Albert Namatjira (1902-1959)

Standley Chasm
Watercolour on lightly textured light cream wove paper
53.7 x 37.6 cm
Signed in ink, lower right corner

Provenance:
Gifted by Albert Namatjira  to the late Iris Harvey (1917-2011) of the Arunta Art Gallery and Bookshop, Alice Springs
Thence by descent
Private Collection, Adelaide

Cf. For a related, smaller example of the same subject see Standley Chasm, c.1945, 39.6 x 25.8cm, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

Beloved Central Australian Iris Harvey was the owner of the Arunta Bookstore and Gallery in Alice Springs on Todd Street for 51 years. She was born in Adelaide in 1917 and after moving to Alice Springs, she opened the store in 1949.  It is not known why she chose to name her shop ‘Arunta’ - potentially a bold, possibly political gesture that may not have been received well by some at the time.

Over the years the shop, stocked with art supplies and many rare books, became a centre of attraction for locals, artists, historians and anthropologists alike, including regular visits from Sir David Attenborough and Bruce Chatwin.

According to Luke Scholes, former Assistant Manager of Papunya Tula Artists, the shop was a place where the local Indigenous community were not only welcomed but encouraged to visit. It was not uncommon to see locals reading, scouring books for the photographs or purchasing art supplies. They returned with finished works that Iris would purchase and hang in her shop to sell.[1]

The bookshop and Gallery was also part of the history of the early Papunya movement. School teacher Geoffrey Bardon sourced the first art supplies for the work of the Pintupi Men and it is believed the first shipment of early boards were delivered to Mrs Harvey to sell through the store, although their ultimate fate remains unknown.[2] Papunya Tula Artists continued to source art materials through Mrs Harvey until she closed the store in 2010.

An avid buyer of all art Mrs Harvey was also particularly supportive of the Hermannsburg artists, developing a strong friendship with Albert Namatjira and championing his work. Ted Egan, musician and former Administrator of Northern Territory said of Iris Harvey and her relationship to Albert Namatjira:

I knew Iris Harvey very well for over 50 years. As you would be aware, she ran the Arunta Gallery in Todd Street for most of that time. She was a great patron of Central Australian art for she, more than anyone else, except perhaps Mona Burns, pushed for the recognition of Albert Namatjira’s artworks in the early days when southern experts dismissed his work as mere ‘potboilers’. Iris was a good friend of Rex Battarbee, Albert’s mentor, and between them they arranged to have the best works go to good homes. I think Iris herself would have retained some of Namatjira’s works. She was of the opinion that Claude Pannka was about as good as Albert. 

To my knowledge, Iris was more appreciative of the first Australian water colourists rather than the later dot painters, although she may have come to appreciate the dot style in later years. She was a great mate of Bill Harney, ranger at Uluru, and himself a great raconteur. She always had portraits of Harney and Namatjira within hand’s reach in the gallery, and she liked to regale her customers with stories about the two great men. It was wonderful to see the three of them together. By and large, Iris was a very discerning gallery owner and did not accept inferior work from anyone.[3]

The family of Mrs Harvey recall that this painting of Standley Chasm was pride of place at the entrance to the store with a clear sign ‘Not for sale’ (the original sign is on the back of the frame). According to her grandson William, Iris adored the work. She resisted requests to reproduce it as she believed that this increased its rarity and value.[4] 

[1] Correspondence (May 2022)

[2] Vivien Johnson, ‘So Beautiful’ in Once Upon a Time in Papunya, New South Wales: Sydney, 2010, p. 45.

[3] Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory. "2011-11-23". accessed 8 March 2021.

[4] Correspondence with Iris’s extended family (2022)

IMAGE: © Namatjira Legacy Trust/Copyright Agency 2022