Walka design from Ernabella

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Type: Acrylic paintings
Date: 1954 - 1986
Place: Ernabella, South Australia, Australia
Materials: Paint - non specific, Paper
Collection: Winifred Hilliard collection no. 3
Accession number: 2000.0014.0744

Description

Multi coloured abstract design on a pale cream ground. The design is composed of irregular forms that touch or overlap to create a lively, open composition. The forms are loosely arranged in vertical groupings and have a combination of lobed, curved and wavy edges that terminate in hooks and points. There are two red spots in near the centre, one above the other. One edge of each of the forms has a purple band with white dots that follows the contours. The infill areas are yellow or bright green. A yellow form in the lower right corner has three small, curved protusions pointing up, and a yellow form at centre left has three pointing down. The artist has signed in the lower right corner.

About the collection

The collection comprises a broad range of objects including batiks, pokerwork carvings, paintings and pastel drawings on paper and other art and craft items, bibles and school readers in Pitjantjatjara, drawings by school children, photograph albums, videos and a small number of stone implements. The collection is significant for the depth and range of material associated with a single Aboriginal settlement at Ernabella, now known as Pukatja, its art centre and with Deaconness Winifred Hilliard who was the Arts Advisor to Ernabella between 1954 and 1986. The collection largely dates to this period. Along with other material previously donated by Hilliard, this collection documents the history of Ernabella and the women's art movement there between, but not limited to, 1954 and 1986.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 5:14:23 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2025-02-23. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.