Gracie Morton Pwerle was born on Utopia Station, about 250 km north-east of Alice Springs. She is the daughter of the artist Myrtle Petyarre, one of the celebrated Petyarre sisters, alongside Gloria, Kathleen, Violet and Ada Bird Petyarre.

Painting runs through the family: Gracie’s sisters Mary, Rita and Elizabeth are artists too.

Gracie is one of the senior traditional custodians of the Altyerre (Dreaming) and of the wide expanse of Country connected to it. In keeping with traditional Law, responsibility for the Bush Plum Dreaming was passed to her by her father and her aunt, who made sure she would preserve its traditions.

Her career began in the 1970s with the Utopia Women’s Batik Group, and she moved to acrylic on canvas in the late 1980s. Her style is distinctively minimalist, using very delicate dotting. Layers of dots in slightly different shades suggest bush plums at different stages of ripeness, sometimes crossed by the tracks of women walking out to gather them.