Barbara Napangati Reid

Barbara Napangati Reid

DOB: 1962
Born: Tjukurla, WA
LANGUAGE GROUP: Ngaanyatjarra
COMMUNITY: Tjukurla, WA

Barbara Reid Napangarti, also known simply as Barbara reid, was born around 1962 in the Tjukurla region of the Gibson Desert of Western Australia. Her language is Ngaanyatjarra. Barbara began painting in 1987 with the Centre for Aboriginal Artists in Alice Springs.

Barbara Reid depicts her traditional country with a distinctive personal style. Many of her paintings feature the puli (rock formations) and tali (sand hills) of this country and tell women's ceremonial stories related to the formation of the natural environment around Tjukurla. This area is dominated by expansive sand hills and rockholes containing water where bush foods are found.

Essential to Barbara's work is the women's sacred stories (minyma stories) involving the role of the women as healers and providers in Ngaanyatjarra society. Barbara's paintings have been gaining in popularity with galleries and private collectors since 2002.