Anatjari Tjampitjinpa

Anatjari Tjampitjinpa was a highly respected Pintupi painter and a key figure in the emergence of the Western Desert art movement. He was born at Ilyipi, in Pintupi Country west of Kiwirrkura and east of Jupiter Well in Western Australia, where he lived traditionally before his family was moved eastward in the 1960s. In 1964, he travelled to Papunya with his wives, children, and brothers, Old Walter and Yarakula, while other family members moved north towards Balgo. Like many Pintupi people of his generation, Anatjari’s early life reflected both the resilience of desert survival and the upheavals brought about by government relocation policies.

Although he made a small number of early works for Geoffrey Bardon, it was not until the mid-1970s that Anatjari began painting consistently. He was drawn into the growing Papunya Tula movement, where the collective energy of the artists inspired experimentation and individual expression. His paintings often centred on the Tingari ancestors, whose journeys across the desert form the foundation of Pintupi law, culture, and identity. While his style remained pared back and restrained, it conveyed a profound sense of space and ancestral presence. Works such as Snake Dreaming at Yunkurraya (1983) exemplify his approach, combining minimal iconography with subtle painterly qualities that reflect an intimate connection to Country.

In the 1980s, Anatjari joined other Pintupi families in returning to their homelands as part of the outstation movement, continuing to paint for Papunya Tula Artists during what is often described as the golden age of desert painting. His work was regularly exhibited, including appearances in the National Aboriginal Art Award, the Face of the Centre exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (1985), and Dreamings: Art of Aboriginal Australia, which toured the United States between 1988 and 1990. His landmark canvas Travels of the Tingari Men is held in the Kelton Foundation, and other works are represented in major national collections.

Anatjari passed away in 1992, leaving behind an important artistic legacy. Though not the most prolific of painters, his consistent and deeply grounded practice made him instrumental in shaping the trajectory of Western Desert art and in carrying Pintupi cultural traditions into an international arena.