Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri
Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri
Born:
c. 1932
Deceased:
2002
Language Group:
Anmatyerre
Country:
Western Desert, Northern Territory and South Australia
Medium:
Acrylic on Canvas and Linen
Subjects:
Men's Dreaming, Bushfire Dreaming, Untitled
Clifford was born at Napperby Station, North West of Alice Springs to Tjatjiti Tjungurrayai and Long Rose Nangala. He lived a very traditional bush upbringing in his youth in the Jay Creek area and later became a stockman. He is from a family of artists, both his stepfather and brother having artwork displayed on Australian postage stamps. Another older brother, Cassidy, was also a painter and a respected elder in his community.
Clifford began his art career with wood carving and would carve snakes and goannas.When acrylic painting came to the Papunya area in the early 1970's, Clifford Possum emerged as one of the first artists to be involved in the Western Desert Art Movement.
Clifford passed away in June 2002 not long after being officially recognised for all his work and contribution to the Aboriginal Art and Culture in Australia. He was to be sworn in as an officer of the Order of Australia.
Artbank, Sydney, NSW
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, SA
Hank Ebes Collection, Melbourne
The Holmes à Court Collection, Perth, WA
The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, USA
Mbantua Gallery Collection, Alice Springs, NT
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC
Parliament House Art Collection, Canberra, ACT
1974
Anvil Art Gallery, Albury, NSW
1980
The Past and Present of the Australian Aborigine, Pacific Asia Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA
1983
XVII Bienal de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo
1984
Painters of the Western Desert: Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Paddy Carroll Tjungurrayi and Uta Uta Tjangala, Adelaide Arts Festival, SA
1971-1984
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC
1987
Circle Path Meander, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC
1989
Papunya Tula: Contemporary Paintings from Australia's Western Desert, John Weber Gallery, New York City, NY, USA
1990
L'ete Austrazlien a'Montpellier, France
1991
Aboriginal Art and Spirituality, High Court of Australia, Canberra, ACT
1992
Crossroads - Towards a New Reality - Aboriginal Art from Australia, National Museums of Modern Art, Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan
1993
Tjukurrpa, Desert Dreamings, Aboriginal Art from Central Australia 1971-1993, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, WA
1994
Power of the Land - Masterpieces of Aboriginal Art, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC
1994
Yiribana, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW
1983
The Alice Prize, Araluen Cultural Centre, Alice Springs, NT
1985
Mural Design, Araluen Centre, Alice Springs, NT
1991
Strehlow Research Foundation, Alice Springs, NT
1991
Mural Design, New Alice Springs Airport, NT
2002
Medal of the Order of Australia
Winner
Johnson, V.
(1994) The Dictionary of Western Desert Artists, Crafts Wales
Diggins, L.
(1989) A Myriad of Dreaming: Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art, exhibit. Cat., Malakoff Fine Art Press, North Caulfield, VIC
Caruana, W.
(1993) Aboriginal Art, Thames and Hudson