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Google Arts & Culture features content from over 2000 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online.

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Surasti du Australijos meno pavyzdžius ir įkelti juos. 

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Surasti du Australijos meno pavyzdžius ir įkelti juos. 

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Marpa - Lucy Yukenbarri Napanangka - Google Arts & Culture

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Marpa’ 2001 refers to some of the country of Lucy’s grandparents. This country is known as Marpa, after the central rockhole shown here, and is located in ...

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Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Museums are often criticized as categorising such works as ethnographic, however Museum Victoria is unique in that it has a history of collecting and exhibiting works by Aboriginal artists as art for a period of a century or more. This bark painting is amongst the earliest works collected by the director of the National Museum of Victoria, Walter Baldwin Spencer. He first went to Oenpelli, the pastoral station established in western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory by the famous buffalo shooter, Paddy Cahill. After Spencer's first visit there in 1912, he returned to Melbourne with 38 works on bark collected from the region of the East and South Alligator Rivers. These, he removed from bark laid over frameworks that provided shelter during wet season rains.

The male figure is associated with the country around Oenpelli now known as Gunbalanya. Spencer identified this as the country of the 'Geimbo' - the Erre, Mengerridji and Urningank people - and traditional owners for the Oenpelli region. Spencer recorded the name 'Auuenau' for this figure that lives among the caves and walks around only at night time.His body is covered with hair and 'a great bunch' protrudes from the back of his head. When erect, the curved spine projecting from the back of his neck is shaken producing a rattling noise that warns bining, the people of western Arnhem Land, of his presence in the vicinity as he searches for the dead to eat. The distinctive lines through his ankles, knees, wrists and elbows are the bones of the dead. Only 'medicine men' or sorcerers can see him. The tail-like structure represents lightning, which can often be seen at night time along the tops of the hills. The ancestor is depicted in profile and typically for the art tradition of this region, the head and face are a prominent feature. It is these specific features that allow bining to identify the likely ancestor featured in a painting. The use of black to exaggerate the eyes is unusual.

The work originates from the first decades of the 20th century and is part of the earliest known bark paintings from western Arnhem Land. While the works associated with WB Spencer, and those commissioned by Cahill subsequent to Spencer's visits, are not the earliest bark paintings in existence, they are the earliest works produced as a collection with over 170 paintings being produced between 1912 and 1922 for the museum in Melbourne. Mostly imagery is derived from animals depicted in the rich galleries of rock art found in this region; however so-called 'spirit figures' are the most intriguing and beguiling artworks. Bark paintings in the WB Spencer and Paddy Cahill Collections are considered the most significant historical art works from western Arnhem Land in existence. As such they have featured and continue to feature nationally and internationally in exhibitions and publications. These paintings take pride of place amongst the extensive and significant holdings of Aboriginal art in the collections of Indigenous art at Museum Victoria. This work was included in 'Dreamings, The Art of Aboriginal Australia', the exhibition travelled to the Asia Society Galleries, New York, The David and Alfred Smart Galleries, University of Chicago and Los Angeles Museum of Natural History, Los Angeles, as well as being shown in Melbourne and Adelaide.

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Ancestor figure, male. Painting, bark, Oenpelli, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia, 1912 - Unknown artist, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia - Google Arts & Culture

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Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Museums are often criticized as categorising such works as ethnographic, however Museum Victoria is unique in that it has a history of collecting and exhibiting works by Aboriginal artists as art for a period of a century or more.

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In late 1974, an elderly woman died on her way to hospital, following a car accident on the flooded road to Warmun (Turkey Creek), an Aboriginal community in the East Kimberley. After her death, the old woman travelled eastwards from the west coast of northern Australia. During her journey home, she met other spirit beings. She also witnessed the destruction of Darwin by Cyclone Tracey, understood to be the retributive act of the Rainbow Serpent, warning against the decline of Indigenous cultural practices. In a sequence of dream visitations, the old woman revealed her story to Thomas (who was her son, according to the regional Aboriginal kin system).

Thomas's revelation was the catalyst for the Gurrir Gurrir, a ceremony that recounted historic and contemporary events and associated sites throughout the East Kimberley. During public performances, dancers carried painted boards on their shoulders to illustrate the narrative. Today, the artists of Warmun still refer to their paintings on canvas as boards. Like Thomas and his pioneering fellow artists, the late Paddy Jaminji, George Mung Mung and Queenie McKenzie, contemporary Gija painters use locally mined ochres.

