Ronnie Tjampitjinpa passed away in 2023

He was born in Pintupi land at Muyinnga near the Western Australian border. After his initiation into Pintupi law, he and his brother walked to Yuendumu and later joined their family at Papunya in 1956. He worked as a labourer and became one of the founding members of the Western Desert art movement in 1971, establishing Papunya Tula Artists.

In the 1970s, Tjampitjinpa championed the outstation movement, leading to the establishment of Walungurru (Kintore) settlement in 1981, where he moved with his family in 1983. He served as chairman of the Kintore Outstation Council and became a prominent painter, developing a distinctive linear style. His career spans over 40 years, with six solo exhibitions in Australia, most recently at Utopia Art, Sydney.

Throughout the 1980s Tjampitjinpa worked devotedly on a land claim for Ininti, holding meetings in Darwin, Warmun (Turkey Creek), Utopia and many other places before finally abandoning political involvement as ‘ ... too much humbug for too long’. Tjampitjinpa simply wanted to settle down and work for himself, just painting’, and reside on his out-station when not at Walungurru or in Mparntwe (Alice Springs).