A short film showing Arrernte artist Albert Namatjira at work in the country that he knows so well. Raised at the Hermannsberg mission near Alice Springs, Namatjira was 30 years old before he first picked up a paintbrush in the mid-1930s. He had asked Rex Battarbee, a visiting landscape painter, for art supplies and guidance. Namatjira’s Western-style watercolour landscapes soon sold for high prices, and he became a household name, inspiring the Hermannsberg School of painting. Throughout Namatjira’s life, and despite his success, he remained in the bush with his people and his paints.

Originally made in 1947, this film was re-edited in 1974 to remove sacred material.

Produced in 1947 by the Department of Information for the National Film Board of Australia. Re-edited in 1974. © National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.