DARWIN, Australia (AP) — An outback Aboriginal artist who became famous in life by depicting his homeland, has become anonymous in death because his beliefs forbid his name from being revealed.
The 70-year-old artist died Saturday in a nursing home in the remote central Australian town of Alice Springs after falling into a coma in the morning, officials said Saturday. The cause of death was not immediately known.
Family and friends have asked media not to publish the artist’s name out of respect for the Aborigine belief that the dead not be identified.
“He is a great loss to the nation, both the indigenous and non-indigenous communities,” said Alison Anderson, an official with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, the organization that represents aborigines in Australia. “His life was dedicated to ensuring Aboriginal art and culture remained strong and alive,” she said.
Less than two weeks ago the artist was made an Officer of the Order of Australia — one of the nation’s highest honors — and was to be presented with his medal Saturday in a ceremony in Alice Springs. However, he was unable to be woken Saturday morning.
The artist’s Dreamtime or Tjukurrpa paintings of the Northern Territory’s Western Desert have toured extensively throughout the world.
The Dreamtime is a mythical world where Aborigine spiritual ancestors exist, and which Aborigines believe they can tap into through dreaming.
Dreamtime art uses thousands of colorful dots to depict symbolic images of people, spirits, animals and Aborigine life. In recent years the works have become sought after internationally.
The artist was born on Napperby cattle ranch in Central Australia, where he worked as a cowboy.
His artistic career began during the 1950s when he started carving snakes and lizards in wood, but he later moved on to acrylic painting.
His impressions of his native Anmatyerre land, east of Alice Springs, are also featured in the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra and the Art Gallery of New South Wales state, Australia’s oldest art museum.
