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Provenance: Painted at Papunya in July / August 1972
Consignment 16 painting number 3 to the Stuart Art Centre, Alice Springs
Private collection
Sotheby's, Contemporary and Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, 17 June 1996, lot 267
Private collection
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Literature: Bardon, G. and Bardon J., Papunya, A Place made after the Story; The Beginnings of the Western Desert Paintings Movement, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne University Publishing, 2004, p.479 Ptg.458 illus.
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Notes: This painting is sold with an accompanying four page document prepared by Geoffrey Bardon with an annotated diagram and his interpretation of the imagery depicted, that reads in part: "A child ritual figure is indicated in the centre of the painting in the ceremonial area. The naive figuration was encouraged from the earliest discussions with the artist. Anmatjira symmetry gives careful order to the arrangement of Tjurungas. The realism of snakes shows that an initiate boy is being given lessons on the subject. There are variations of body paint, ornamentation and decoration that are features of this artist's superb skill. This Children's Dreaming was part of a unique set completed by the entire Papunya painting group for lessons at the school and safe exhibition in Alice Springs for the Annual Art Show in July 1972. The work is a triumph of expression as it avoids the restrictions of secrecy that accompanied so much traditional Aboriginal painting at Papunya".
There are four figurative children's paintings in this series, all of which are documented in Bardon and Bardon (pp.477-479) including Busy, Cranky or Turbulent Spirit Child, 1972, formerly in the Peter Fannin Collection and now in the National Gallery of Australia.