The afterlife journey of the old woman and its subsequent cultural interpretation may be understood as a metaphor for the conceptual logic that underpins much Aboriginal art. Nowhere has the merging of past and present, the spiritual and the physical, been more clearly realised than in Thomas's visionary paintings. His landscapes are corporeal, vacillating between figuration and abstraction to suggest the topography of the East Kimberley and the presence of unseen forces within it. In 'ndubhill', 1991, the route of the Great Northern highway passes by a Ngarrankarni shade tree. In Thomas's tour de force painting, 'Two men dreaming', c.1985, the form of an old ancestral man, turned to stone, is accentuated by the gleam of the rising moon. In 1994, the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, staged a solo exhibition of Rover Thomas's work.

Although his paintings are now considered synonymous with East Kimberley art, his origins lie further to the south in the Great Sandy Desert, from where he travelled working as a stockman. His paintings have demonstrated the ability of art to not only transcend indigenous cultural borders, but to also become a source of revelation for an international audience. This significance was not lost on Thomas, whose sighting of a Mark Rothko painting caused him to famously remark, 'That bugger paints like me!'

Hetti Perkins in 'Tradition today: Indigenous art in Australia', Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2004

© Art Gallery of New South Wales

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Two men dreaming - Rover Thomas - Google Arts & Culture

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In late 1974, an elderly woman died on her way to hospital, following a car accident on the flooded road to Warmun (Turkey Creek), an Aboriginal community in the East Kimberley. After her death, the old woman travelled eastwards from the west coast of northern Australia.

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Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. While museums have been often criticized as categorising such works as ethnographic, Museum Victoria has been collecting and exhibiting works by Aboriginal artists as art for a century. This work is amongst the earliest bark paintings works collected by the director of the National Museum of Victoria, Walter Baldwin Spencer, who first went to Oenpelli in 1912. Paddy Cahill, the famous buffalo shooter, had established this pastoral station in western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. After Spencer's first visit there, he returned to Melbourne with 38 works on bark collected from the region of the East and South Alligator Rivers. These, he removed from the bark that was laid over frameworks that provided shelter during wet season rains. The figures in this work were identified as an 'adult with a snake', and differ markedly from the other works given they are entirely abstract in form. Spencer noted that the ancestor featured largely in traditions of Gaagudju people and is 'especially associated with medicine men who alone can see it.'

The paintings collected by Spencer in the first decades of the 20th century constitute the earliest collection of bark paintings, while a small number from Port Essington predate these. Those collected by Spencer together with those commissioned by Cahill subsequent to Spencer's visits total over 170 paintings produced between 1912 and 1922 for the museum in Melbourne Mostly imagery is derived from animals depicted in the rich galleries of rock art found in this region; however so-called 'spirit figures' are the most intriguing and beguiling artworks. Bark paintings in the WB Spencer and Paddy Cahill Collections are considered the most significant historical art works from western Arnhem Land in existence. As such they have featured and continue to feature nationally and internationally in exhibitions and publications. These paintings take pride of place amongst the extensive and significant holdings of Aboriginal art in the collections of Indigenous art at Museum Victoria.

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Ancestor and snake - Unknown artist, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia - Google Arts & Culture

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Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. While museums have been often criticized as categorising such works as ethnographic, Museum Victoria has been collecting and exhibiting works by Aboriginal artists as art for a century.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Museums are often criticized as categorising such works as ethnographic, however Museum Victoria is unique in that it has a history of collecting and exhibiting works by Aboriginal artists as art for a period of a century or more. This bark painting is amongst the earliest works collected by the director of the National Museum of Victoria, Walter Baldwin Spencer. He first went to Oenpelli, the pastoral station established in western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory by the famous buffalo shooter, Paddy Cahill. After Spencer's first visit there in 1912, he returned to Melbourne with 38 works on bark collected from the region of the East and South Alligator Rivers. These, he removed from the bark that was laid over frameworks that provided shelter during wet season rains.

