Honouring Jorna Newberry 1959 - 2025

Linton & Kay Galleries celebrates the career of Pitjantjatjara artist, Jorna Newberry. 

Earlier this year, we shared the news of the sudden passing of Jorna Newberry. A much-loved and respected member of her community, Jorna’s preservation of the ancestral stories of the Pitjantjatjara people through her paintings shows her dedication to her country of Irrunytju in the Western Desert. 

The first steps of her painting career were under the guidance of her Uncle, renowned Western Desert artist, the late Tommy Watson. Taught to paint in layers and to keep her work abstract in the storytelling, she maintained the secrecy of cultural matters that are of importance to her ancestors. This collection of works celebrates her most recent series representing Ngintaka, a giant perentie lizard and creation ancestral being of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara people. 

Ken McGregor, leading Australian Indigenous art collector and philanthropist, observed, “Her remarkable topographical depictions of her country, and in particular her perentie (Ngintaka) narrative, educated collectors of Indigenous mythology through her art. Each work Jorna created was exceptional for its compositional mark-making and provided an idiosyncratic window into a moment of remarkable creative ferment.” 

This July, in celebration of NAIDOC Week, we invite you to visit the Subiaco gallery and spend time with these powerful artworks.