Albert Namatjira (1902–59) was a Western Arrernte-speaking artist from the MacDonnell Ranges, west of Alice Springs in Central Australia. His Western-style landscapes, different from traditional Aboriginal art, made him a celebrated pioneer of contemporary Indigenous Australian art in the 1950s and the most famous Indigenous Australian of his generation.

A skilled artist and a proud Arrernte (Aranda) elder, Namatjira continues to inspire. A school of painting has formed around him, and many artists have been compelled to tell his story through their own works.

This display features early works by Namatjira , arguably Australia's best-known Aboriginal artist, alongside artworks by those he influenced, including artists from the Arrernte landscape painting tradition, the Hermannsburg Potters and his great-grandson, Vincent Namatjira.