Michael Nelson Tjakamarra

Kumantje Jagamara (1946 – November 2020), also known as Kumantje Nelson Jagamara, Michael Minjina Nelson Tjakamarra, Michael Nelson Tjakamarra and variations (Kumantye, Jagamarra, Jakamara), was an Aboriginal Australian painter. He was one of the most significant proponents of the Western Desert art movement, an early style of contemporary Indigenous Australian art.

Early life and education Kumantje Jagamara (the name preferred by his family ) was born at Pikilyi, aka Vaughan Springs, Northern Territory (about west of Yuendumu ), around 1946. His parents were both Walpiri and his father was an important "Medicine Man" in the Yuendumu community.

He lived a traditional lifestyle, and his grandfather taught him sand-, body-, and shield-painting. before coming back to Yuendumu and then moving to Papunya in 1976 (after the death of his father) to settle and marry which were used in the artwork.

In 1985 he painted "Five Stories 1984".

Style His painting style was initially meticulous dot-painting in the Papunya style, but he later simplified this, and by 2000 his work was described as "expressionistic and more "calligraphic" and flowing. with his painting "Three Ceremonies".

His 1985 painting "Five Stories 1984" was one of the most reproduced works of Australian art in the 1980s. It was exhibited at the 1986 Biennale of Sydney, and was included in the South Australian Museum's Dreamings: The Art of Aboriginal Australia, which toured to the New York’s Asia Society Galleries in New York in 1988, Jagamara travelled to New York City with Billy Stockman Japaltjarri for the opening of the show, with £401,000 (AUD$687,877 at the time) paid for it at Sotheby's in London.

Later life and legacy Jagamara died in November 2020, with his funeral in Alice Springs on 14 March 2021 attended by hundreds, including his longtime friend Vivien Johnson. A letter from the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, was read at the funeral.

Jagamara was one of the most significant proponents of the Western Desert style of painting, which remains an important style of contemporary Indigenous Australian art.

Exhibitions Jagamara has exhibited his work in many exhibitions (including several solo exhibitions) and these include: Redrock gallery and Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi in Melbourne; Utopia Art Sydney; Australian National Gallery, Canberra; Institute of Contemporary Arts, London; and John Weber Gallery, New York.

Collections Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth Australian Museum, Sydney Broken Hill Art Gallery, Broken Hill, NSW The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, California, US Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, University of Virginia, Charlottesville Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin National Gallery of Australia, Canberra Parliament House, Canberra Powerhouse Museum, Sydney Queensland Art Gallery (QAGOMA), Brisbane