Harold Thomas

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Harold Thomas (* 1947 in Alice Springs , Australia ) is an Australian painter from the Luritja tribe . He designed the official Aboriginal flag in 1971 .

Life

Thomas works as a watercolorist and with acrylic paints . In 1992 he painted the official portraits of the Parliamentarians of the Northern Territory .

He grew up as one of 13 children in various Aboriginal villages outside the white settlements. As a small child, he first came to St. John's Hostel. At seven, he was sent to South Australia in the St. Francis House sent an Anglican institution for Aboriginal boys. At the age of twelve he came into the family of an English priest. There he also received his schooling.

After graduating from high school , Thomas got a place at the South Australian School of Art and then studied social anthropology at the University of Adelaide , from which he graduated.

Aboriginal flag

In the 1960s, he applied to the South Australian Museum in Adelaide , making him the first Aboriginal person to work in an Australian museum. It was in this museum that Thomas encountered the largest collection of Aboriginal art. In the 1960 / 1970s, the international student movement and the growing self-confidence of blacks in the USA ( Black Power ) also strengthened the self-confidence of Aboriginal people in Australia. Therefore, from now on Thomas devoted himself specifically to the art of the Australian aborigines.

The high point of his commitment to the culture of his own people and influenced by the land rights movement of the Aborigines was his design of the Aboriginal flag in 1971, the copyright of which was officially granted to him in 1997. This flag, first hoisted on National Aboriginal Day (July 12, 1971) in Victoria Square in Adelaide, was finally officially recognized by the Australian government on July 14, 1995 through Governor General William Hayden . Increasingly, non-Aborigines also see this flag as the official state flag of Australia. The black bar stands for the black indigenous people of Australia (Aborigines) who live on the red earth of Australia (red bar below) and are kept alive by the yellow sun (yellow circle in the center).

Awards

Collections and exhibitions

Collections

Some of his works are in the inventory of

Exhibitions (selection)

Thomas presented his painting in the following solo exhibitions:

  • 1968: Solo exhibition in Adelaide
  • 1977: Arnhemland Aboriginal Art Gallery in Darwin
  • 1978: Heritage Aboriginal Art Gallery in Darwin
  • 1985: Esplanade Gallery in Darwin
  • 1986: The Parap Gallery in Darwin
  • 1986: Raintree Gallery in Darwin
  • 1987: Birukmarri Gallery in Fremantle
  • 1987: Esplanade Gallery in Darwin
  • 1988: The Showcase Gallery in Darwin
  • 1988: Caz Gallery in Los Angeles , USA
  • 1989: Masterworks Exhibition at the Raintree Gallery in Darwin

In addition, Thomas participated several times between 1984 and 1993 in the National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition at the Museum and Art Gallery of Northern Territory in Darwin.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In his autobiography Archived Copy ( Memento of the original from May 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Thomas does not name a specific year of birth, but only gives the second half of the 1940s. Another source archive link ( Memento of the original from May 26, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. however mentions the year 1947. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.abc.net.au @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.aaia.com.au

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Thomas, Harold
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Australian painter; Aboriginal flag designer
DATE OF BIRTH 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Alice Springs , Australia