Nyurapayia Nampitjinpa (Mrs Bennett)

Nyurapayia 'Mrs Bennett' Nampitjinpa, was born in 1935 on Pitjantjatjara territory, near today's Docker River community. She experienced her formative years at Pangkupirri, nestled amidst the Gibson Desert's ranges. It wasn't until her teenage years that she encountered white settlers upon arriving at the ration depot in Haasts Bluff. By then, she had already begun to develop a reputation as a healer and ritual authority in the community. Transitioning to Kintore, a newer settlement of the Pintupi, Nyurapayia found herself closer to her ancestral lands. Later, in the 1980s, she journeyed to Tjukurla, crossing into Western Australia.

A significant figure in the burgeoning women's painting movement of the early to mid-1990s, Nyurapayia initially produced modest works for Papunya Tula. However, her trajectory changed when Chris Simon embraced her talents, reshaping his Yanda Art business around her. Under Simon's patronage, she flourished, crafting expansive canvases adorned with intricate depictions of her ancestral rockholes, often set against shimmering black or white backgrounds. Her art, resonating with the designs of ceremonial body painting during inma dances, portrayed the sand-dune landscapes and rocky formations of her homeland. By the time of her passing in February 2013, Nyurapayia had ascended to the apex of desert wisdom and sacred knowledge, revered by women across the Western Desert.