Kathleen Ngale was born around 1930 at Camel Camp, about 250 km north-east of Alice Springs, where she lived with her extended family. She was the senior custodian of the cultural knowledge of her Country, Arlparra.

She came from one of Utopia’s great painting families. Her sisters were Polly Ngale and Angelina Pwerle, all three painting the same Bush Plum Dreaming. Her husband was Motorbike Paddy Ngale, and their daughter Elizabeth Mpetyane and granddaughter Denisa Hatches Ngale carry the story on. Kathleen passed away in 2021.

Kathleen began working in batik in 1979 and moved to acrylic on canvas in the late 1980s. Her paintings centre on Anwekety, the Bush Plum (conkerberry) Dreaming of her Country.

Her style is built from layer upon layer of superimposed dots. The underdotting shows through the top layers, and in places the dots thin out to reveal the dark “negative” space beneath, giving her canvases remarkable depth and movement. Art historian Sasha Grishin described her as one of the most significant and exciting artists in contemporary Utopia painting.