Vincent Namatjira

Namatjira's paintings have been described as caricatures, bordering on "outsider art". They often depict famous and powerful people standing alongside the artist, as if in a publicity shoot, with frequent references to Captain James Cook, the British royal family and contemporary Indigenous life. He has said that he is interested in people and their stories, and likes to use humour in his paintings. He has said that Cook, the 18th-century British explorer, is one of his favourite subjects, and it was one of his portraits of Cook that was purchased by the British Museum.

Three Legends, Namatjira's entry for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA) in 2017, was a series of three portraits: David Unaipon, the first published Indigenous Australian writer; Jimmy Little, the first Indigenous performer to have a top 10 single; and Lionel Rose, the first Indigenous boxer to win a world title.

His entry for the 2016 TarraWarra Biennial, Endless circulation, comprised a series of portraits of the seven Prime Ministers who had been in power in Australia during his lifetime until that point.

Also in 2016, he painted a series of portraits of the seven wealthiest people in Australia.

Namatjira's first solo exhibition was held in 2016.

His work has been exhibited at the British Museum (in Indigenous Australia: Enduring Civilisation, 2015); TarraWarra Museum of Art (TarraWarra Biennial, 2016); the Art Gallery of South Australia (Tarnanthi, 2017 & 2018); Art Basel Miami Beach (2018); Artspace Sydney, (Just Not Australian, 2018); Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane (Asia Pacific Triennial, 2018); Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne (2018); Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Arts Centre (2018), Warrnambool Art Gallery (2018) and Flinders University Museum of Art.

His 2014 series, Albert's Story, reflects on his great-grandfather Albert Namatjira's life and legacy. About the series, Namatjira said: "I hope my grandfather would be quite proud, maybe smiling down on me; because I won’t let him go. I just keep carrying him on, his name and our families' stories".

Namatjira began painting in 2012, initially working on traditional dot paintings and taught by his wife Natasha. In 2013, he started painting portraits, which he found to be his preferred focus.

In 2011, he was inspired to take up painting by Natasha and her father, Jimmy Pompey, both artists based at Iwantja Arts, an Aboriginal-owned and -operated centre in Indulkana.

Namatjira was born in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, and is the great-grandson of renowned watercolour artist Albert Namatjira. After his mother, Jillian, died in 1991, Vincent and his sister were removed by the state and sent to foster homes in Perth, Western Australia.

Vincent Namatjira (born 1983) is an Aboriginal Australian artist living in Indulkana, in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY lands) in South Australia. His work has been nominated for the Archibald Prize several times, and won the Ramsay Art Prize in 2019. He is the great-grandson of the Arrente watercolour artist Albert Namatjira.