Lucky Kngwarreye Morton
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Artist Profile · Northern Territory
Lucky Kngwarreye Morton
Alyawarr painter of Rainbow and Honey Ant Dreamings and lively scenes of life on Utopia.
Born
c. 1949–1952, MacDonald Downs area, NT
Language group
Alyawarr
Skin name
Kngwarreye (also Ngwarrai)
Country
Ngkwarlerlanem and Arnkawenyerr, northern Utopia
Family
Lucky Kngwarreye Morton is the eldest daughter of the late senior woman and artist Mary Kemarre Morton and the carver Billy Morton Petyarre. She grew up on MacDonald Downs and around Kurrajong Camp at Utopia, and lives with her large family at the northern end of Utopia. Her sisters include the artists Audrey Kngwarreye Morton, Ruby Morton Kngwarreye and Janice Kngwarreye Morton.
Her work
Lucky’s career began in the late 1970s with the Utopia Women’s Batik Group. Her first major communal project was Utopia – A Picture Story, and she first painted on canvas through CAAMA’s A Summer Project in 1988–89. She has also worked as a sculptor.
She paints the Mpwelarr (Rainbow) and Yerramp (Honey Ant) Dreamings, Alpeyt (wildflowers) and the grub of the acacia, alongside lively figurative stories of life on Country: hunting, gathering bush food and community life at Utopia.
Yerramp (Honey Ant)
Alpeyt (Wildflowers)
Life on Country
Batik
Highlights
- 1989 – S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
- 1990 – Balance 1990, Queensland Art Gallery
- 1991 – Australian Perspecta, Art Gallery of New South Wales
- 2002–2005 – Native Title Business, national touring exhibition
- 2010 – Finalist, 27th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award
- Collections include the National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Queensland Art Gallery, Powerhouse Museum, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory and Artbank
Related artists
Lucky’s sisters Audrey Kngwarreye Morton and Ruby Morton Kngwarreye paint the same Dreamings, and her father Billy Morton Petyarre was one of Utopia’s first carvers.
Buying Lucky’s work
For authenticated paintings, buy through a recognised gallery such as Eastern Desert Art or Palya Art, and always ask for a certificate of authenticity.
Paintings by Lucky Kngwarreye Morton on eBay
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