Margaret Oppen born Margaret "Daisy" Arnott (1890 – 1975) was an Australian artist, correspondent and embroiderer. She founded the

Embroiderers' Guild The Embroiderers' Guild is the UK's leading educational charity promoting embroidery. The New South Wales branch was formed in 1955. History The guild was formed in September 1906 at a meeting of sixteen ex-students of the Royal School of Art N ...

branch in New South Wales. Her letters to her mother have been published as "Letters from Daisy".

Life

Oppen was born in 1890 in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large Metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of City of Newcastle, Newcastle and Ci ...

. Her mother was "Polly" Mary Eleanor, (born Dixon) and she called Margaret, "Daisy". Her father was William Arnott and his father was William Arnott known for making biscuits. Her parents frequently went to Britain and she went along. She obtained her artistic training in Sydney and London. In Sydney she studied at Julian Rossi Ashton's school and in London she attended the

Grosvenor School of Modern Art The Grosvenor School of Modern Art was a private British art school and, in its shortened form ("Grosvenor School"), the name of a brief British-Australian art movement. It was founded in 1925 by the Scottish wood engraver Iain Macnab in his h ...

and the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

. In 1924 she was cutting blocks and one of her woodcuts appeared in ''

Art in Australia ''Art in Australia'' was an Australian art magazine that was published between 1916 and 1942. Founding ''Art in Australia,'' was first issued in 1916. It was edited by Sydney Ure Smith, graphic artist and director of the advertising agency, ...

'' that year. In the following year her lino-cuts were in the ''Younger Group of Australian Artists'' exhibition in Sydney. She was in Britain in 1929 when she began to write letters to her mother in Australia telling her of her new son, Conrad. She returned to Australia in 1934/5 with her husband, Hans Oppen, and their two children. During the war she assisted with occupational therapy and after it she went to work at the Ethleen Palmer's Double Bay studio of the Society of Arts and Crafts. There she created embroidery working with Ann Gilmour Rees and Dora Sweetapple. In 1949 she and Ethleen Palmer held a joint exhibition at Sydney's Grovesnor Galeries where Palmer showed her silk screen prints and Oppen showed her embroidery. The embroidery was unusual because it was freehand. Oppen did not sketch or fund an image, but she would create embroidery on household items such as tablecloths and aprons. Oppen went to study again in London at the

Royal School of Needlework The Royal School of Needlework (RSN) is a hand embroidery school in the United Kingdom, founded in 1872 and based at Hampton Court Palace since 1987. History The RSN began as the School of Art Needlework in 1872, founded by Lady Victoria Welby. ...

and she joined the Embroiderers Guild. When she returned to Sydney she led a group who decided to open a branch of the guild in New South Wales. With permission of the guild's patron, Queen Mary, the branch was formed in 1955. In 1967 she was teaching in evening classes as part of the Embroiderers' Guild of N.S.W. Summer School.

Death and legacy

Oppen died in Sydney at the

Royal North Shore Hospital The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in the suburb of St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney, University of Technol ...

in 1975. Every two years the Embroidery Guild of New South Wales has an open competition that is named in her honour as a founding member. In 2023 the prize was $500. The letters that she wrote home to her mother have been the basis of a limited publication titled "Letters from Daisy" created by members of her family.

References

External links

Biography at ADB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oppen, Margaret 1890 births 1975 deaths People from Newcastle, New South Wales Australian embroiderers Australian artists