Kathleen Petyarre was born around 1938 at the remote site of Atnangkere, about 240 km (150 miles) north-east of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. She belonged to the Alyawarr and Eastern Anmatyerre people and spoke Eastern Anmatyerre. Her paternal grandmother taught her the Law and knowledge of her Country.

She was one of the well-known Petyarre sisters, alongside Gloria, Violet, Nancy, Myrtle, Jean and Ada Bird Petyarre, and a niece of Emily Kame Kngwarreye. Kathleen passed away in Alice Springs in November 2018.

Kathleen began as a batik artist in the late 1970s, then moved to acrylic on canvas in the late 1980s when painting was introduced to the Utopia women. Her principal Dreaming was Arnkerrthe, the Mountain Devil (Thorny Devil) Lizard.

She became known for an extremely refined technique of layering countless tiny dots, representing bush seeds and the sands of her Country. Her paintings refer directly to her Country and Dreamings, and even for viewers unfamiliar with these stories, the vastness of the land comes through clearly.

In 1996 Kathleen won the 13th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award. The following year her former partner claimed he had helped paint the winning work. The dispute shook the Aboriginal art market and led to much stricter documentation of authorship in Aboriginal art.

An inquiry found the allegations were not proved, and Kathleen kept her award.