Rosemary Petyarre belongs to one of the most significant clans of painters on the Utopia homelands. The great Aboriginal artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye is her aunt, and her siblings include Jeannie Petyarre, Greeny Purvis Petyarre and Evelyn Pultara. Rosemary Petyarre was born at Boundary Bore on the Utopia Homelands in the early 1950s.

Rosemary Petyarre’s signature style is the painting of the Bush Yam Leaf which she depicts with the tiny seeds scattered amongst the leaves. Rosemary Petyarre also paints the Bush Medicine Leaf which her aunt Gloria Petyarre has made famous.