Born c. 1935 at Mt Riddock Station, where he lived until his father’s death. He then worked in the woolsheds at McDonald Downs and Delmore Downs Stations before marrying and moving to Utopia Station. He is the most senior lawman amongst the Eastern Anmatyerre people from the area north-east of Alice Springs, whose ritual responsibilities extend beyond his own group into the neighbouring Alyawarre and Eastern Aranda (Arrente) ceremonial life. According to Janet Holt, who runs the painting company at Delmore Downs Station, David Ross “is involved in every major ceremony between the Sandover River and the Queensland border as the ultimate Aboriginal legal authority”. In painting too, David Ross is a strong traditionalist, allowing no elements of decorativeness to detract from the correctness of the design. He took up painting as a response to the changed historical circumstances of his people and the need “to put down” his knowledge in a permanent medium for his children and posterity. Though he has been painting for only a short time, his work has been included in group exhibitions in Australia, USSR and USA and in 1990 he had a solo exhibition at Coventry Gallery in Sydney. He is represented in several public collections including National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of WA Perth, Art Gallery of Queensland and in private collections in Australia and overseas.
- Writers:
- Johnson, Vivien
- Date written:
- 1994
- Last updated:
- 2011
