The exhibition, which will open on August 22, features more than 100 works by Kngwarreye, drawn from 65 collections around the world.

According to exhibition curator Margo Neale, Kngwarreye forged a path that other indigenous Australian artists have since been able to follow.

She said Kngwarreye's work had been acclaimed around the world as modern abstract masterpieces but there was more to the paintings than people might first realise.

''Aboriginal art does transcend cultures. It was so well received in Japan, for example, it transcends time in a way, too,'' Ms Neale said.

The paintings tell the story of Kngwarreye's dreaming and her connection to country.

''These works have value as abstract art and for the story they tell,'' Ms Neale said.

The last major retrospective of Kngwarreye's work was held 10 years ago, in Queensland.

And according to Ms Neale, it could be a long time before another showing of Kngwarreye's work was held because of the difficulties of transporting some of the works.

''Big Yam Dreaming has to be unstretched and re-stretched every time it travels, and it hasn't travelled for 10 years. They say it takes 10 years off its life every time they have to do that,'' she said.

''The only time some of these pieces come out of their bunker is for exhibitions of this scale. And you can't do Emily without Big Yam Dreaming or the Alhalkere Suite.''

So after a highly acclaimed season at the National Museum of Art in Osaka and National Art Centre in Tokyo, where visitor numbers passed 100,000 and included Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Canberrans will be the final leg of a tour Ms Neale described as a ''real blockbuster''. ''Canberra might not get the same number of blockbusters as Melbourne and Sydney might, but we had to bring Emily here,'' she said.