Kathleen Petyarre (C.1940-2018) Large Aboriginal Painting 'Mountain Devil Lizard Dreaming'  100cm x 100cm

Kathleen Petyarre (1940-2018), A magnificent synthetic polymer paint on Belgian linen titled 'Mountain Devil Lizard Dreaming'. (Circa 2007). Signed 'Kathleen Petyarre' verso. Kathleen is one of Australia's most eminent Australian Aboriginal artists. This is a highly collectible and a significant investment piece. The artwork is in excellent condition and has been professionally stretched and is ready to hang. Provenance: Private collector, Sydney.

This artwork depicts the Mountain Devil Lizard Dreamtime story about an old woman traveling across the Atnangker country outlining the landscape and identifying sacred sites. The Mountain Devil Lizard dreaming story is Kathleen Petyarre’s totem, with the responsibility to look after the lizard. Kathleen Petyarre represents the epic journey of the Mountain Devil Lizard Dreaming (Arnkerrth) as it traveled across her traditional country (Atnangker) unlike sisters Gloria Petyarre and Violet Petyarre who focus on the Mountain Devil Lizard’s physical appearance. The Anmatyerre and Alyawerre people of Utopia have a special dreamtime story about the lizard, believing that the lizard carries coloured ochre (natural earth pigments) in the sack around its neck and is responsible for the distribution of ochre (colour) throughout the desert landscape.
The Mountain Devil Lizard is also known as the Thorny Devil Lizard. Seen from above this is a thoroughgoing map that includes the tracks and destinations of her totem, the 'Mountain Devil Lizard'.  Be quick, at auctions and galleries, expect to pay double!

Dimensions

Image size: 100cm x 100cm stretched

Bio

Kathleen (or Kweyetwemp in her Eastern Anmatyerre tongue) Petyarre was born c. 1940 at Atnangkere on Utopia Station, 270km north east of Alice Springs. She first encountered white man in the late 1940s and starting her integration into western society when working on various pastoral leases as she grew up.

In 1969 she was successful in applying for a job at Utopia school where she stayed for 20 years. During that time she worked on batik, and then started painting as part of CAAMA's Summer Project in 1988-89. In 1996 Kathleen won the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA) and her painting career blossomed from there. She has been exhibited overseas numerous times and in 2001 had a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.

In general, her work is minimalistic and characterized by the fine dotting technique she uses to represent mental maps of her country. Her signature work is the Mountain or Thorny Devil Lizard Dreaming, which gives a unique representation of this small creature's travels across Kathleen's country during the Creation era. Another signature genre is Bush Seeds. Kathleen Petyarre is a blood sister of the respected artists Gloria, Violet and Ada Bird Petyarre, a great niece of the feted Emily Kame Kngwarreye and skin sister to Jeannie and Rosemary Petyarre. She is extensively exhibited in public and private galleries.

Kathleen spent her time between Alice Springs and her home country, Utopia. Dr Christine Nicholls reported that Kathleen passed away on 24 November 2018 in Alice Springs, surrounded by family and loved ones, at about the age of 80.

Awards and Recognition 2002 Top 50 Collectable Artists, Australian Art Collector Magazine 2001 Top 50 Collectable Artists, Australian Art Collector Magazine 2000 Top 50 Collectable Artists, Australian Art Collector Magazine 1998 Seppelts Contemporary Art Award, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney - Winner People's Choice Awards 1998 15th NATSIAA - Finalist 1997 Visy Board Art Prize, Barossa Vintage Festival Art Show, Nurioopta - Winner 1997 John McCaughey Memorial Art Prize, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne 1996 13th NATSIAA, Darwin - Finalist and Winner

Collections • Hank Ebes Collection, Melbourne • Luciano Benetton Collection, Venice • Pat Corrigan Collection, Sydney • A.T.S.I.C. Collection, Adelaide • Aboriginal Art Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands • Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney • Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide • Edith Cowan University, Perth • Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide • Harvard University (Peabody-Essex Anthropology and Ethnology Museum), Salem, Massachusetts, USA • Robert Holmes a Court Collection, Perth • The Kelton Collection, Santa Monica, USA • Kluge-Rhue Collection, University of West Virginia VA • Kunsthaus - Sammlung Essl, Klosterneuburg, Austria • Levi-Kaplan Collection, Seattle • Musee du Quai Branly, Paris • Musee des Confluences, Lyon • Museum Puri Lukisan, Ubud, Indonesia • National Gallery of Australia, Canberra • National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne • Seattle Art Museum, Seattle • The Kerry Stokes Collection, Perth • The Museum & Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin • The Vroom Collection, The Netherlands • University of South Australia Art Museum, Adelaide • Artbank, Sydney • Morven Estate Collection, Charlottesville, USA • Songlines Aboriginal Art, Amsterdam, The Netherlands • The Araluen Art Collection, Alice Springs • The Holt Collection, Delmore Downs Station, N.T. • Riddoch Regional Art Gallery, Mount Gambier, S.A. • The Hilton Group Superannuation Fund • Metropolitan museum, New York