The exhibition showcases the extraordinary painted works collected from Arnhem Land during the 1930s and 1940s by the Melbourne-based anthropologist, the late Professor Donald Thomson (1901–1970).
The bark paintings featured illustrate the differences in painting styles between Dhuwa and Yirritja clans and between those of central and eastern Arnhem Land. It includes objects also decorated with the same sacred clan designs and the very first bark painting collected by Donald Thomson.