(b Liverpool River region, N. Territory, 1903; d 17 April 1976). Australian Aboriginal painter. He was probably the best-known exponent of the style of bark painting associated with Western Arnhem Land. His language group was Kunwinjku, and he belonged to the clan Born. In his youth he moved to Croker Island. Here his works, along with those of such artists as Jimmy Midjawmidjaw, with whom he lived for a while, were collected by the French anthropologist Karel Kupka in 1963. Subsequently, Yirawala developed a strong friendship with the art dealer Sandra Holmes, who became his primary dealer for the rest of his career. Holmes was able to establish Yirawala’s reputation through a number of one-man exhibitions in Australian cities. These led to a number of art prizes, travel overseas and the award of an MBE in 1971. In the early 1970s Yirawala undertook to paint for Holmes an extensive collection of works relating to ceremonial themes. These consist of paintings of important creator figures, such as Lumah-lumah, the Big Maraian Man (c. 1971; Canberra, N.G.). The collection of 139 works was eventually bought by the Australian National Gallery in Canberra; at that stage it comprised the largest number of works by an Aboriginal artist in any public institution. The paintings reveal Yirawala’s mastery of the artistic techniques used by artists from Western Arnhem Land to show the transformative potential of these creator beings. Paintings such as Gurgurr and his Dog Mulutji (c. 1971; Canberra, N.G.) vary the outline form of the figure to suggest affinities with other species or objects, in this case the shape of the full moon. Some paintings consist of purely geometric body design patterns and others combine these with figurative forms.

• Yirawala
  • Aboriginal Australia, §V: Collectors and dealers
  • Aboriginal Australia, §VI: Museums and exhibitions
  • Marralwanga, Peter