Gloria Petyarre was born in 1945.  An Anmatyerre speaker, Gloria's country is Anungara and her Dreamings are Mountain Devil Lizard (arnkerrthe), Bean (atnwerle), Emu (ankerre), Pencil Yam (arlartyeye), and Grass Seed (ntange).  Petyarre's country is the inspiration for all her art.

Gloria first gained recognition as an artist working in the medium of batik, exhibiting with the Utopia Women in shows around Australia and abroad for a decade before taking up the medium of canvas. Gloria's work has increased in scale and precision in recent years, and she is now regarded as one of Utopia's most significant artists. Her paintings - monochromatic or multi-colored - are distinguishable for their well defined segments filled with curved lines, and evoke a strong rhythmic quality. Hers is a unique style, one that has evolved into abstract fields that represent leaves, grasses and bodypaint.

Gloria's work is represented in the collections of:

The National Gallery of Australia
The Art Gallery of New South Wales,
Allen, Allen and Hemsley,
Victorian Museum,
Museums and Art Gallery of the Northern Territories
Powerhouse Museum,
Westpac Collection, New York,
Gold Coast City Art Gallery
The Holmes a Court Collection.

In 1999, Gloria was the winner of the prestigious Wynne Prize for Landscape Painting.