Kim West Napurrula Sold at Auction Prices

b. 1960 -

Kim West Napurrula was born c.1960 near Kiwirrkura in the Gibson Desert, south of Lake Mackay in Western Australia. In 1963, Kim’s family was met by Jeremy Long’s Welfare Patrol, a historic time when desert Aboriginal families who had come in from the desert were trying to make contact with those left behind. At the time, her family was camping at Willi Rockhole, slightly east of Kintore in the Gibson Desert.

Kim West Napurrula has a significant Aboriginal art heritage. Her family includes her late father Freddy West Tjakamarra, one of the original shareholders of Papunya Tula Artists, and older brother Bobby West, a traditional owner of Kiwirrkura and senior Aboriginal art figure.

Kim West Napurrula was married to Yuendumu George, and now lives at the community of Kiwirrkura. Her traditional country is located around Marrapinti, a significant Women’s Dreaming site. It incorporates desert soakages that run along the Northern Territory and Western Australian border. In her paintings Kim West Napurrula depicts her traditional country and the associated Women’s Ceremonies and Dreamings that belong to the Pintupi people from the region.