Tommy Yannima Watson (c 1935-2017) is a major Pitjantjatara artist, born in desert country west of Irrunytju, or Wingellina, in Western Australia. Tommy is a Law man of Karima skin group, and his traditional names of Yannima and Pikarli relate to specific sites near his birthplace at Anumarapiti, west of Irrunytju.
Tommy Watson’s parents and uncle died when he was young, so he was adopted by Nicodemus Watson, his father’s first cousin. Tommy went to live at Ernabella Mission, and took the surname Watson in addition to his Aboriginal birth name, thus becoming Tommy Yannima Pikarli Watson.
As a young man Tommy learned the bush skills of hunting and gathering, living off the land around Ernabella, the Musgrave Ranges and further to the Petersham Ranges. In these years his knowledge of the country was deeply embedded with both the physical and spiritual meanings of the land.
Tommy Watson first met white people at Ernabella Mission in the 1940s, then moved to a life in the bush until adult years when he worked as a stockman and labourer on cattle stations. Later in his mid 60s, Tommy Watson began painting at Irrunytju art centre with a small group of artists who set up there in 2001.
Yannima Tommy Watson became quickly recognised for his powerful use of colour and energetic canvases, which were exhibited in Alice Springs at Desert Mob and in Darwin at the Telstra NATSIAA Art Awards. His work became highly collectable and his reputation continued to strengthen. In 2006 he was among eight Aboriginal artists whose work was integrated into the Musee du quai Branly building in Paris.
Receiving critical acclaim, both across Australia and internationally, art critics have drawn parallels between Watson and Western Abstract painters such as Kandinsky, Mondrian and Rothko. Watson’s works feature in public and private collections worldwide.
Collections
Art Gallery of New South Wales
National Gallery of Australia
National Gallery of Victoria
Musée du Quai Branly, Paris
Art Gallery of Western Australia
South Australian Art Gallery
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory