Lily Kelly Napangardi

Lily Kelly Napangardi was born in Haasts Bluff (Ikuntji) in 1948, a town 325km northwest of Alice Springs. She spent her youth in the community of Papunya, where the first current of contemporary aboriginal art was born in the 1970s. In the early 1980s, she moved with her family to the foot of the McDonnell Ranges in about 75km west of Mt Liebig. It was there that she began to paint, assisting her husband, Norman Kelly Tjampitjinpa, then very quickly creating her own works.

Her airy style propelled her to the forefront of the Australian and international art scene and won her two prestigious awards, the Northern Territory Art Award in 1986 and the 20th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award ( NATSIAA) in 2003. In 2006, she entered the Australian Art Collector Magazine's "50 most collectable Australian artists" selection.

Prizes received by this artist:

2003. Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Darwin (Australia)

1986. Northern Territory Art Award (Australia)

His works are present in many collections:

Jacques Chirac-quai Branly Museum, Paris (France)

The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica (United States)

The Vroom Collection, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

Groninger Museum, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (Australia)

Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (Australia)

Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane (Australia)

Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide (Australia)

National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (Australia)

Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory Darwin (Australia)

Artbank, Sydney (Australia)

Holmes A Court Collection, Cowaramup (Australia)