Judy Watson Napangardi
Judy Napangardi Watson (circa 1925–2016) was an Indigenous Australian, senior female painter from the Yuendumu community in the Northern Territory, Australia. Well known for the distinctive style of painting that she developed alongside her sister Maggie Watson who taught her painting skills, she was a significant contributor to contemporary Indigenous Australian art.[1]
Life
Born at Yarungkanji, Mount Doreen Station, at a time when many Warlpiri and other Central and Western Desert Peoples were living a traditional nomadic life. With her family Judy made many trips on foot to her country and lived for long periods at Mina Mina and Yingipurlangu, her ancestral country on the border of the Tanami and Gibson Deserts.
She died at Yuendumu on 17 May 2016.[2]
Work
Napangardi started painting in the 1980s in a 'dragged dotting' style.[3] Her combination of vivid colour, highly detailed works and high-level composition led to widespread appreciation in the art world.[4] Her paintings often describe the Mina Mina country.[5] She was a member of the Warlukurlangu Artists community of Yuendumu.[3]
Galleries displaying her art
- Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
- Aboriginal Art Museum, Utrecht
- Gordon Darling Foundation, Canberra
- Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide
- National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
- National Gallery of Victoria
- Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
- South Australian Museum, Adelaide
- Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
References
- "Indigenous art seen as a sound investment". ABC. 20 March 2008. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
- Gosford, Robert (19 May 2016). "Vale Judy Napangardi Watson, 1925–2016 - Warlpiri artist and force of nature - The Northern Myth". The Northern Myth. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- "Tradition and Transformation: Indigenous Art in the NGV Collection". www.ngv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- Newstead, Adrian (2014). The Dealer is the Devil: An Insiders History of the Aboriginal Art Trade. Sydney: Brandl & Schlesinger. p. 284. ISBN 9781921556432.
- Geissler, Marie (March 2008). "Judy Napangardi Watson". Craft Arts International.