The image here is of a freshwater tortoise and a fish. Animals like these were a popular theme in the earliest bark paintings collected by Spencer and Cahill, and are painted in the classic 'x-ray' tradition. Like the paintings of the ancestors, the heads of both animals here are quite distinctive. The work originates from the first decades of the 20th century and is part of the earliest known bark paintings from western Arnhem Land. While the works associated with WB Spencer, and those commissioned by Cahill subsequent to Spencer's visits, are not the earliest bark paintings in existence, they are the earliest works produced as a collection with over 170 paintings being produced between 1912 and 1922 for the museum in Melbourne. Mostly imagery is derived from animals depicted in the rich galleries of rock art found in this region; however so-called 'spirit figures' are the most intriguing and beguiling artworks. Bark paintings in the WB Spencer and Paddy Cahill Collections are considered the most significant historical art works from western Arnhem Land in existence. As such they have featured and continue to feature nationally and internationally in exhibitions and publications. These paintings take pride of place amongst the extensive and significant holdings of Aboriginal art in the collections of Indigenous art at Museum Victoria.

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Freshwater tortoise and fish - Unknown artist, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia - Google Arts & Culture

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Museums are often criticized as categorising such works as ethnographic, however Museum Victoria is unique in that it has a history of collecting and exhibiting works by Aboriginal artists as art for a period of a century or more.

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Ngalyod, the rainbow serpent, is one of the most important ancestor spirits of western Arnhem Land and lives in the area south and east of Gunbalanya (formerly Oenpelli). Images of Ngalyod appear in rock paintings of the region that are over 20,000 years old. Ngalyod is much feared and can destroy anyone who breaks the law. Children who wander away from the camp are likely to be taken by its spirit that lives waterholes and rock shelters. Ngalyod takes a variety of forms and only Kuninjku men of senior ceremonial status can paint this image. While stylistic variations of Ngalyod may occur, rules are adhered to in painting this and other images. Artists can only paint the ancestors to which they have inherited rights through their father. Ancestors like Ngalyod must be painted 'accurately' and exhibit a range of figurative elements. For example, the rainbow serpent may be painted with elements of a kangaroo such as the ears or head. The use of cross-hatching or rarrk indicates the sacred or ceremonial associations of the ancestor and colours must be applied in the correct order. Ngalyod devours a hunter was painted by Njiminjuma at Mumeka outstation in December 1979. It typifies the style of Kuninjku painters from Mumeka who use a complex of intricate cross-hatching patterning or rarrk to infill the entire body of the ancestor. This painting depicts the story of a hunter who had speared a kangaroo that was in fact the rainbow serpent. Changing back into the original form of the serpent, Ngalyod devours the hunter. The head and a leg joint are shown on the right.

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Ngalyod devours a hunter - Jimmy Njiminjuma - Google Arts & Culture

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Ngalyod, the rainbow serpent, is one of the most important ancestor spirits of western Arnhem Land and lives in the area south and east of Gunbalanya (formerly Oenpelli). Images of Ngalyod appear in rock paintings of the region that are over 20,000 years old. Ngalyod is much feared and can destroy anyone who breaks the law.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Museums are often criticized as categorising such works as ethnographic, however Museum Victoria is unique in that it has a history of collecting and exhibiting works by Aboriginal artists as art for a period of a century or more. This bark painting was collected in 1914 and was amongst the earliest consignments of works commissioned for the museum by Paddy Cahill on behalf of the director of the then National Museum of Victoria, Walter Baldwin Spencer. Cahill had established a pastoral station at Oenpelli in western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory and when Spencer's first visited in 1912, he returned to Melbourne with 38 works on bark collected from the region of the East and South Alligator Rivers. These, he removed from the bark that was laid over frameworks that provided shelter during wet season rains.

The male figure is associated with the Kunwinjku speaking people of western Arnhem Land. Shown as a front view, a style of portrayal is typical of the art traditions of this region. The head and face of such figures are usually a prominent feature of the paintings, and here the eyes are dominant and there is no mouth. It is these specific details that allow bining, the people of western Arnhem Land, to identify the likely ancestor featured in a painting. The name documented by Cahill was 'Mununlimbir', identified as one who roamed looking for 'sugarbag' or honey from native bees. The shapes emanating from his elbows are the baskets used to collect the honey. The designs on the ancestor's body are consistent with the western Arnhem Land painting traditions of 'x-ray' art, the spine being clearly visible combined with very strong geometric patterning. The positioning of the ancestor's hands, arms and feet may indicate a forwards movement, and this 'school' of painting typically includes additional and exaggerated digits on hands and feet. This figure has an additional finger on each hand and the feet are painted without toes.

