About the exhibition

Albert Namatjira is one of Australia's most famous artists, whose landscape watercolours have become iconic images in the history of Australian art. Born on the Finke River Mission Station at Hermannsburg (west of Alice Springs) in 1902, he developed a style of watercolour painting that would become synonymous with the Australian outback. Once dismissed as purely decorative or derivative, Namatjira is today considered to have formulated a distinctive and influential style which expressed his personal relationship with the Arrente country to which he was spiritually bound. This exhibition from the National Gallery of Australia seeks to redress previous misconceptions about the life and art of this great Australian artist.

Seeing the Centre brings together the finest works by Namatjira from public and private collections throughout Australia. Contextual works will also be on display from his early years in Hermannsburg, where he learned to paint in the 1930s from artist Rex Battarbee. It concludes with works that show responses from both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal perspectives, including watercolours by other members of his family and Sir William Dargie's portrait of Namatjira that won the 1956 Archibald Prize.

Admission charges

Exhibition Tours
Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday & Sunday at 2 pm
Meet at the entrance to the exhibition. Entry charges apply - see above

Private Tours
Get a group together of ten people or more and have your own private tour.
Telephone 8207 7075 or 8207 7090 to be put in touch with the Gallery Guide Booking Officer

Talks
Friday 7 March at 12.45 pm
Roger Butler, Senior Curator of Australian Prints, Drawings and Illustrated Books at the National Gallery of Australia, presents a talk on Seeing the Centre: The art of Albert Namatjira. Gallery 22.
Free with exhibition entry

Saturday 5 April at 12 noon
Alison French, Curator of Seeing the Centre: The art of Albert Namatjira 1902 – 1959,
presents an introductory talk about the artist in the exhibition.
Free with exhibition entry

Free Public Lectures
Saturday 29 March at 2 pm
Ruth Megaw, Visiting Scholar, Flinders University, presents The heritage of Namatjira.
Art Gallery Auditorium

Saturday 5 April at 2 pm
Alison French, Curator of Seeing the Centre: The art of Albert Namatjira 1902 – 1957, presents a slide lecture on the development of the exhibition and the life’s work of Albert Namatjira.
Art Gallery Auditorium

Events for families and children

Family Drop-in Days
Sunday 23 March & Sunday 27 April at 12 noon – 3 pm
Bring the children and enjoy free art and craft activities. Suitable for children aged 5-10 years. Parental supervision required. A free event  held on the fourth Sunday of each month

School Holiday Art & Craft Program
Monday 21 – Thursday 24 April
Join us for some great holiday art and craft activities.
Explore the wonderful world of watercolours!
Daily sessions at 10.30 am, 12 noon and 1.30 pm in the Art Gallery of South Australia Auditorium
$5 per child. Suitable for ages 5-10 years.
Bookings essential: call Megan on 8207 7005

Special Offer
Join the Friends and enjoy free entry to Seeing the Centre: the art of Albert Namatjira
Simply complete the membership application form at the time of your next visit and you will receive a free pass to the exhibition along with an interim membership card which immediately enables you to take advantage of the wide range of benefits Friends enjoy. Further enquiries to Jo Parkes on 8207 7050

Events
Friday 7 March at 6.15 pm
Albert Namatjira – Private viewing with Roger Butler
This comprehensive collection of magnificent watercolours by Albert Namatjira presents many of his works together for the first time. Roger Butler, Senior Curator of Australian Prints, Drawings and Illustrated Books at the National Gallery of Australia will provide us with an insight into the life and work of Albert Namatjira.
Tickets: $27, members $22. Ticket price includes exhibition entry and supper.

Tuesday 25 March at 6.15 pm
Namatjira: the artist's choice presented by Philip Jones
During the mid-1930s Albert Namatjira chose to make watercolour paintings in the western tradition. That choice arose from a complex set of relationships between the Arrernte and Europeans living in Central Australia and Namatjira's historic initiative provoked a redefinition of Aboriginal art and tradition. This talk, by Philip Jones of the South Australian Museum, re-examines the life and achievements of this remarkable Aboriginal artist.
Tickets: $25, members $20. Ticket price includes supper.

