Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri Australia (Aboriginal), 1926-98
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About Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri was born in 1926 in Marnpi, southeast of Kintore, Northern Territory, and was a prominent painter from the Pintupi language group. He was one of the key artists who laid the foundation for the Papunya Tula art movement, according to white school teacher Geoffrey Bardon. Bardon considered him one of the eight artists whose contributions were particularly notable. Namarari began with figurative works and later shifted to creating large geometric designs that characterized Papunya Tula art in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In the 1990s, he focused on producing "minimalist" paintings that depicted natural elements, such as the imprint of a kangaroo in the sand, the seeds that the marsupial mouse feeds upon, or the aftermath of hailstorms in the desert. Namarari passed away in Alice Springs in 1998, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most important painters to emerge from the Western Desert.
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri is one of the most prolific of the artists listed in our database, with the number of works offered for sale by auction since 1991 of 402, of which 236 (59%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $426,109 for Untitled (Artist's Grandmother's Country) sold by Sotheby's in May 2022. This year 4 works have been offered for sale. Works by Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri are held by the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria and a further six major public national galleries (see list below).
Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri is listed in the following standard biographical references:
- McCulloch, Alan McCulloch, Susan McCulloch, Emily McCulloch-Childs. The New McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art. 4th Edition, Aus Art Melbourne & The Miegunyah Press, 2006. Page 110
- Germaine, Max. Artists and Galleries of Australia, Volumes 1 & 2, Third Edition. Craftsman Press, Sydney, 1990. Page 676
- Johnson, Vivien, Aboriginal Artists of the Western Desert-A Biographical Dictionary. Craftsman House, Sydney, 1994. Page 148
- Australian Prints + Printmaking, a database listing printmaking artists from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region based on the print collection of the National Gallery of Australia.
- Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri is classified as one of the top Australian Indigenous artists by leading Aboriginal fine art gallery, Cooee Gallery, Sydney.
Artists' Resale Royalty
Could the second and subsequent works by this artist sold after June 9, 2010 for over $1,000 be liable for the Artists' Resale Royalty? More info…
Yes, eligible, subject to the artist satisfying the residency test. The artist is alive or has been deceased for less than 70 years. Contact the Copyright Agency for information on the residency test.
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