Born c.1935 near Wapurtali in Warlpiri country, she is a senior custodian of the Janganpa (Possum), Patanjarnngi, Ngalajiyi (Bush Carrot) and Mantala Dreamings. She has lived in Alice Springs since about 1989, but previously lived at Yuendumu and still does at different times. Peggy Poulson was one of the early women painters whose powerful paintings about women’s ceremonial life in traditional Warlpiri society helped to put the new Warlukurlangu Artists company on the artistic map in the mid ’80s. Before that she was a craftswoman, carving coolamons for the tourist trade. She has many relatives at Yuendumu who also paint, including her sisters, Maggie and Clarise Poulson . She was one of six Warlpiri women artists commissioned by the South Australian Museum in 1988 to paint an external mural at the Museum. She is a close friend of Rosie Fleming , another senior woman artist, and the two often paint together and influence one another’s styles.

Writers:
Johnson, Vivien
Date written:
1994
Last updated:
2011