Nancy Ross Nungurrayi
Nancy Ross Nungurrayi was born around 1935 in the Pollock Hills area of Western Australia's desert country. A Pintupi speaker, she was the sister of renowned artists Naata Nungurrayi and George Tjungurrayi. During her early years, she lived with her parents at Wala Wala, west of the Kiwirrkura Community. After her marriage and the passing of her husband, Nancy walked to Mt Liebig carrying her first child, Marlene Nampitjinpa.
In 1996, Nancy began painting for Papunya Tula Artists. She and her older sister, Naata Nungurrayi, along with eight other women from Walunguru, participated in a collaborative painting exhibited at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 1999. The gallery also acquired a beautiful etching by Nancy titled "Marrapinti," part of the suite "Tjukurrpa Palurukutu, Kutjupawana Palyantjanya - Same Stories, A New Way," produced in 2009.
Nancy developed a distinctive technique in her artwork, using large 'U' shapes to represent the body paint designs applied to women's breasts during ceremonies. Her unique style and contributions to the art world have cemented her legacy as an influential figure in contemporary Aboriginal art. A finalist in the 2001 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards she exhibited widely both within Australia and overseas and represented in many prestigious collections including the NGV (National Gallery of Victoria), the AGNSW (Art Gallery of New South Wales), QAGOMA (Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art), AGSA (Art Gallery of NSW), UNSW (University of New South Wales). Nancy passed away in 2009.
