B. 1919–1973

Cordula Ebatarinja was an Arrernte artist and one of the original members of the Hermannsburg School of watercolour painting. Raised by her uncle, the celebrated artist Albert Namatjira, Ebatarinja began painting professionally at the age of thirty-one, becoming one of the earliest Aboriginal women to work in the Hermannsburg watercolour tradition.

Her paintings depict the distinctive ranges, riverbeds and desert landscapes of Central Australia, rendered through a Western watercolour technique yet grounded in a profound Arrernte understanding of Country. Through this fusion of cultural knowledge and artistic method, Ebatarinja produced landscapes that are both observational and deeply connected to place.

Cordula Ebatarinja's works are held in many major Australian public collections, including the National Gallery of Victoria, the Art Gallery of South Australia and the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art.