Jimmy Donegan Australian, Pitjantjatjara, b. c.1940

Jimmy was born at Yanpan, a rock-hole near Ngatuntjarra Bore around 1940. He grew up as a bush baby in country around Blackstone and Mantamaru (Jamieson) in Western Australia. Jimmy has family links throughout the Pitjanjatjarra lands; his wife is from a place near Kalka. Jimmy brought his wife and children to live at Blackstone because of Jimmy's tie to country here. He is widowed and has four children. He has now returned to Kalka Community to live with his children and close to his sister Molly Nampitjin Miller, who is founding director of Ninuku Arts.

Jimmy is a wonderful skilled wood craftsman - his spears, spear throwers and boomerangs are prized and much sort after. He is rich in story and a strong man for law and culture, involved in traditional law and ceremony.

In August 2010, Jimmy Donegan won the most prestigious art prize in Australia - the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award (known as the Telstra Award). He was the winner of two sections - the General Painting category and the overall prize.

A quote from The Australian Art Review November 2006, "His works are dazzling compositions of swirling, intensely-coloured dots, sometimes crossed by lines signifying the journey of the two snakes above and below the surface of the earth."