This style of painting emerged when Albert Namitjira, after a very sucessful exhibition, too a number of Aranda artists including his sons Enos and Oscar and the three Pareroultja brothers on his painting expeditions with him. They spawned a movement of naturalistic watercolours in the European tradition of classical landscape painting. The movement termed the Hermannsberg school, the name of the Lutheran church mission station where Albert was born, was the first significant transitional art movement to emerge from Aboriginal Australia.
Hilary was born in Ragged's Well approximately 40km away from Papunya. He grew up around this area and as a child he and his siblings including well known artist Kevin Wirri spent much of their time watching well known Hermannsburg School artists as they painted particularly Keith Namatjira, Edwin Pareroultja and Joshua Ebatjarinja.
Hilary was inspired to begin painting himself in the 1980's and has become an established painter whose works are displayed in many private collections.
Hilary paints at Ngurratjuta and is also an accomplished guitar player.
Interestingly the majority of works painted most of this desert country are painted from a slightly elevated point of view, as if looking down, ever so slightly on the landscape. They capture the subtleties of colour as the desert changes from the soft tones of summer heat, to the rich colours of the early morning and late evening light. The majority of the paintings lack a central focal point yet, a visual emphasis on the edges holds the composition in balance without either a dominance of forms near the centre or a hierarchy of forms.
