Language Group: Pintupi
Dates: 1941-2017

Hilary Tjapaltjarri was born at Mintjilpirri, south east of Kintore in approximately 1941. As a boy, his family moved between the area south east and south west of where Kintore was later established in the early 1980’s. He walked in to the Haasts Bluff mission with his family around 1950 and later worked as a stockman, before moving to Papunya in the early 1970’s and eventually back to Kintore following its establishment. He first painted a few small works in Papunya during Geoff Bardon’s time but did not paint regularly for Papunya Tula Artists until he had settled in Kintore. He completed his first canvas for the company in 1985. Hilary was married to Narrabri Nakamarra, the daughter of Makinti Napanangka, prior to her passing away in 2010. In 1999, Hilary contributed to the Kintore men’s painting as part of the Western Desert Dialysis Appeal before succumbing to renal failure and becoming a patient of the Western Desert Dialysis Unit himself.