Kathleen Petyarre
| Kathleen was born c1940 in the remote spinifex country of Atnankere, an important water soakage for Aboriginal people, on the western boundary of Utopia Station. She belongs to the Anmatyerre clan group and speaks Eastern Anmatyerre, with English as a second language.During childhood, Kathleen traveled around her vast homelands with her extended family, according to the seasonal availability of bush foods and water. She learned land navigation and acquired a spatial understanding of the country.
Kathleen and her family later settled at Mosquito Bore near Utopia and were involved in the successful claim for land title to Utopia Station by the traditional custodians. As a painter, Kathleen is one of the most successful and collectable of Australian artists. This particular painting celebrates the Mountain Devil Lizard or Thorny Devil. This is a relatively small spiky lizard which lives in the desert and travels long distances, changing colour according to the environment, like a chameleon. Kathleen’s paintings convey the vast landscape and the journeys of this hardy traveler. Kathleen’s life and art are the subject of a beautiful book titled “Genius of Place”.
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