The work originates from the first decades of the 20th century and is part of the earliest known bark paintings from western Arnhem Land. While the works associated with WB Spencer and Paddy Cahill are not the earliest bark paintings in existence, they are the earliest works produced as a collection with over 170 paintings being produced between 1912 and 1922 for the museum in Melbourne. Mostly imagery is derived from animals depicted in the rich galleries of rock art found in this region; however so-called 'spirit figures' are the most intriguing and beguiling artworks. Bark paintings in the WB Spencer and Paddy Cahill Collections are considered the most significant historical art works from western Arnhem Land in existence. As such they have featured and continue to feature nationally and internationally in exhibitions and publications. These paintings take pride of place amongst the extensive and significant holdings of Aboriginal art in the collections of Indigenous art at Museum Victoria.

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Ancestor figure, male. Painting, bark, Kunwinjku, Oenpelli, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia, 1914 - Unknown artist, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia - Google Arts & Culture

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Museums are often criticized as categorising such works as ethnographic, however Museum Victoria is unique in that it has a history of collecting and exhibiting works by Aboriginal artists as art for a period of a century or more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Museums are often criticized as categorising such works as ethnographic, however Museum Victoria is unique in that it has a history of collecting and exhibiting works by Aboriginal artists as art for a century. This bark painting is amongst the earliest works collected by the director of the National Museum of Victoria, Walter Baldwin Spencer. He first went to Oenpelli, the pastoral station established in western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory by the famous buffalo shooter, Paddy Cahill. After Spencer's first visit there in 1912, he returned to Melbourne with 38 works on bark collected from the region of the East and South Alligator Rivers. These, he removed from the bark that was laid over frameworks that provided shelter during wet season rains.
The male figure here lives amongst the caves and is associated with the Gaagudju people. Spencer identifies him as 'Numereji' and further notes 'medicine men see him, talk to him'. The depiction is the front view of the ancestor in the typical style of portrayal in the art tradition of this region. The head is usually a very prominent feature and the hair and face here are very distinctive. These specific features in a painting allow bining, the people of western Arnhem Land, to identify the figure. He holds a club painted with designs characteristically painted on these men's objects, and he holds feathers in the opposite hand. Unlike most of the figures in paintings collected by Spencer, it does not reveal any internal organs or skeletal elements in the classic 'x-ray' tradition. Artists in western Arnhem Land typically paint these figures with additional and exaggerated digits on the hands and feet, and this figure has extra toes on both feet and extra fingers.
The work originates from the first decades of the 20th century and is part of the earliest known bark paintings from western Arnhem Land. While the works associated with WB Spencer, and those commissioned by Cahill subsequent to Spencer's visits, are not the earliest bark paintings in existence, they are the earliest works produced as a collection with over 170 paintings being produced between 1912 and 1922 for the museum in Melbourne. Mostly imagery is derived from animals depicted in the rich galleries of rock art found in this region; however so-called 'spirit figures' are the most intriguing and beguiling artworks. Bark paintings in the WB Spencer and Paddy Cahill Collections are considered the most significant historical art works from western Arnhem Land in existence. As such they have featured and continue to feature nationally and internationally in exhibitions and publications. These paintings take pride of place amongst the extensive and significant holdings of Aboriginal art in the collections of Indigenous art at Museum Victoria.

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# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ancestor figure, male - Unknown artist, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia - Google Arts & Culture

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Museums are often criticized as categorising such works as ethnographic, however Museum Victoria is unique in that it has a history of collecting and exhibiting works by Aboriginal artists as art for a century.

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Ancestor figure, male - Unknown artist, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia - Google Arts & Culture

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Museums are often...

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Snake, rock python - Unknown maker, Western Arnhem Land, Australia - Google Arts & Culture

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Museums are often...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Museums are often criticized as categorising such works as ethnographic, however Museum Victoria is unique in that it has a history of collecting and exhibiting works by Aboriginal artists as art for a period of a century or more. This bark painting is amongst the earliest works collected by the director of the National Museum of Victoria, Walter Baldwin Spencer. He first went to Oenpelli, the pastoral station established in western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory by the famous buffalo shooter, Paddy Cahill. After Spencer's first visit there in 1912, he returned to Melbourne with 38 works on bark collected from the region of the East and South Alligator Rivers. These, he removed from bark laid over frameworks that provided shelter during wet season rains.

