Debra Nangala McDonald Paintings

Debra Nangala McDonald is a Pintupi artist, born at Papunya in 1969. Her mother Martha McDonald was an artist, as were her aunties Linda Syddick Napaltjarri and Wentja Napaltjarri. This family of artists inherits a strong line of stories that relate to their own family story, when they travelled over great distances from the Gibson Desert to come into the desert settlements. The family group settled in the small communities at Haasts Bluff, Papunya and Mt Liebig during the 1940s.

The clan leader of this small group was Shorty Lungkata Tjungurrayi (c1920–1987) who was Debra McDonald’s grandfather. Shorty Lungkata became one of the well-known artists at Papunya during the 1970s and 1980s and his stories relate to the ancestral sites that he knew from his country near Lake MacDonald.

Debra Nangala McDonald is also related to artist Mitjili Napurrula through marriage, and has kept a close association with her mother in law, often painting alongside her. Recent works by Debra carry on the imagery and story that is closely connected to Mitjili, that of the Mulga trees that were traditionally used for making spears.