Judy Napangardi Watson was born around 1925 at Yarungkanji on Mt Doreen Station, at a time when many Warlpiri and other desert peoples still lived a traditional nomadic life.

With her family she made many journeys on foot to Mina Mina and Yingipurlangu, her ancestral Country on the border of the Tanami and Gibson Deserts, living there for long periods. These places are rich in bush tucker such as wanakiji (bush plums), yakajirri (bush tomatoes) and wardapi (sand goanna). Throughout her life Judy loved hunting in the country west of Yuendumu, near her homelands.

A tiny woman of incredible energy, Judy had ten children. She passed away at Yuendumu in May 2016.

Judy was taught to paint by her elder sister, Maggie Napangardi Watson, and painted alongside her at Warlukurlangu Artists for many years, developing her own unique style. Her energy came through in her dynamic colour and her distinctive “dragged dotting”.

She was at the forefront of a move by Warlpiri artists towards more abstract renderings of Jukurrpa (Dreaming), yet her work kept strong kurruwarri: the details that tell of the sacredness of place and song in her culture.