Aboriginal Bark Paintings |
| Although aboriginal culture goes back
65,000 years, bark paintings are a relatively recent
innovation dating to the early 20th century.
The bark paintings were done with natural
pigments—ochres, charcoal, and white clay—and
natural binders on bark, often with a crosshatch
design, and they frequently tell a
story. The works have also been done on
composition board, andIn the last several decades
increasingly in acrylics on canvas. |
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| The Bark
Salon at the National Gallery of Victoria has
over 150 works. |
| The National Galley of Australia in
Canberra has an amazing collection. |
|
| Nym Bunduk, "Map of Murrinh-Patha country, 1" (1959), painting in natural earth pigments, watercolour on composition board, is at the National Gallery of Australia (>). |
|
| George Milpurrurru's "The goose egg
hunt" (1981), done with natural earth pigments on
eucalyptus bark, is at the National Gallery of Australia (>). |
|
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| See also: "First Nations." National Gallery of Australia. Wally Caruana. "History of bark painting." National Museum of Australia. Cherie Beach. "Arnhem Land art 'detectives' helping to discover who painted these priceless works." ABC Radio Darwin, 5 June 2022. |


