26 Facts About Minnie Pwerle

Minnie Pwerle was an Australian Aboriginal artist.

Minnie Pwerle came from Utopia, Northern Territory, a cattle station in the Sandover area of Central Australia 300 kilometres northeast of Alice Springs.

Minnie Pwerle was allegedly "kidnapped" by people who wanted her to paint for them, and there have been media reports of her work being forged.

Minnie Pwerle's work is often compared with that of her sister-in-law Emily Kame Kngwarreye, who came from the Sandover and took up acrylic painting late in life.

Minnie Pwerle's daughter, Barbara Weir, is a respected artist in her own right.

Minnie Pwerle was born in the early 20th century near Utopia, Northern Territory, 300 kilometres north-east of Alice Springs, Northern Territory.

Minnie Pwerle was one of the traditional owners of Utopia station recognised in the 1980 Indigenous land claim made over the property; her particular country was known as Atnwengerrp.

Minnie Pwerle or Apwerle is a skin name, one of 16 used to denote the subsections or subgroups in the kinship system of central Australian Indigenous people.

Minnie Pwerle was one of six children, and had three sisters: Molly, born around 1920, Emily, born around 1922, and Galya, born in the 1930s.

Minnie Pwerle was of the Anmatyerre and Alyawarre Aboriginal language groups.

Minnie Pwerle had a child from their liaison, who was partly raised by Minnie Pwerle's sister-in-law, artist Emily Kngwarreye, and became prominent Indigenous artist Barbara Weir.

Minnie Pwerle went on to have six further children with her husband "Motorcar" Jim Ngala, including Aileen, Betty, Raymond and Dora Mpetyane, and two others who by 2010 had died.

Minnie Pwerle's grandchildren include Fred Torres, who founded private art gallery DACOU in 1993, and artist Teresa Purla.

Minnie Pwerle began painting in late 1999 or 2000, when she was almost 80.

Minnie Pwerle was outlived by all her sisters except Maggie Pwerle, mother of artists Gloria and Kathleen Petyarre.

When Minnie Pwerle decided to take up painting in 2000 while she waited for her daughter Barbara to complete a canvas in an Adelaide workshop, the reception was immediately positive: she had her first solo exhibition that same year at Melbourne's Flinders Lane Gallery.

Minnie Pwerle was first selected to exhibit in the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award in 2002.

Minnie Pwerle's painting Awelye Atnwengerrp 2 was exhibited in the 2005 competition.

Minnie Pwerle was named by Australian Art Collector as one of Australia's 50 most collectible artists in 2004.

Unlike Minnie Pwerle, Emily had been an active participant in the early batik movement at Utopia.

Minnie Pwerle was often placed under considerable pressure to produce works.

Minnie Pwerle was reportedly "kidnapped" by people "keen to go to often quite bizarre lengths to acquire" her work.

Minnie Pwerle's experience reflected broader issues in the industry surrounding artists, who were often older, had limited education or English language ability, and faced serious poverty both themselves and amongst their families.

Minnie Pwerle's style was spontaneous, and typified by "bold" and "vibrant" colour executed with great freedom.

Minnie Pwerle's art was quickly added to major public collections such as the Art Gallery of NSW, Art Gallery of South Australia, National Gallery of Victoria and Queensland Art Gallery.

One of a number of women such as Emily Kngwarreye who dominated central and western desert painting in the first decade of the 21st century, Minnie Pwerle is considered to be one of Australia's best-known Indigenous artists, whose work "the market couldn't get enough [of]".