Margaret Hannah Olley AC (1923 – 2011) Bio
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Margaret was one of Australia’s most significant still-life and interior painters She drew inspiration from her home and studio and the beauty of the everyday objects she gathered around her. Many of her paintings feature arrangements of fruits and flowers, set amid the pottery, art, and exotica of her travels. A widely recognised figure in Australian art, she was a major benefactor to public institutions, and the subject of two Archibald Prize winning portraits. She was also the subject of more than ninety solo exhibitions
Margaret was born in Lismore, New South Wales. She was the eldest of three children of Joseph Olley and Grace. The Olley family moved to Tully in far north Queensland in 1925, with Margaret boarding at St Anne’s in Townsville in 1929, before returning to New South Wales in 1931. The family temporarily moved to Brisbane in 1935 with Margaret staying to attend Somerville House in Brisbane during her high school years. It was during her time at secondary school that her talent for painting and drawing was noticed particularly by her art teacher and artist Caroline Barker. Ms Barker persuaded Margaret’s parents to send their daughter to art school to further her studies. Margaret was so focused on art that she dropped one French class in order to take another art lesson with Ms Barker. In 1941, Margaret commenced classes at Brisbane Central Technical College and then moved to Sydney in 1943 to enrol in an Art Diploma course at East Sydney Technical College where she graduated with A-class honours in 1945. In the late 1940s she worked as a set designer in the theatre including production by Jean Cocteau’s “Orphée” with fellow artist Sidney Nolan. Other artists in her circle included Russell Drysdale, Jean Bellette, William Dobell, Russell Drysdale, Justin O’Brien, and David Strachan. In 1948 Margaret held her first solo exhibition at the Macquarie Galleries from which the National Gallery of Victoria and Art Gallery of NSW both purchased works. A self-portrait from that show – Portrait in the mirror 1948, now in the Art Gallery of NSW collection This was also the year William Dobell painted an Archibald Prize-winning portrait of Margaret dressed in a gown fashioned from parachute silk, with a hat adorned with flowers.
Margaret left for Europe in 1949. She lived for a while in France, during which time she studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, went on weekend painting excursions with fellow expatriates David Strachan and Moyra Dyring, and travelled extensively to parts of Spain, Brittany, Venice, Lisbon, and London. Her first European exhibition, at the Galerie Paul Morihien in 1952, was of monotypes, including expressive images of landscapes and rural life such as Nazaré 1952. Margaret returned to Brisbane 1953 to live and paint at her mother’s home ‘Farndon’ in Morry St, Hill End Margaret remained in Brisbane for ten years, painting for exhibition openings, painting mural commissions, designing theatre sets, and opening an antique shop. During the mid-1950s, Margaret travelled through north Queensland, Magnetic Island and Papua New Guinea. She held an exhibition of her paintings from this period in the Macquarie Galleries in 1955. In 1959 she stopped drinking alcohol, and her creative output and wellbeing increased as a result, marking the beginning of decades of commercial success with galleries and collectors, enabling her to invest in properties in Sydney and Newcastle. This gave her the independence to continue to paint, travel and eventually become a benefactor to artists and public galleries.
In 1964, Margaret bought a terrace house and adjoining former hat factory in Duxford Street in the inner Sydney suburb of Paddington. This home and studio became almost as famous as the artist herself. With richly coloured walls, it was jam-packed with thousands of objects, many of which featured as subjects in her artworks. It appeared chaotic but actually was arranged by the artist like a still life. In November 1965 Margaret moved to Newcastle. Whilst living there she painted 23 paintings of the city and waterfront in a series known as the ‘Newcastle Watercolours’. Margaret began a ‘love affair’ with the city and bought several properties in Newcastle and at East Maitland. This established a long association with the city and a major influence on her work.
In the 1970s and 80s she visited America, Crete, Egypt, China, Russia, Italy, France and England, visiting friends and viewing special exhibitions by artists she loved, including Matisse, Morandi, Chardin, Bonnard and Balthas. In 1990 Margaret established the Margaret Olley Art Trust to acquire paintings for public collections. The first retrospective of her work was held at the S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney in 1990, accompanied by the launch of a monograph written by Christine France. The Art Gallery of NSW (AGNSW) also held another retrospective exhibition, curated by Barry Pearce.
Margaret held over 90 solo exhibitions during her life time. She received the inaugural Mosman Art Prize in 1947 On 10 June 1991, in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, Margaret was made an Officer of the Order of Australia “for service as an artist and to the promotion of art” and awarded Life Governor of the AGNSW in 1997. In 1997 a major retrospective of her work was organised by the Art Gallery of New South Wales The AGNSW named the Margaret Olley, Twentieth Century European Gallery in her honour in 2001. On 12 June 2006, she was awarded Australia’s highest civilian honour, the Companion of the Order, “for service as one of Australia’s most distinguished artists, for support and philanthropy to the visual and performing arts, and for encouragement of young and emerging artists” On 13 July 2006 she donated more works to the Art Gallery of New South Wales; her donations included more than 130 works worth $7 million In 2006 Margaret was awarded Honorary Doctorates from Macquarie University, the University of Sydney, the University of Newcastle, the University of Queensland, Southern Cross University, Lismore and Griffith University, Brisbane. Margaret opened Stage II of the Tweed River Art Gallery in Murwillumbah in 2006. In April 2011 artist Ben Quilty won the 2011 Archibald Prize with his portrait of Margaret.
Of the last paintings that Margaret did before her death, 27 were exhibited at Sotheby’s Australia in Woollahra in an exhibition entitled The Inner Sanctum of Margaret Olley that opened on 2 March 2012. Margaret had put the final touches on the show the day before she died and Philip Bacon, who had exhibited her work for decades, had prepared a catalogue to show her that weekend. The opening night was attended by about 350 people among whom were the Governor-General of Australia, Quentin Bryce, who gave an address, in which she said that Margaret’s work was often just like the artist, “filled with optimism”. Other attendees at the opening included Penelope Wensley, the Governor of Queensland, Edmund Capon, Ben Quilty and Barry Humphries.
Sadly in 1980 the family home Farndon in Brisbane burnt down, resulting in the loss of the family’s possessions and many of Margaret’s early works, photographs and objects collected on her travels. An antique fountain originally in Margaret’s Paddington garden, now part of Wendy Whiteley’s garden at Lavender Bay. Part of Margaret’s Paddington house, well known for its items that the painter collected and used as subject matter for her art, described as “her lifelong installation” has been recreated at the Tweed River Art Gallery, a region where Margaret spent her childhood years. The architect of the Tweed’s new Margaret Olley Centre, Bud Brannigan, said that it would be faithful to Margaret ‘s house, “in all of its glory” There is a comprehensive photographic record of her studio and work, shot on the morning she died, by artist photographer Greg Weight. this suite of prints has been donated to the Tweed River Art Gallery.
A documentary by Catherine Hunter, Margaret Olley — A Life in Paint follows Margaret as she completes her last – and many believe her finest – works, those painted in the 18 months leading up to her death. The critically acclaimed film interprets Margaret ‘s style, passion and artistic evolution through the reflections of her peers, including former National Gallery of Australia director Betty Churcher, curator Barry Pearce and Ben Quilty, whose portrait of Margaret won the 2011 Archibald Prize.
Below Chart shows the Percentage Gain in Average Annual Price of Paintings Sold for Margaret Olley
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