Returning a name to an artist: the work of Majumbu, a previously unknown Australian painter

Tue, 7 Mar 2023 18:25:39 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/returning-a-name-to-an-artist-the-work-of-majumbu-a-previously-unknown-australian-painter-199683>

"Arnhem Land rock and bark paintings have fascinated people across the world
since the early 1800s. Rock art was first recorded by Matthew Flinders and his
onboard artist William Westall at Chasm Island in January 1803 while they were
circumnavigating Australia.

In the early to mid-1800s, there was interest in Arnhem Land paintings on
sheets of bark used to form hut-like shelters by visitors to Port Essington. In
the late 1800s, some visitors to Arnhem Land collected barks for museums.

The names and stories of the individuals who made most Aboriginal rock art and
the earliest collected bark paintings are not known.

We have recently begun to address this. We have identified various artists who
made early bark paintings and recent rock paintings.

Today, in Australian Archaeology, we announce the identification of another
artist, Majumbu, also known as “Old Harry”."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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