Tjapaltjarri painted acrylic dot paintings now some of the most identified with the modern Aboriginal art movement; inspired by Aboriginal mythology known as the Dreaming, or Dreamtime.
Read MoreTjapaltjarri worked as a cattle stockman from the age of 12, until he joined an art program at the Papunya mission in the 1960s. In 1972 the students there formed the Papunya Tula Artists company, and Tjapaltjarri’s intricate paintings gained attention.
In 1983 he was awarded the Alice Springs Art Prize, and the National Gallery of Australia purchased his massive 3.7 × 2.4-m (12 × 8-ft) painting Honey Ant Eater. Five years later the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London mounted a retrospective of his works. Tjapaltjarri was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2002.
