Namatjira, Albert (1902-1959), was an Australian Aboriginal artist. He became known for his water-color paintings of Australian landscapes. Namatjira used Western styles and mediums of art to show his unique cultural perspective in his works. Namatjira was one of the first Australian Aboriginal painters to be nationally recognized for his work. As such, he influenced generations of Indigenous (native) artists in Australia. He is widely considered the most important Aboriginal painter in Australian history. 
Albert Namatjira was born on July 28, 1902, at Finke River Mission , a Lutheran mission in Australia’s Northern Territory. His Aboriginal name at birth was Elea. The Finke River Mission was part of the Hermannsburg settlement, also known as Ntaria, near the town of Alice Springs. Elea was a member of the Arrernte Aboriginal people, the traditional inhabitants of the Alice Springs area. In 1905, Elea and his parents became members of the Lutheran Church. During his religious conversion, Elea was renamed Albert. While establishing himself as a professional artist, he adopted his father’s Aboriginal name, Namatjira, as a surname.
Albert Namatjira spent much of his childhood at the Lutheran mission. From an early age, he created artworks in a variety of mediums, including drawing and woodworking. Around 1920, he married an Aboriginal woman named Ilkalita, who later changed her name to Rubina. After getting married, Namatjira worked as a camel driver, a carpenter, and a stockman (person who looks after livestock) to support his family.
Beginning in 1934, the Australian artist Rex Battarbee encouraged and guided Namatjira in learning to paint. Friedrich Wilhelm Albrecht, a Lutheran missionary in the Northern Territory, promoted the style of Aboriginal painting that Namatjira developed. In 1937, Albrecht and Battarbee displayed Namatjira’s works at various art exhibitions.
Namatjira’s landscapes of the Australian outback (rural interior) became extremely popular. In 1938, he held his first solo exhibition of water-color paintings in Melbourne, in the Australian state of Victoria. Namatjira’s fame attracted artists to Hermannsburg, and he and Battarbee established a school of painting there. In 1945, Namatjira held another solo exhibition in Sydney, Australia, that earned him additional praise and fame. Queen Elizabeth II, the British monarch and Australia’s head of state, awarded Namatjira a Coronation Medal in 1953.
In spite of his success, Namatjira repeatedly experienced discrimination based on his Aboriginal heritage. According to Australian law at the time, Aboriginal people were not full citizens of Australia. As an Aboriginal person living in the Northern Territory, Namatjira could not vote, build his own house, or buy alcoholic beverages. In 1957, Australia’s government granted Namatjira and his wife full citizenship. The couple were the first Indigenous people to become full citizens of Australia.
In 1958, Namatjira was arrested and convicted of supplying alcohol to another Aboriginal person. He was sentenced to six months in prison, but his sentence was later reduced. After his release from prison, Namatjira returned to Alice Springs. He died three months later, on Aug. 8, 1959. Many of Namatjira’s artworks are in the collections of prominent art galleries in Australia.
