Paddy Japaljarri Stewart

Paddy Japaljarri Stewart, Australian Aboriginal artist. From Mungapunju, south of Yuendumu. Chairman of the Warlukurlangu Artists Committee. One of the artists who in 1983 painted school doors with dreaming designs, beginning the art movement at Yuendumu. He is responsible for painting 20 of the 36 doors. Travelled to Paris in May 1989 to create a painting at the Centre Georges Pompidou. In 2000 he produced etchings of the original Yuendumu doors.

Early in his life he worked as a chef in Papunya, and since retained his nickname 'Cookie'. Japaljarri's work is one of the most plagued by fake copies, and was centre to one of the first art forgery cases to be heard in Australia. He is also one of the first Aboriginal artists to achieve a high international profile in the late 1980s.

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