Wednesday 9 & 16 April at 10.30 am
A Guide to Namatjira
Tour of the exhibition with an Art Gallery Guide followed by coffee and pastries in the Members’ Lounge.
Tickets: $15, members $12

Wednesday 30 April at 10.30 am
An artist is born: Albert Namatjira & Rex Battarbee
Join Gail Quarmby, daughter of Rex Battarbee for an insight into the development of Namatjira’s art and the long friendship between these two distinguished artists.
Tickets: $15, members $12

All Friends events bookings: telephone: 8207 7050

Education

Schools Program
The curriculum connections for this remarkable exhibition are many ...

Visual Art
the life and work of Albert Namatjira (then and now), painting the desert, watercolour techniques.
Australian Studies, Aboriginal Cultural Studies and Australian social history: Namatjira – between two worlds (1950s political and social contexts), art and artists shaping Australian cultural identity, the Centre as symbol of nation

Cultural Tourism
the Centre as cultural experience.
Philosophy and spiritual traditions: Aboriginal and European relationships with the land, the desert as spiritual site.

Education Resources
Fold out brochures available to each student visiting the exhibition

National Gallery of Australia website
gallery of key images with captions and recommended resources: http://www.nga.gov.au

Research packs
Laminated research cards adapted from NGA fold out pack. On loan to visiting groups.

Teachers’ notes
available from the Education Service. Telephone: 8207 7036

Teacher briefing
Monday 10 March  4.30 - 6.30 pm
Bookings: 8207 7033

Interpretation  |  school booking information
LOOK & LEARN
Education Guide sessions (primary students). Duration 30 minutes. Education Guides explain aspects of exhibition design and content and explore key works. Following this guided session, students undertake viewing and research activities set by teachers.
Group size: one class

LOOK & LEARN
Education Officer floor-lectures (secondary students). Duration 30 minutes (neg.). The Education Officer analyses exhibition design and key works in terms of exhibition themes and content.
Group size: one class

Bookings: ph 8207 7033

Schools admission price
$20 per class size group. Supervising teachers/adults free admission.
DECS ED Index 1-4 and country schools free admission

Free screenings

Film Day
Sunday 4 May at 2 pm. Entry free
To complement the exhibition Seeing the Centre: The art of Albert Namatjira, 1902-1959, the Gallery will screen a selection of rarely seen film, some featuring the artist himself. Art Gallery Auditorium.

Namatjira the painter
Made in 1947 and revised in 1974, this film is about the life and artistic development of Aboriginal painter, Albert Namatjira. The late Albert Namatjira played a leading role in this film. (1974). 18 mins.

Sons of Namatjira
Life at the artists’ camp set up by Albert Namatjira on the outskirts of Alice Springs. Explores the relationship between this community and the outside world. (1975). Features Keith Namatjira. 51 mins.

Enquiries to Cate on 8207 7035

Free daily screenings
Throughout the exhibition, there will be screenings from 11 am each day of the following documentaries.

First citizen: Albert Namatjira
Covers the life and art of Albert Namatjira, trying to right the many misconceptions and misunderstandings concerning him. Presents the conditions and prejudices of Namatjira’s time. While endeavouring to redress some of the imbalanced views about Namatjira, the account is still objective. (1988) 55 mins.

Sons of Namatjira
Keith Namatjira and his relatives live on the outskirts of Alice Springs, painting landscapes for the local art and tourist market in the style established by their famous kinsman, Albert Namatjira. Although they live in poor conditions, their work is much sought after – and it becomes the chief weapon in their struggle as a dis-possessed people to assert themselves in a world not of their choosing. (1975) 47 mins.

Scheduling enquiries to Cate on 8207 7035
courtesy of SA Video and Film Collection

Enquiries: call Cate on 82077035

To see what other events and activities are on at the Gallery,
click here to go to the Calendar of Events

At the Bookshop

Catalogue
An illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition and is available from the Gallery Bookshop at the special exhibition price of $39.95.
(Friends of the Gallery, full-time students and school orders receive a 10% discount on all items not marked nett.)

Merchandise
A range of greeting cards, limited edition postage stamps and framed prints are also available from the Gallery Bookshop.

The Bookshop is open from 10 am until 4.45 pm every day except Christmas Day.
For more information about the Gallery Bookshop, click here or telephone: (08) 8207 7029 Fax (08) 8207 7069

Sponsors