Maisie Campbell Napaltjarri

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Maisie Campbell Napaltjarri was born near Haasts Bluff, about 300km NW of Alice Springs. The area is home to the Luritja people, who have many Western Arrente and Pintupi family connections.

Maisie spent her formative years at Papunya attending school there. Her first teacher was Geoffrey Bardon, a fact that she remains proud of today. Maisie began painting about 15 years ago. Whilst clearly influenced by her husband (Barney Campbell Tjakamarra, now deceased) and the dotting style adopted by many Pintupi artists, she has developed her own form of expression which is characterised by a free flowing depiction of her stories and a rapid fire approach to dotting. Maisie is imaginative in her use of colours, showing a propensity to experiment in order to achieve the effects she is seeking, yet preserving the inherent cultural integrity of her works.

The main subject of Maisie’s paintings are womens ceremonies. She sees the recording of traditional sites and ceremonies on canvas as an important part of both sustaining and fostering the great traditions of her culture.

The Haasts Bluff and Kintore areas have produced many notable artists and Maisie is one of the most interesting of a new wave that is emerging, including her daughter, Lissandra Campbell Napurrula.