Black-headed Pythons
1990
Medium
earth pigments on Stringybark (Eucalyptus sp.)
Measurements
191.6 × 57.9 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased through The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of Alcoa of Australia Limited, Governor, 1990
©George Milpurrurru/Licensed by Copyright Agency, Australia
Gallery location
Gallery 2
Ground Level, NGV Australia
About this work
George Milpurrurru was born in his Country, the bush at Badigalimak near Gulpilil, at a place called Ngalyindi. He was the eldest son of Ngulmarmar (c. 1911 – c. 1977) and his first wife, Dhapalany, and the elder brother of bark painter Charlie Djurrutjini (born 1952) and weavers Elizabeth Djutarra and Robyn Djunginy. A former ceremonial leader of the Ganalbingu people, Milpurrurru belonged to the Gurrumba Gurrumba clan, the Bulain subsection and the Yirritja moiety. Milpurrurru was taught to paint by his father, Ngulmarmar, who he used to watch paint. He was also taught by his grandfather Lululna (c. 1910 – c. 1973) and his uncle Gomindju (c. 1915 – c. 1979). He remembers receiving ten pounds for paintings from interested buyers, including Dorothy Bennett and Alan Fidock – early collectors of First Nations art – but his work probably became recognised during the late 1960s when several bark paintings were collected by ethnologist Helen Groger-Wurm for the Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra. With the death of his father around 1977, Milpurrurru assumed more ceremonial responsibility and with increasing ritual knowledge broadened his subject matter and refined his painting technique, encompassing several distinct styles.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Ramingining, Northern Territory
Accession Number
O.144-1990
Department
First Nations Australia
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Vizard Foundation