Billy Thomas - Artist Info

About Billy Thomas

  • Biography

    Billy Thomas belonged to the Wangkatjunga language group and was born near Kulyayi (Well 42) on the Canning Stock Route. As a boy he lead a traditional life until his teenage years when he first met kartiya (white people) and became a stockman working on the Route. When still young, he encountered Rover Thomas (c.1926-1998, no relative) working with the cattle at Kukupanyu (Well 39). Their meeting probably occurred in the early 1940s. Little would they have thought then about what would bring them together again half a century later.

    Billy Thomas began to paint in the public domain in 1995 when he approached Waringarri Arts in Kununurra to supply him with painting materials. Prior to that, he did not b...

    But wait, there's more...

    Displaying 1,645 of 1,629 characters.

    Subscriber Members, please Sign In for full artist biographies and all services.

    For non-paying users, good news! Full text bios for all artists are available every Friday.

    If you are not currently a member, please See Details about membership.

** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at .

Share an image of the Artist: .