Born in Yuendumu, a community in the Tanami Desert, approximately 300 kilometers northwest of Alice Springs. As a senior member of the Warlpiri community, Maggie played an instrumental role in introducing the art of her people—particularly the sacred Dreamings—to broader audiences through her unique use of acrylics on canvas. Growing up in the vast deserts of her ancestral lands, Maggie experienced a traditional, nomadic Warlpiri lifestyle. Traveling by foot, her people would visit significant ancestral sites, including Mina Mina and Yingipurlangu, following routes that tied them to the stories and spiritual geography of the Tanami and Gibson deserts.
Yuendumu became an essential center for Warlpiri art, and in 1985 Maggie’s work featured in the opening exhibition of Yuendumu paintings at the Araluen Arts Centre in Alice Springs. This was also the year that the Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Association was founded by Warlpiri elders, supporting artists like Maggie as they shared their cultural narratives with the world. The association became known for its distinctive styles—its use of rich color palettes, intricate dot techniques, and varied compositions of traditional symbols known as Kurruwarri.
A central theme in Maggie’s work was the Mina Mina Dreaming, a spiritual story rooted in Karnta-kurlangu Jukurrpa (Women’s Dreaming) and Karna-kurlangu Jukurrpa (Digging Stick Dreaming). Mina Mina is particularly sacred for Warlpiri women, symbolizing a place where female ancestors gathered ceremonial digging sticks before embarking on journeys across the desert, performing ritual songs and dances along the way. Maggie’s homeland of Janyinki was closely connected to these Dreamings, and her paintings conveyed both the spiritual significance of these journeys and the landscapes her ancestors traversed.
The abstract symbols in Mina Mina Dreaming, concentric circles, lines, and forms illustrate sites of ceremony, campgrounds, and waterholes. For the Warlpiri, such symbols encapsulate a deep spiritual narrative, layered with meanings that resonate across generations.
Maggie’s distinctive style emerged from the collaborative, yet evolving traditions of Warlpiri art. Alongside her younger sister, Judy Watson Napangardi, she developed a unique technique of fine, multicolored wavy lines achieved through a ‘dragged’ dot method. This was said to represent the ancestral women’s dance, tracing the lines of movement across the landscape. The meticulous, layered textures gave her works a flowing, almost hypnotic effect that echoed the rhythm of ancestral dances and the undulating terrain of the desert.
Her paintings’ vibrant colors, unconventional in traditional desert art, were made possible by synthetic paints, which allowed Warlpiri artists to explore a palette beyond traditional ochres. Unlike other desert artists who often relied on earthy hues, Maggie’s work burst with energy, displaying vivid yellows, turquoise, and sky blues that encapsulated the life and fertility of the desert. In Mina Mina Dreaming, she often balanced vibrant colors with more subdued tones, using black circles and dynamic, wave-like forms that brought depth and texture to her canvases.
Maggie’s choice of color and composition was driven by a spiritual connection to her land. As Christine Nicholls noted, what Western audiences might see as a barren desert landscape, Warlpiri artists like Maggie envisioned as a "garden" brimming with life and vitality. Maggie’s art allowed her to celebrate this richness, utilizing modern techniques as a means to preserve and amplify ancient stories.
From 1985 until her retirement in 1998, Maggie’s work was featured in exhibitions across Australia and eventually around the world, becoming part of major collections and state galleries. Her role as a pioneer among Warlpiri women artists has left a lasting legacy, not only in the artistic community but in the wider recognition of Warlpiri culture. Maggie passed away in 2004, leaving behind a profound influence on the world of Indigenous Australian art. Her legacy lives on through her paintings, which continue to convey the vibrant spiritual life of her people and the beauty of the land that inspired her.