Albert Namatjira has become one of the most revered names in Australian art history, his artworks providing many Australians their first glimpses into the heart of this country and its meaning for First Australians. Published in 1992, the successful original edition of this book – the first in-depth study of the Indigenous watercolourists and the major touring exhibition that accompanied it – looked beyond Albert Namatjira and the Western Aranda (Arrernte) who followed him. This revised and expanded edition of The Heritage of Namatjira presents the developing art of the Aranda – decoration on wood, pottery, fabric; the continuing assistance of regional art centres in production and marketing; the equal role of women in representing new technologies such as oil rigs, telephones and the all-important motor vehicles. In October 2017 the Namatjira Legacy Trust entered into an agreement with Legend Press, returning the copyright in Albert Namatjira’s works to the Namatjira family after 35 long years of injustice; the Namatjira family are now well and truly holders of this celebrated heritage. The watercolour movement initiated by Namatjira now spans five generations. If a generation ago there had been some doubts in the future of the heritage of Namatjira, the work of Vincent, the youngest of the Aranda artists, has put paid to that.
