Overview
An Anmatyerr woman from the Central Desert may be Australia's most important artist. This is the incredible story of how Emily Kame Kngwarreye came to fame and started an art movement that changed the nation.
Emily Kame Kngwarreye only started painting at the age of 79. She is now regarded by many as Australia's most important artist, with an international reputation that continues to grow.
Drawing on accounts from those close to her as well as previously unexamined sources, Andrew Bailey reveals the inside story of how a senior law woman from one of the most remote parts of the country came to prominence in just seven years. She has twice been represented at the Venice Biennale, and a solo retrospective of her work appeared at the Tate Modern in London in 2025.
Yet Bailey shows we still greatly underestimate Kngwarreye. He demonstrates how her striking work was a catalyst for profound national cultural change in the final decade of the twentieth century. This is the previously untold story of the emergence of contemporary Indigenous art, and a compelling insight into how Australia sees itself.
'This is the first comprehensive book on one of Australia's greatest artists.' Margo Ngawa Neale, curator and author
'An intimate portrait of an artist who has become an Australian legend.' John McDonald, art critic
'Andrew Bailey brings some of the dramatic pull of an adventure story to the life and times of the Indigenous Australian artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye.' Jed Perl, art critic
'With a forensic eye for detail, Bailey has unpicked the layered politics and personality surrounding Kngwarreye, exposing the extraordinarily powerful forces at play around her—and the savvy and grounded personal force she clearly wielded.' Dan Bourchier, NITV
'This is art history at its best: meticulous and obsessed with the right question, which is what it means that the most powerful Australian art of the twentieth century came from someone mainstream Australia had spent two centuries ignoring.' Morgan Meis, art critic
Emily Kame Kngwarreye only started painting at the age of 79. She is now regarded by many as Australia's most important artist, with an international reputation that continues to grow.
Drawing on accounts from those close to her as well as previously unexamined sources, Andrew Bailey reveals the inside story of how a senior law woman from one of the most remote parts of the country came to prominence in just seven years. She has twice been represented at the Venice Biennale, and a solo retrospective of her work appeared at the Tate Modern in London in 2025.
Yet Bailey shows we still greatly underestimate Kngwarreye. He demonstrates how her striking work was a catalyst for profound national cultural change in the final decade of the twentieth century. This is the previously untold story of the emergence of contemporary Indigenous art, and a compelling insight into how Australia sees itself.
'This is the first comprehensive book on one of Australia's greatest artists.' Margo Ngawa Neale, curator and author
'An intimate portrait of an artist who has become an Australian legend.' John McDonald, art critic
'Andrew Bailey brings some of the dramatic pull of an adventure story to the life and times of the Indigenous Australian artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye.' Jed Perl, art critic
'With a forensic eye for detail, Bailey has unpicked the layered politics and personality surrounding Kngwarreye, exposing the extraordinarily powerful forces at play around her—and the savvy and grounded personal force she clearly wielded.' Dan Bourchier, NITV
'This is art history at its best: meticulous and obsessed with the right question, which is what it means that the most powerful Australian art of the twentieth century came from someone mainstream Australia had spent two centuries ignoring.' Morgan Meis, art critic
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