Sold at Auction: Anna Price Petyarre

Anna Petyarre is an eastern Anmatyerre woman, born at Utopia in 1960. Anna’s home is Atneltyeye, Boundary Bore, on the Utopia Homelands, approximately 220 km from Alice Springs. She lives there with her family. She is a grandmother with five grandchildren. Anna, whose mother was the late artist Glory Ngale, has painted since her early childhood. She is related to the esteemed Aboriginal artists Emily Kame Kngwarreye and Kudditji Kngwarreye through her grandfather, who was a brother of Emily and Kudditji’s father.

Anna Petyarre’s painting subjects include Bush Yam and Yam Seed Dreamings, which are associated Dreamings from her grandfather’s and father’s country at Atneltyeye, or Boundary Bore. As a traditional Aboriginal women involved in sacred ceremonies, Anna also paints Awelye- ceremonial body paint designs, related to women’s ceremony.

Anna’s more recent paintings have focused on images of her ancestral country, the finely delineated structures showing the terrain of the sandhill and bush country, often with markings that reveal waterholes and ceremonial sites. Anna Petyarre is renowned for her fine painting technique and for the care and pride she takes in her work, producing intricate and sensitive paintings that relate to the traditional culture of her Anmatyerre heritage.

Japingka Gallery has exhibited Anna Petyarre’s paintings over many years and the artist’s work has been included in a number of exhibitions including-

Anna Price Petyarre is also known as Anna Pitjara, Anna Price Pitjara, or Anna Price Petyarre. She is the daughter of the late Glory Ngarla (Ngale, or Ngal) and niece to the late Emily Kame Kngwarreye. An emerging artist in the Utopia region, Anna began painting in the early 1980s. Born around 1965 she is a mother and grandmother.

Anna primarily paints Yam Seed Dreaming, her works are colourful and intricate expressions of the songs and stories associated with her plant totem, the Bush Yam, and its seeds. The Bush Yam has been a staple food and water source for the Anmatyerre people for countless years, and the seeds that form and scatter from the plant are ground up to make flour for damper. During ceremony, it is Anna's duty to pay homage to the yam seeds and give thanks for their abundance and regenerative qualities. By painting to the tempo of a ceremonial song, Anna expresses her connection to her plant totem in a permanent medium.

A versatile and creative artist Anna has changed her painting style radically several times over the last decade. Her work is becoming more collectible as she develops her craft and cements her reputation as one of Utopia's rising talents.



2012 Recent Works
2012 Little Gems
2011 In Black & White
2010 Summer Collection
2008 Utopia Collection
2001 Small Works