the first recognised star of the Western Desert art and one of Australia's most distinguished painters of the late twentieth century. 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. This large canvas (168.5 x 170.5cm) exceeded anything produced by the Papunya Tula artists, both in size and narrative complexity. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. [14][notes 2] Art critic Benjamin Genocchio has referred to the 1977 work as also being by the brothers;[13] however, the National Gallery of Australia credits it solely to Clifford Possum. Check out news and media, U.S. Department of State In the late 1970s to the early 1980s, Clifford Possum was Chairman of this group and in 1990 presented the Queen Elizabeth II with one of his paintings. It lives at the National Gallery of Australia in Australia. [17] The artist also modified some of the iconography, and limited the explanations of the painting, omitting secret-sacred dimensions of the stories to avoid offending other Indigenous men, and in recognition that most of the audience for the work would be uninitiated non-Indigenous people. His work is featured in many of the main galleries and collections around Australia and internationally. Auction Closed This information and Possums work herding cattle and horses across the desert provided the source and content of his later paintings. Photo: Professor JVS Megaw, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Possum_Tjapaltjarri. Born: Description. The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency, oil and polymer vinyl paint on canvas (, The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri started his working life at diverse stations across Central Australia, where he acquired his impressive linguistic repertoire of six Western Desert languages, including his native Anmatyerr, and a little bit English. His obituaries, which appeared in newspapers around the world, generally referred to him as Clifford Possum and gave his age as about 70. His working life began at an early age on the Hamilton Downs cattle stationthe very industry that had driven his family from the land. Between 1976 and 1979, Tjapaltjarri created a series of large 'map paintings' in which he portrayed these trails as deeds of title to his ancestral land. How much is your Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri worth? He is considered as one of the most famous Central Western Desert artist to dominate the Aboriginal art scene. Indigenous Australian Art Artists Possum Tjapaltjarri's Contemporaries The artist's majestic painting Warlugulong (previously bought by the Commonwealth Bank for just $1,200) was auctioned by Sotheby's on 24 July 2007. HID01801242017 Dimensions 50.5in x 28in x 0in Artist or Maker Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri REGION: PAPUNYA - NORTHERN TERRITORY LANGUAGE: ANMATYERRE B. Encouraged by his brother Tim, Clifford Possum, who had already begun teaching woodcarving at the settlement, joined Bardons painting group, which later became the Papunya Tula Artists Company. I use paint and canvas that's not from us, from European people. Clifford Possum emerged as one of the leaders in this school of painting, which has come to be called the Western Desert Art Movement. Tjapaltjarri had been a part of the Papunya art community for four years and was one of their most successful and respected artists, but it was his previous career as a stockman working on central Australias pastoral stations, or ranches, that made him uniquely qualified for the project. 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. [11], Created in synthetic polymer paint on canvas,[12] and a substantial 2 by 3.3 metres (6.6ft 10.8ft) in size, the work's title is taken from a location roughly 300 kilometres (190mi) "northwest of Alice Springs associated with a powerful desert dreaming". These included a number of paintings depicting Warlugulong, the Bushfire Dreaming story relating to his mother's birthplace. The work had been tipped to fetch up to A$2.5 million, more than double the then-record for Aboriginal art at auction. Many of his canvasses have strong figurative elements which stand out from the highly descriptive background dotting. View our artist exchanges Geoffrey Bardon came to Papunya in the early 1970s and encouraged the Aboriginal people to put their dreaming . Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri (1932-2002) Collections: Artbank Sydney, Art Gallery of New South Wale Read More. Some of the many other famous Aboriginal artists who used dot art styles include . The focal point of that show was Napperby Death Spirit Dreaming (1980), a large collaborative painting by Possum and Leura. Carved snake (view from front), 1973, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, pigment on wood, 71 x 40 x 15 cm. The work, in fact, sold for $2.4 million; the following day, it was revealed that the National Gallery of Australia had been the buyer. The Gallery's purchase eased tensions of a rumoured Government legal intervention had the work been purchased by an overseas buyer, out of concern that significant indigenous art would be "lost" overseas. His career as an artist began in the 1950's when he carved snakes and goannas. Napperby Station, NT Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri (American, 1932-2002) Dingo Dreaming Oil on canvas 50-1/2 x 28 inches (128.3 x 71.1 cm) Signed on the reverse: Clifford Possum PROVENANCE: Aboriginals Art of The First Person; Acquired from the above by the current owner, December 18, 1992. Growing up, Clifford enjoyed a tradition bush lifestyle and was given the name Possum by his parental grandfather. Albrecht from Hermannsburg Lutheran mission noticed that the young Clifford was suffering from severe malnutrition during one of these visits and arranged for him to be nursed back to health at the mission and then returned to his mother. [3], Contemporary Indigenous Australian art originated with the Indigenous men of Papunya, located around 240 kilometres (150mi) northwest of Alice Springs in Australia's Western Desert, who began painting in 1971. The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. His paintings are held in galleries and collections in Australia and elsewhere, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the National Gallery of Australia, the Kelton Foundation and the Royal Collection. Later that year he travelled to the US to attend the Dreamings exhibition at New Yorks Asia Society Galleries. Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri was born in 1932 in Alice Springs on a creek bed on Nagger by Station. Warlugulong Follow us on our social channels and learn about what AIE artists and their art are showcasing worldwide. Over 60 major paintings, all with detailed annotations and spanning more than two decades of his output, are reproduced in this volume. In doing so Clifford, as well as the other artists involved with the Papunya Tula Movement, helped to develop the true definition of Aboriginal Art, an art revolving around a culture, The Jukurrpa.In some of his stories Clifford attempts to give a visual impression of sunlight, cloud, shadow and earth to denote specific times of the day. Hundreds of Aborigines were forced from tribal lands. Their works were mostly Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) stories, representing the creation of significant sites and landforms by ancestral beings along their paths of travel through traditional lands. award rationale. [17] It was purchased for A$1,200 by the Commonwealth Bank, which hung it in a bank training centre cafeteria on the Mornington Peninsula. Flinders University Art Museum Collection. The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. Close product . During the '70s and '80s, he and his family lived at Papunya, Napperby Station, M'bunghara outstation near Glen Helen, and then Alice Springs. He made a significant impact in 1971 and remained inarguably a noteworthy artist even after his death in 2002. [24] After hanging in Ebes's living room for eleven years,[24] it was auctioned in Melbourne by Sotheby's on 24 July 2007. This iconic painting, 'Man's Love Story' 1978, was purchased by the Art Gallery of South Australia in 1980. Four years prior to his birth, a harsh drought had compelled several groups of Aborigines into the Coniston area, producing tensions with local farmers who wanted the scarce water resources for their cattle. [9], This work excludes elements of several dreamings associated with country further south, which had been included in the painting created by Clifford Possum and his brother a year earlier. 1932 c. - 2002 redrock gallery is honoured and proud to presnt the great late Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri arguably the most famous male Central Western Desert artist, who from 1971 until his death in 2002 dominated the Aboriginal art scene. Sep 12, 2021 - Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri was the first recognized star of the Western Desert art movement. 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 was born in Tjuirri, an area north of west Alice Springs, also known as Napperby Station. Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri led a ground-breaking career and was amongst the vanguard of Indigenous Australian artists to be recognised by the international art world. Carpet Snake Dreaming. Born: Napperby, Northern Territory, Australia circa 1932, Died: Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia 21 Jun 2002, Language group: 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. His obituaries, which appeared in newspapers around the world, generally referred to him as Clifford Possum and gave his age as about 70. [3] The authors of the National Gallery of Australia's book, Collection Highlights, characterises the painting as the artist's most significant. In the late 1950s he was employed, along with his older brother Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri and other Aborigines, to assist in the construction of Papunya settlement. Tjapaltjarri worked alongside many of Australias discrete indigenous cultures, mastering six Western Desert languages and absorbing a vast swath of the traditional stories of the Dreaming. Showing Editorial results for clifford possum tjapaltjarri. On the stations, Tjapaltjarri roamed the land that had been home to 50,000 years of aboriginal people, displaced by the rapid colonization of the early 1900s. Its striking central fireburst depicts the Fire Dreaming site where Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarris mother, Long Rose Nangala, was born. Possum Tjapaltjarri contributed to the Indigenous Australian Art movement and died on June 21, 2002. Video excerpt from the ABC documentary 'The Exhibitionists' on Australian female artist Vivienne Binns. He was chosen by Papunya Tula Artists to paint, with his brother Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri, the large canvas that became Warlugulong, 1976, for a BBC documentary, Desert Dreamers. Born in a creek bed on Napperby cattle station, Clifford Possum worked from late boyhood as a stockman. +61 2 6240 6411 In 1988 and 1990 Tjapaltjarris work was featured in London galleries, bringing an international audience to Papunyas flourishing art practice. See our exhibitions His brother was Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri, whose artwork appeared on another stamp. Search instead in Creative? He worked at various stations throughout Central Australia, acquiring several languages and developing a profound knowledge of the Dreaming trails and sites around the McDonnell Ranges. According to the government, Aborigines were not ready to live as white Australians and had to be re-educated. We acknowledge the Gadigal of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the Country on which the Art Gallery of NSW stands. The artwork description is incredibly detailed and will give the owner an amazing insight into both Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri and also the artworks of the early Papunya Tula artists who moved from sandpaintings to canvas in the 1970's. A very rare opportunity to acquire a work of this calibre at a considerably discounted price. Tjapaltjarri, Clifford Possum (c. 1932-2002) Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia/ Bridgeman Berlin. Pastor F.W. The incident led to the first conviction of an Australian art dealer for fraud and saw some malicious and undeserved criticism directed against the artist by a number of influential collectors. Like Albert Namatjira before him, Clifford Possum blazed a trail for future generations of Indigenous artists; bridging the gap between Aboriginal art and contemporary Australian art. 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