The male figure is associated with the country around Oenpelli now known as Gunbalanya. Spencer identified this as the country of the 'Geimbo' - the Erre, Mengerridji and Urningank people - and traditional owners for the Oenpelli region. Spencer recorded the name 'Auuenau' for this figure that lives among the caves and walks around only at night time.His body is covered with hair and 'a great bunch' protrudes from the back of his head. When erect, the curved spine projecting from the back of his neck is shaken producing a rattling noise that warns bining, the people of western Arnhem Land, of his presence in the vicinity as he searches for the dead to eat. The distinctive lines through his ankles, knees, wrists and elbows are the bones of the dead. Only 'medicine men' or sorcerers can see him. The tail-like structure represents lightning, which can often be seen at night time along the tops of the hills. The ancestor is depicted in profile and typically for the art tradition of this region, the head and face are a prominent feature. It is these specific features that allow bining to identify the likely ancestor featured in a painting. The use of black to exaggerate the eyes is unusual.

The work originates from the first decades of the 20th century and is part of the earliest known bark paintings from western Arnhem Land. While the works associated with WB Spencer, and those commissioned by Cahill subsequent to Spencer's visits, are not the earliest bark paintings in existence, they are the earliest works produced as a collection with over 170 paintings being produced between 1912 and 1922 for the museum in Melbourne. Mostly imagery is derived from animals depicted in the rich galleries of rock art found in this region; however so-called 'spirit figures' are the most intriguing and beguiling artworks. Bark paintings in the WB Spencer and Paddy Cahill Collections are considered the most significant historical art works from western Arnhem Land in existence. As such they have featured and continue to feature nationally and internationally in exhibitions and publications. These paintings take pride of place amongst the extensive and significant holdings of Aboriginal art in the collections of Indigenous art at Museum Victoria. This work was included in 'Dreamings, The Art of Aboriginal Australia', the exhibition travelled to the Asia Society Galleries, New York, The David and Alfred Smart Galleries, University of Chicago and Los Angeles Museum of Natural History, Los Angeles, as well as being shown in Melbourne and Adelaide.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ancestor figure, male. Painting, bark, Oenpelli, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia, 1912 - Unknown artist, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia - Google Arts & Culture

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Museums are often criticized as categorising such works as ethnographic, however Museum Victoria is unique in that it has a history of collecting and exhibiting works by Aboriginal artists as art for a period of a century or more.

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Walpu - Tommy Watson - Google Arts & Culture

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Walpu’ 2004 is a significant site in Watson’s country. In his own words: “This is Nyiwan, ngayuka ngunytju ngura (my mother’s country) and my grandfather’s...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Museums are often criticized as categorising such works as ethnographic, however Museum Victoria is unique in that it has a history of collecting and exhibiting works by Aboriginal artists as art for a century. This bark painting is amongst the earliest works collected by the director of the National Museum of Victoria, Walter Baldwin Spencer. He first went to Oenpelli, the pastoral station established in western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory by the famous buffalo shooter, Paddy Cahill. After Spencer's first visit there in 1912, he returned to Melbourne with 38 works on bark collected from the region of the East and South Alligator Rivers. These, he removed from the bark that was laid over frameworks that provided shelter during wet season rains.
The male figure here lives amongst the caves and is associated with the Gaagudju people. Spencer identifies him as 'Numereji' and further notes 'medicine men see him, talk to him'. The depiction is the front view of the ancestor in the typical style of portrayal in the art tradition of this region. The head is usually a very prominent feature and the hair and face here are very distinctive. These specific features in a painting allow bining, the people of western Arnhem Land, to identify the figure. He holds a club painted with designs characteristically painted on these men's objects, and he holds feathers in the opposite hand. Unlike most of the figures in paintings collected by Spencer, it does not reveal any internal organs or skeletal elements in the classic 'x-ray' tradition. Artists in western Arnhem Land typically paint these figures with additional and exaggerated digits on the hands and feet, and this figure has extra toes on both feet and extra fingers.
The work originates from the first decades of the 20th century and is part of the earliest known bark paintings from western Arnhem Land. While the works associated with WB Spencer, and those commissioned by Cahill subsequent to Spencer's visits, are not the earliest bark paintings in existence, they are the earliest works produced as a collection with over 170 paintings being produced between 1912 and 1922 for the museum in Melbourne. Mostly imagery is derived from animals depicted in the rich galleries of rock art found in this region; however so-called 'spirit figures' are the most intriguing and beguiling artworks. Bark paintings in the WB Spencer and Paddy Cahill Collections are considered the most significant historical art works from western Arnhem Land in existence. As such they have featured and continue to feature nationally and internationally in exhibitions and publications. These paintings take pride of place amongst the extensive and significant holdings of Aboriginal art in the collections of Indigenous art at Museum Victoria.

Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more

Recommended

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ancestor figure, male - Unknown artist, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia - Google Arts & Culture

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Museums are often criticized as categorising such works as ethnographic, however Museum Victoria is unique in that it has a history of collecting and exhibiting works by Aboriginal artists as art for a century.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Two circular shapes near the centre of the painting depict Wiritji Rockhole, a significant water source and traditional meeting place in Eubena's country, near Punmu close to the Canning Stock Route. The elongated shapes that separate the painting into three sections depict the kinyu (road) traditionally taken by people as they travelled this country moving from one waterhole to the next. The landscape is dominated by parallel sand dunes, which provide a supply of bush food shown here as a lining of white and green.-Warlayirti Artists Aboriginal Corporation © Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory

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Wiritji rockhole - Eubena Nampitjin - Google Arts & Culture

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Two circular shapes near the centre of the painting depict Wiritji Rockhole, a significant water source and traditional meeting place in Eubena's country, near Punmu close to the Canning Stock Route. The elongated shapes that separate the painting into three sections depict the kinyu (road) traditionally taken by people as they travelled this country moving from one waterhole to the next.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Museums are often criticized as categorising such works as ethnographic, however Museum Victoria is unique in that it has a history of collecting and exhibiting works by Aboriginal artists as art for a period of a century or more. This bark painting was collected in 1914 and was amongst the earliest consignments of works commissioned for the museum by Paddy Cahill on behalf of the director of the then National Museum of Victoria, Walter Baldwin Spencer. Cahill had established a pastoral station at Oenpelli in western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory and when Spencer's first visited in 1912, he returned to Melbourne with 38 works on bark collected from the region of the East and South Alligator Rivers. These, he removed from the bark that was laid over frameworks that provided shelter during wet season rains.

The male figure is associated with the Kunwinjku speaking people of western Arnhem Land. Shown as a front view, a style of portrayal is typical of the art traditions of this region. The head and face of such figures are usually a prominent feature of the paintings, and here the eyes are dominant and there is no mouth. It is these specific details that allow bining, the people of western Arnhem Land, to identify the likely ancestor featured in a painting. The name documented by Cahill was 'Mununlimbir', identified as one who roamed looking for 'sugarbag' or honey from native bees. The shapes emanating from his elbows are the baskets used to collect the honey. The designs on the ancestor's body are consistent with the western Arnhem Land painting traditions of 'x-ray' art, the spine being clearly visible combined with very strong geometric patterning. The positioning of the ancestor's hands, arms and feet may indicate a forwards movement, and this 'school' of painting typically includes additional and exaggerated digits on hands and feet. This figure has an additional finger on each hand and the feet are painted without toes.

The work originates from the first decades of the 20th century and is part of the earliest known bark paintings from western Arnhem Land. While the works associated with WB Spencer and Paddy Cahill are not the earliest bark paintings in existence, they are the earliest works produced as a collection with over 170 paintings being produced between 1912 and 1922 for the museum in Melbourne. Mostly imagery is derived from animals depicted in the rich galleries of rock art found in this region; however so-called 'spirit figures' are the most intriguing and beguiling artworks. Bark paintings in the WB Spencer and Paddy Cahill Collections are considered the most significant historical art works from western Arnhem Land in existence. As such they have featured and continue to feature nationally and internationally in exhibitions and publications. These paintings take pride of place amongst the extensive and significant holdings of Aboriginal art in the collections of Indigenous art at Museum Victoria.

Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more

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# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ancestor figure, male. Painting, bark, Kunwinjku, Oenpelli, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia, 1914 - Unknown artist, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia - Google Arts & Culture

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Museums are often criticized as categorising such works as ethnographic, however Museum Victoria is unique in that it has a history of collecting and exhibiting works by Aboriginal artists as art for a period of a century or more.

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Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Museums are often criticized as categorising such works as ethnographic, however Museum Victoria is unique in that it has a history of collecting and exhibiting works by Aboriginal artists as art for a period of a century or more. This bark painting was collected in 1914 and was amongst the earliest consignments of works commissioned for the museum by Paddy Cahill on behalf of the director of the then National Museum of Victoria, Walter Baldwin Spencer. Cahill had established a pastoral station at Oenpelli in western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory and when Spencer's first visited in 1912, he returned to Melbourne with 38 works on bark collected from the region of the East and South Alligator Rivers. These, he removed from the bark that was laid over frameworks that provided shelter during wet season rains.

The male figure is associated with the Kunwinjku speaking people of western Arnhem Land. Shown as a front view, a style of portrayal is typical of the art traditions of this region. The head and face of such figures are usually a prominent feature of the paintings, and here the eyes are dominant and there is no mouth. It is these specific details that allow bining, the people of western Arnhem Land, to identify the likely ancestor featured in a painting. The name documented by Cahill was 'Mununlimbir', identified as one who roamed looking for 'sugarbag' or honey from native bees. The shapes emanating from his elbows are the baskets used to collect the honey. The designs on the ancestor's body are consistent with the western Arnhem Land painting traditions of 'x-ray' art, the spine being clearly visible combined with very strong geometric patterning. The positioning of the ancestor's hands, arms and feet may indicate a forwards movement, and this 'school' of painting typically includes additional and exaggerated digits on hands and feet. This figure has an additional finger on each hand and the feet are painted without toes.

The work originates from the first decades of the 20th century and is part of the earliest known bark paintings from western Arnhem Land. While the works associated with WB Spencer and Paddy Cahill are not the earliest bark paintings in existence, they are the earliest works produced as a collection with over 170 paintings being produced between 1912 and 1922 for the museum in Melbourne. Mostly imagery is derived from animals depicted in the rich galleries of rock art found in this region; however so-called 'spirit figures' are the most intriguing and beguiling artworks. Bark paintings in the WB Spencer and Paddy Cahill Collections are considered the most significant historical art works from western Arnhem Land in existence. As such they have featured and continue to feature nationally and internationally in exhibitions and publications. These paintings take pride of place amongst the extensive and significant holdings of Aboriginal art in the collections of Indigenous art at Museum Victoria.

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Ancestor figure, male. Painting, bark, Kunwinjku, Oenpelli, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia, 1914 - Unknown artist, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia - Google Arts & Culture

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Museum Victoria holds significant collections of artworks by Australian Aboriginal artists dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Museums are often criticized as categorising such works as ethnographic, however Museum Victoria is unique in that it has a history of collecting and exhibiting works by Aboriginal artists as art for a period of a century or more.

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Walangkura Napanangka is one of the senior women artists at Kiwirrkura. She is the daughter of Inyuwa Nampitjinpa. 'Katungka Napanangka at Papunga', 1999, is a major painting by Walangkura in her distinctive style.

The network of web of patterning in this painting is reminiscent of the cracks on rocks in the vicinity.

In 1997 the Art Gallery of New South Wales purchased a collection of sixteen paintings by a representative group of women artists including examples of paintings by all the most important senior women from the Kintore/Kiwirrkura communities.

In 'Aboriginal Artists of the Western Desert', 1994, Vivien Johnson states that at the time the book was published very few women from Kintore and Kiwirrkura painted regularly. For years many of these women have helped their husbands (who are some of the most famous of the Western desert painters) and have received no recognition or acknowledgement for their work. It is only recently that they have started painting in their own right. The Gallery purchased a small painting by Walangkura in 1997.

Paintings by the Kintore and Kiwirrkura women refer to a large area of their ancestral country around the settlements of Kintore, Kiwirrkura and Tjukula - settlements and camps in the vicinity of the Northern Territory and Western Australia border, and the Gibson Desert.

