KAAPA MBITJANA TJAMPITJINPA (AUSTRALIAN 1920 - 1989), BUSHFIRE DREAMING acrylic on canvasboard, signed, signed and dated 1976 verso 70cm x 55cm Framed Note: Kappa Tjampitjinpa was a member of the Arunda Tribe in Papunya. Northern Australia. He was one of the founding fathers of Western Desert Art. In 1971 Geoffrey Bardon a young Sydney art teacher was posted to a government settlement at Papunya and found more than a thousand Aboriginal people living in a state of dislocation and degradation. Bardon noticed that the locals made sand mosaics and recognized evidence of a powerful ancient culture. Once he had won the confidence of the tribe elders, Bardon provided ''the painting men'' with boards brushes and paint inviting them to give permanence and portability to an ancient culture which may otherwise have been lost. Tjampitjinpa was one of these seven men, and went on in defiance of the white authorities to produce many great works which are now considered to be an important part of Australian art history. The movement still exists today and is known as the Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd. These paintings illustrate dreamings which are ''stories'' a unique form of conceptual art passed down through the totemic ancestors of the Aboriginal people over millions of years. On 13th February 2008 Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd publicly apologized to the Aboriginal people for their miss treatment at the hands of the Australian government. Indeed, in his book ''Art of the Western Desert'' Bardon said of Kappa ''The painting movement was built around this mans compulsive will and extraordinary ability to paint''. This is a rare signed painting which was purchased in 1976 directly from the artist at Papunya and includes an original polaroid picture of the artist, taken at the time of purchase. The word record for a painting by Kappa is titled ''Budgerigar Dreaming'' sold by Sotheby's Melbourne 2006 for 180000 AUD.