Tim Tjapaltjarri Leura b. 1930 Napperby Creek, NT

Also known as:
  • Timmy Leurah Tjapaltjarri
  • Tjapaltjarri
  • Djabaldjari
  • Tim Leura
  • Artist (Painter) , (Carver)
Anmatyerre artist who was renowned for his wood carving skill before beginning to paint in Papunya at the beginning of the 1970s. As a close friend of Geoffrey Bardon, he was a key figure in the beginnings of the painting movement at Papunya and one of Papunya Tula's leading artists over the company's first decade.
Talk | Version history | Updated Oct. 19, 2011 | Created Jan. 1, 1994
Name
Tim Tjapaltjarri Leura
Also known as:
  • Timmy Leurah Tjapaltjarri
  • Tjapaltjarri
  • Djabaldjari
  • Tim Leura
Birth date
c.1930
Birth place
Napperby Creek, NT
Death date
1984
Death place
None
Gender
Male
Roles
  • Artist (Painter)
  • Artist (Carver)
Residence
  • c.1930- Napperby, NT
  • c.1960- Papunya, NT
  • Narwietooma, NT
Other Occupation
  • Stockman
Active Period
  • 1971-
Languages
  • English
Training
  • c.1971- Papunya Tula Artists, NT
Is Indigenous
Yes
Dreaming
  • Morning Star
  • Moon
  • Sun
  • Blue Tongue Lizard
  • Fire
  • Yam
  • Possum
Initial Record Data Source
  • Aboriginal Artists of the Western Desert: A Biographical Dictionary
Copyright
  • Papunya Tula Artists, NT

Born in Napperby Creek, probably in the ’30s, he grew up around Napperby station, on his traditional Anmatyerre country. Like his younger 'brother’ Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri , he had such skill at wood carving that his name was already known in Central Australia as a brilliant craftsman before the painting movement began in Papunya. From Narwietooma station, where he had worked as a stockman, he moved to Papunya with his wife Daisy Leura , and their young family when the construction program for the new settlement began. When painting started up, he presented himself to Geoff Bardon and asked to paint. The two men became friends, and from this position Tim Leura played a leading role in the emerging painting enterprise, including his enlistment of his 'brother’ Clifford to the group of artists. Geoff Bardon’s 1991 book, Papunya Tula: Art of the Western Desert , contains a detailed map drawn by the artist showing his Dreaming area and the sites of the Possum, Yam, Fire, Blue Tongue Lizard, Sun, Moon and Morning Star and other Dreamings which were the subject of his paintings. His 27’ (8.2 m) Napperby Death Spirit (Possum) Dreaming (painted in 1980 with assistance from Clifford Possum ) was the centrepiece of the Dreamings: Art of Aboriginal Australia exhibition which toured the USA in 1988-9, and is increasingly cited as one of the greatest paintings of the movement. The painting of Warlugulong , 1976 (Art Gallery of NSW) with his brother Clifford is documented in the BBC documentary Desert Dreamers of that year. He died in 1984 after a long illness.

Writers:
Johnson, Vivien Note: primary biographer
Date written:
1994
Last updated:
2011
associate of
Daisy Nakamarra Leura
1936
Artist (Painter)
spouse of
Daisy Nakamarra Leura
1936
Artist (Painter)
associate of
Geoffrey Bardon
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
associate of
Gordon Tjapanangka Campbell
1941
Artist (Painter)
sibling of
Kitty Pultara Cockatoo
1952
Artist (Painter)
associate of
Dick Tjapanangka Lechleitner
1930
Artist (Painter)
associate of
Kitty Pultara Napaltjarri
1925
Artist (Painter)
sibling of
Kitty Pultara Napaltjarri
1925
Artist (Painter)
sibling of
Cassidy Tjapaltjarri
1923
Artist (Painter)
sibling of
Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri
1932
Artist (Painter), Artist (Carver)
associate of
Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri
1932
Artist (Painter), Artist (Carver)
associate of
Brogas Tjapangati
1949
Artist (Carver), Artist (Painter)
associate of
Gideon Tjupurrula
1927
Artist (Painter)
associate of
Papunya Tula Artists, NT
Non-Artist/Designer/Curator
Napperby Death Spirit (Possum) Dreaming
Date
1980
with assistance from Clifford Possum; acquired by National Gallery of Victoria
Warlugulong (with Clifford Possum)
Date
1976
acquired by the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Collections
Dreamings: Art of Aboriginal Australia
1988- 1989
Exhibition (exhibited at)
Asia Society Gallery, New York, USA
Toured to Chicago, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Adelaide
Citations:
  • Bardon, Geoffrey and Bardon, James, (2004), Papunya: A Place Made After the Story; The Beginnings of the Western Desert Painting Movement, (Place: Miegunyah Press, Melbourne, VIC ISBN-10 : 0-522-85110-X / ISBN-13: 978-0522851106)
  • Johnson, V., (2008), Lives of the Papunya Tula Artists, (Place: IAD Press, Alice Springs, NT ISBN 978 1 86465 090 7url: http://www/iadpress.com) http://www.iadpress.com
  • (1976), Desert Dreamers, (Place: BBC (British Broadcasting Authority))
  • Sutton, Peter (ed), (1988), Dreamings: Art of Aboriginal Australia, (Place: Viking in association with the Asia Society Galleries, New York)
  • Bardon, Geoffrey, (1991), Papunya Tula: Art of the Western Desert, (Place: McPhee Gribble, Ringwood, VIC)
  • Bardon, Geoffrey, (1979), Aboriginal Art of the Western Desert, (Place: Rigby, Adelaide, SA)