Rock holes and soakages form the most recognisable symbols in the women's paintings while Stories associated with the Tingari cycle of ceremonies are also painted by some artists. This is significant because the men's business associated with the Tingari Ceremonies is often represented in Western Desert paintings while works by women dealing with this subject matter are rare.

Australian Art Department, AGNSW, 2000

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Kutungka Napanangka at Papunga - Walangkura Napanangka - Google Arts & Culture

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Walangkura Napanangka is one of the senior women artists at Kiwirrkura. She is the daughter of Inyuwa Nampitjinpa. 'Katungka Napanangka at Papunga', 1999, is a major painting by Walangkura in her distinctive style. The network of web of patterning in this painting is reminiscent of the cracks on rocks in the vicinity.

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https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/arrernte-shield-unknown-maker-central-australia/KwFb3gS3Wl6JUw

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This shield from Central Australia, possibly produced by the Arrernte people, was purchasd by Museum Victoria in 1952 from H.J. Wright. Although shields were manufactured by Aboriginal men primarily for fighting, they were also used on ceremonial occasions. Depending on the nature of the ceremony, certain iconographic designs were painted on the surface of the shield and employed in different parts of the ritual to evoke the power of ancestral beings originating in the 'dreamtime' (tjukurrpa). Like the iconography that appears in contemporary Aboriginal painting, the designs represent certain events and activities relating to the ancestral heroes as they wondered across the mythic landscape.

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Arrernte shield - Unknown maker, Central Australia - Google Arts & Culture

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This shield from Central Australia, possibly produced by the Arrernte people, was purchasd by Museum Victoria in 1952 from H.J. Wright. Although shields were manufactured by Aboriginal men primarily for fighting, they were also used on ceremonial occasions.

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Marpa' 2001 refers to some of the country of Lucy's grandparents. This country is known as Marpa, after the central rockhole shown here, and is located in the southern Great Sandy Desert. This is important women's country, who are shown throughout the painting, coming here for ceremony. The dot work throughout the painting represents some of the food available at Marpa, in particular, kantilli or bush raisin. The desert oak, or kurkapi, is also found here and depicted as the three solid bands of colour. The majority of the painting depicts tali or sand dunes which dominate the landscape of the area.

Lucy Yukenbarri comes from country that extends along the area now known as the Canning Stock Route to Jupiter Well and Well 33. This includes such sites as Marpa, Piyulpa, Winpupulla and Wirtjinti. The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture states: 'Yukenbarri is known among the Balgo artists for having invented a new style of dotting called kinti-kinti (close-close) in 1990 soon after she began to paint. Her early works followed the standard Balgo methods of forming lines by means of rows of dotting and of outlining icons in a similar way. A quietly creative artist, she then moved to another technique in use by other Balgo painters at the time - single colour fields of dotting - but she alone made a next step of moving the dots so closely together that they converged, creating dense masses of pigment on the surface of the canvas. This, together with her exploration of the visible possibilities of black icons for waterholes and soaks, and her use of dark green and blue pigments, gave her work a distinctive style, producing effects unique in desert Aboriginal art.'

Yukenbarri's husband is Helicopter Tjungurrayi who is also a Warlayirti artist.

© Australian Art Department, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2003

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Marpa - Lucy Yukenbarri Napanangka - Google Arts & Culture

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Marpa' 2001 refers to some of the country of Lucy's grandparents. This country is known as Marpa, after the central rockhole shown here, and is located in the southern Great Sandy Desert. This is important women's country, who are shown throughout the painting, coming here for ceremony.

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Two circular shapes near the centre of the painting depict Wiritji Rockhole, a significant water source and traditional meeting place in Eubena's country, near Punmu close to the Canning Stock Route. The elongated shapes that separate the painting into three sections depict the kinyu (road) traditionally taken by people as they travelled this country moving from one waterhole to the next. The landscape is dominated by parallel sand dunes, which provide a supply of bush food shown here as a lining of white and green.-Warlayirti Artists Aboriginal Corporation © Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory

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Wiritji rockhole - Eubena Nampitjin - Google Arts & Culture

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Two circular shapes near the centre of the painting depict Wiritji Rockhole, a significant water source and traditional meeting place in Eubena's country, near Punmu close to the Canning Stock Route. The elongated shapes that separate the painting into three sections depict the kinyu (road) traditionally taken by people as they travelled this country moving from one waterhole to the next.