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Battarbee and Namatjira is the double biography of artists Rex Battarbee and Albert Namatjira, one white Australian from Warrnambool in Victoria, the other Aboriginal, of the Arrernte people, from the Hermannsburg Mission west of Alice Springs. From their first encounters in the early 1930s, when Battarbee introduced Namatjira to the techniques of watercolour painting, through the period of Namatjira’s extraordinary popularity as a painter, to his tragic death in 1959, their close relationship was to have a decisive impact on Australian art. This double biography makes extensive use of Battarbee’s diaries for the first time, to throw new light on Namatjira’s life, and to bring Battarbee, who has been largely ignored by biographers, back into focus. Moving between the artists and their backgrounds, Edmond portrays the personal and social difficulties the two men faced, while at the same time illuminating large cultural themes – the traditions and legacies of the Arrernte, the influence of the Lutheran church, the development of anthropology and the evolution of Australian art. [From the publisher's website]
Notes
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Launched by Tom Carment Wednesday 5 November 2014, Better Read Than Dead upstairs 265 King Street, Newtown, NSW
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Top Biographies Battle for $25,000 National Prize
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 5 July 2016; (p. 10) Biography is a growing genre in Australian writing and, according to historian Peter Cochrane, that is a sign of a healthy society. -
[Review Essay] Battarbee and Namatjira
2016
single work
essay
— Appears in: Northern Territory Historical Studies , no. 27 2016; (p. 110-112)'In his latest work Battarbee and Namatjira, New Zealand writer Martin Edmond juxtaposes the biographies of two painters, Rex Battarbee and Albert Namatjira, as a way to explore their personal and professional relationships and to highlight the creative processes and personalities of both men. Edmond uses events in the lives of his protagonists to redefine their experiences of success and failure, creation and destruction. Their intertwined stories unfold with the inevitability of a classical Greek play – inexorable and tragic.' (Introduction)
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Crossed Tracks
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , June 2015;
— Review of Battarbee and Namatjira 2014 single work biography -
A Powerful Evocation of an Artistic Friendship : James Keating Reviews ‘Battarbee and Namatjira’ by Martin Edmond
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Rochford Street Review , April - June no. 14 2015;
— Review of Battarbee and Namatjira 2014 single work biography -
Grace Cochrane Reviews Battarbee and Namatjira by Martin Edmond
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Mascara Literary Review , April no. 17 2015;
— Review of Battarbee and Namatjira 2014 single work biography
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A New Lens to Understand Albert Namatjira
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , January-February no. 368 2015; (p. 8-9)
— Review of Battarbee and Namatjira 2014 single work biography -
An Artistic Double Act That Ended in Tragedy
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 28 February 2015; (p. 29) The Age , 28 February 2015; (p. 37)
— Review of Battarbee and Namatjira 2014 single work biography -
Grace Cochrane Reviews Battarbee and Namatjira by Martin Edmond
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Mascara Literary Review , April no. 17 2015;
— Review of Battarbee and Namatjira 2014 single work biography -
A Powerful Evocation of an Artistic Friendship : James Keating Reviews ‘Battarbee and Namatjira’ by Martin Edmond
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Rochford Street Review , April - June no. 14 2015;
— Review of Battarbee and Namatjira 2014 single work biography -
Crossed Tracks
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , June 2015;
— Review of Battarbee and Namatjira 2014 single work biography -
Top Biographies Battle for $25,000 National Prize
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 5 July 2016; (p. 10) Biography is a growing genre in Australian writing and, according to historian Peter Cochrane, that is a sign of a healthy society. -
[Review Essay] Battarbee and Namatjira
2016
single work
essay
— Appears in: Northern Territory Historical Studies , no. 27 2016; (p. 110-112)'In his latest work Battarbee and Namatjira, New Zealand writer Martin Edmond juxtaposes the biographies of two painters, Rex Battarbee and Albert Namatjira, as a way to explore their personal and professional relationships and to highlight the creative processes and personalities of both men. Edmond uses events in the lives of his protagonists to redefine their experiences of success and failure, creation and destruction. Their intertwined stories unfold with the inevitability of a classical Greek play – inexorable and tragic.' (Introduction)
Awards
- 2016 shortlisted National Biography Award