Margaret Preston

Margaret Preston was an Australian painter and renowned print maker from the 1920s to 1950s. She was an important part of the modernist movement in Sydney and specialized in depicting native flora and landscapes. She was an outspoken advocate of Australian culture and created her own "Australian style," based on modernist, Aboriginal, and Asian art.

She was born in Adelaide but moved to Sydney to study with W. Lister Lister, a landscape painter and recipient of the commonwealth Government prize. She studied at the National Gallery of Victoria schools in Melbourne then to the Adelaide School of Design. She visited Europe for three years beginning in1904 then in 1912 was exposed to the post-Impressionist paintings at the New Salon in Paris and the Royal Academy in London. Her art began to evolve into a more modern style. She was especially notable because of her integration of Australian Aboriginal styles into her art. She was the first woman to receive a commission from the Art Gallery of New South Whales in 1930. Her experimentation and radical approaches to painting and print making made her one of Australia's most notable artists.

The information and images included are from these two sites:

https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/artists/preston-margaret/

https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/preston-margaret-rose-8106

Wheelflower (circa 1929) Margaret Rose Preston, Print (wood engraving, black ink, hand coloured in gouache on brown mulberry paper)

I really like this piece because of her modern style and the simplicity of the shapes. I think Preston does an excellent job of including a hint of modernism in this piece while maintaining the striking aesthetic often associated with still-lives. The contrast created between the greenish-blues and the shades of orange is especially appealing. Like a lot of my drawings, Preston focused on plants.

Berowra (1941) Margaret Rose Preston, Painting (oil on canvas)

I think it's really interesting how much this piece varies from "Wheelflower," created only twelve years earlier. This piece is one of her most notable examples of her Australian style that incorporates characteristics of Aboriginal art. She spent years studying Aboriginal art and I really appreciate her adaptions of it. The earth tones used and the visible brushstrokes are typical of Australian Indigenous art. Once again, Preston has chosen to depict a natural scene.

Although we haven't and likely won't discuss Australian history in any history classes, I thought it was really interesting learning about the influence of Aboriginal art in Australian art as a whole. After researching Margaret Preston, I'll certainly continue to research modernist Australian art and notable Aboriginal artists.