Warlayirti Artists, Balgo Hills; 

Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne; 

Private collection, Melbourne; 

Deutscher and Hackett, Part 2: Important Aboriginal Art, Melbourne 26 November 2014, Lot 104;

Private collection, Sydney 

This painting depicts Elizabeth Nyumi’s father’s country, Parwalla. It is a large area that fills with water after the wet season and consequently produces an abundance of bush foods. The painting shows a variety of native foods including bush raisin, bush tomato and seeds. Women, shown as U shapes, with their digging sticks and coolamons gathering the foods, are also depicted. 

Parwalla is a characteristic example of the work of Nyumi, one of the most-renowned, contemporary female Aboriginal artists. In her maturity as a painter Nyumi initially worked with a thick brush, covering the canvas in emanating lines in muted tones. The white, so pleasing and prevalent in her work, represent spinifex grass. She is an active member in the Balgo community, being a strong law and culture woman.

In 2004 Nyumi was selected for inclusion in the Biennale of Sydney. Her works are held in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin; the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth; Artbank, Sydney; the Laverty Collection, Sydney; and the Holmes à Court Collection, Perth.