Walter Tjampitjinpa b. c.1910

Also known as Old Walter
  • Artist (Painter)
An elder statesman of the Pintupi community in Papunya and an influential figure at the very beginning of the painting movement.
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Referred to as “Old Walter” in Geoffrey Bardon’s writings on the beginnings of painting at Papunya, Walter Tjampitjinpa was an elder statesman of the Pintupi community in Papunya and senior custodian of the Water Dreaming that runs through Kalipinypa west of Papunya. He had an extensive knowledge of ceremonial sites which were part of the Dreaming journeys mapping out the locations of water sources across a vast area of the Western Desert. Most of his paintings depict the classic Water Dreaming icon for Kalipinypa.

Writers:
Johnson, Vivien Note: primary biographer
Date written:
1994
Last updated:
2011

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Related collections
  • Art Gallery of South Australia (collected in)
  • Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide, SA (collected in)
  • Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT (collected in)
  • University of Western Australia Anthropology Museum, Perth, WA (collected in)
  • National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC (collected in)
  • South Australian Museum, Adelaide, SA (collected in)
  • Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide, SA (collected in)
  • Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT (collected in)
  • University of Western Australia Anthropology Museum, Perth, WA (collected in)
  • National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC (collected in)