Paddy Bedford (1922 – 2007), aka "Goowoomji", was a contemporary Indigenous Australian artist from Warmun in the Kimberley, and one of eight Australian artists selected for an architectural commission for the Musée du quai Branly.
As was so for many of his contemporaries, he was given the surname Bedford based on his place of birth. As a boy and a young man, Bedford worked as a stockman on cattle stations in the district, receiving rations such as tea, flour, sugar and tobacco as wages. In 1969, following the introduction of equal rates of pay for Indigenous pastoral workers, he and many other Aboriginal people lost their jobs. Bedford and his wife were then sent to live on a mission, their three children having been taken from them. As a senior law man, he had long been involved in ceremonial painting but did not begin painting on canvas until 1997, when Jirrawun Aboriginal Arts was established. Bedford’s work drew on ancestral Dreamings, his country and historical events, including a series of paintings depicting the poisoning murders of Gija men on Bedford Downs in the 1910s. A retrospective of his paintings was held by the Museum of Contemporary Art in 2007; and his work is represented in major collections overseas.
During the 2000 Olympics one of his paintings featured on the cover of the United Airlines inflight magazine and he had a sell out show at Martin Browne Gallery in Sydney. Appropriately considering his origins, his work was included in an exhibition titled 'Blood on the Spinifex' at Ian Potter Gallery in Melbourne in 2002. Most recently, Paddy has had a major retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2006.
As was so for many of his contemporaries, he was given the surname Bedford based on his place of birth. As a boy and a young man, Bedford worked as a stockman on cattle stations in the district, receiving rations such as tea, flour, sugar and tobacco as wages. In 1969, following the introduction of equal rates of pay for Indigenous pastoral workers, he and many other Aboriginal people lost their jobs. Bedford and his wife were then sent to live on a mission, their three children having been taken from them. As a senior law man, he had long been involved in ceremonial painting but did not begin painting on canvas until 1997, when Jirrawun Aboriginal Arts was established. Bedford’s work drew on ancestral Dreamings, his country and historical events, including a series of paintings depicting the poisoning murders of Gija men on Bedford Downs in the 1910s. A retrospective of his paintings was held by the Museum of Contemporary Art in 2007; and his work is represented in major collections overseas.
During the 2000 Olympics one of his paintings featured on the cover of the United Airlines inflight magazine and he had a sell out show at Martin Browne Gallery in Sydney. Appropriately considering his origins, his work was included in an exhibition titled 'Blood on the Spinifex' at Ian Potter Gallery in Melbourne in 2002. Most recently, Paddy has had a major retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2006.
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| Mr Paddy Bedford |
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| Cattle Creek © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Fish Hole © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Mcphee Hole © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Cockatoo © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Joowarringayin © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Middle Brand © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Twenty Mile © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Doonwoonan (Old Bedford Downs) © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Girrganyji the Brown Falcon Dreaming © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Joowarringayin - Devil Dreaming © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Mendoowoorrji - Medicine Pocket © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Thoowoonggoonarrin © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Waloorrji - Big Wind Dreaming © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Caves and Waterholes © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Caves at Old Bedford © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Digging Springs, Old Bedford Station © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Girlingmanji (Twenty Mile) © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Joowarringayin - Donkey Spring Devil Dreaming © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Police Rock Hole © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Saddler Jump Up © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Untitled © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Brumby Springs © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Lightning Creek - Bush Turkey © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Motor Car Yard © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Untitled 1 © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Untitled 2 © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Joogoomoondiny - Grawler Gully © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Untitled 3 © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Biriyalji - Fish Hole © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Biriyalji-Fish Hole © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Jack Amble Bore © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Joowarri © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Mad Gap © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Merrmerrji – Queensland Creek © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Merrmerrji © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Untitled 1 © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Untitled 2© 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Bedford © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Fig Tree Hole © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Gum Hole © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Jiljin Red Pocket © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Mad Gap © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Merrmerrji - Queensland Creek © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Middle Brand © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Untitled 5 © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Untitled 6 © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Untitled 7 © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Untitled 8 © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Yoowangeny - Mud Springs. © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Biriyalji - Fish Hole © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Mad Gap © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Thoonbi © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Thoowoonggoonarrin © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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| Ngurrantinti Jila © 2017, Estate of Paddy Bedford or assignee |
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