Margaret Hannah Olley (24 June 192326 July 2011) was an Australian painter. She held over ninety solo exhibitions during her lifetime.

Early life

Margaret Olley was born in

Lismore, New South Wales Lismore is a city located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia and the main population centre in the City of Lismore Local government in Australia, local government area, it is also a regional centre in the Northern River ...

. She was the eldest of three children of Joseph Olley and Grace (née Temperley). 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 Somerville House is an independent, boarding and day school for girls, located in South Brisbane, an inner-city suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Established in 1899 as the Brisbane High School for Girls, the School was eventually name ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

during her high school years. She was so focused on art that she dropped one French class in order to take another art lesson with teacher and artist

Caroline Barker Caroline Barker (born 1981) is a British sports journalist and broadcaster who works in television and radio. She currently presents mainly for BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC World Service, Sky Sports and Premier League Productions. Barker was the firs ...

. In 1941, Margaret commenced classes at

Brisbane Central Technical College Brisbane Central Technical College is a heritage-listed technical college at 2 George Street, Brisbane, George Street, Brisbane City, Queensland, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1911 to 1956. It became ...

and then moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in 1943 to enrol in an Art Diploma course at

East Sydney Technical College The National Art School (NAS) is a tertiary level art school, located in , an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school is an independent accredited higher education provider offering specialised study in studio arts p ...

where she graduated with A-class honours in 1945.

Career

Olley concentrated on

still life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, human-m ...

and colour. James V. Duhig reporting on her 1962 sell-out show at Johnstone Gallery in

wrote; "Margaret Olley has reached the flood tide of her art and has stepped up to the top rank of our artists," noting also that all the paintings sold at preview for a gross of £3000, then an Australian record for a woman, but attracted no interest from Brisbane Art Gallery. In 1997 a major retrospective of her work was organised by the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

. She received the inaugural

Mosman Art Prize The Mosman Art Prize is an annual art award made by the corporation of Mosman, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. It has been running since 1947. Past adjudicators also include notable Australian art figures such as Margaret Preston, John Olsen ...

in 1947.

Newcastle

In November 1965 Olley moved to

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

. Whilst living here she painted 23 paintings of the city and waterfront in a series known as the 'Newcastle Watercolours'. Olley 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. Several of her paintings can be found in institutions in Newcastle and the Hunter including, the University of Newcastle,

Newcastle Art Gallery The Newcastle Art Gallery, formerly the Newcastle City Art Gallery and Newcastle Region Art Gallery, is a large public art museum in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. History Founded in 1945 with an art collection consisting of 123 wor ...

and Maitland Regional Art Gallery.

Philanthropy

On 13 July 2006 she donated more works to the

; her donations included more than 130 works worth $7 million.

Tributes and honours

Olley was twice the subject of an

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

winning painting; the first in 1948 by

William Dobell Sir William Dobell (24 September 189913 May 1970) was an Australian portrait and landscape artist of the 20th century. Dobell won the Archibald Prize, Australia's premier award for portrait artists on three occasions. The Dobell Prize is named ...

, who painted her in a borrowed wedding dress made of parachute silk, and the other in 2011 by

Ben Quilty Ben Quilty (born 1973) is an Australian artist and social commentator, who has won a series of painting prizes: the 2014 Prudential Eye Award, 2011 Archibald Prize, and 2009 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. He has been described as one of Au ...

. She was also the subject of paintings by many of her artist friends, including

Russell Drysdale Sir George Russell Drysdale (7 February 1912 – 29 June 1981), also known as Tass Drysdale, was an Australian artist. He won the prestigious Wynne Prize for ''Sofala (Drysdale), Sofala'' in 1947, and represented Australia at the Venice Biennal ...

and several by

Danelle Bergstrom Danelle Bergstrom (born 1957) is an Australian visual artist known for landscapes and portraits of significant Australians and International figures. Biography Bergstrom was born in Sydney. She attended Hunters Hill High School and studied ar ...

including a triptych portrait that was a finalist in the 2003 Archibald Prize. On 10 June 1991, in the

Queen's Birthday The King's Official Birthday or Queen's Official Birthday is the selected day in most Commonwealth realms on which the birthday of the monarch is officially celebrated in those countries. It does not necessarily correspond to the date of the m ...

Honours list, Olley was made an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

"for service as an artist and to the promotion of art". 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". In 2006, Olley was awarded the degree

Doctor of Fine Arts Doctor of Fine Arts (DFA) is a professional doctoral degree in fine arts. It may also be awarded as an honorary degree. Description Doctoral programmes leading to DFAs in the UK are of equivalent level to a PhD, with the same requirement to demon ...

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

by the University of Newcastle.

Final exhibition

Of the last paintings that Olley did before her death, 27 were exhibited at Sotheby's Australia in

Woollahra Woollahra ( ) is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is located east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local go ...

in an exhibition entitled ''The Inner Sanctum of Margaret Olley'' that opened on 2 March 2012. Olley 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 Dame Quentin Alice Louise Bryce, (née Strachan; born 23 December 1942) is an Australian academic who served as the 25th Governor-General of Australia from 2008 to 2014. She is the List of elected and appointed female heads of state, first wom ...

, who gave an address, in which she said that Olley's work was often just like the artist, "filled with optimism". Other attendees at the opening included

Penelope Wensley Penelope Anne Wensley, (born 18 October 1946) is an Australian former public servant and diplomat who served as the 25th Governor of Queensland from 2008 to 2014. She was previously High Commissioner to India from 2001 to 2004 and Ambassador t ...

, the

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the state of Queensland. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, governor-general at the national level, the governor Governors of ...

Edmund Capon Edmund George Capon (11 June 1940 – 13 March 2019) was an art scholar specialising in Chinese art. He was director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 1978 to 2011. He was also the chair of soccer club Sydney FC from 2006 to 2007. E ...

and

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (17 February 1934 – 22 April 2023) was an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He was best known for writing and playing his stage and television characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He appeare ...

Death

Olley died at her home in

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

in July 2011, aged 88. The cause of her death was

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a r ...

. She never married and had no children. Her Paddington home sold for over three million dollars in July 2014.

Legacy

After Olley's death, the Art Gallery of New South Wales used funds donated by its Collection Circle to purchase ''Nasturtiums'', a painting by

E. Phillips Fox Emanuel Phillips Fox (12 March 1865 – 8 October 1915) was an Australian impressionism, impressionist painter. Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, Fox studied at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School. He travelled to Paris to study ...

as a memorial to her. Her ideas about art were explored in conversations held between 19 October 2009 and 22 September 2010 with author Barry Pearce, whose book based on them was published in the year of her death. Part of Olley's

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, an area not far from where the artist was born. The architect of the Tweed's new Margaret Olley Centre, Bud Brannigan, said that it would be faithful to Olley'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 Olley 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 Olley's style, passion and artistic evolution through the reflections of her peers, including former National Gallery of Australia director

Betty Churcher Elizabeth Ann Dewar Churcher (''née'' Cameron; 11 January 193131 March 2015) was an Australian arts administrator, best known as director of the National Gallery of Australia from 1990 to 1997. She was also a painter in her own right e ...

, curator

Barry Pearce Overview ;Notes Series 1 Helen Stewart *Portrayed by Simone Lahbib *Appears in: Series 1–3 Helen Stewart is Wing Governor of G-Wing, whose authority is seldom respected by the prisoners. After a personal struggle with her sexuality, th ...

and

, whose portrait of Olley won the 2011 Archibald Prize. In 2020, a

river-class ferry The River class is a ferry type operated by Transdev Sydney Ferries on Sydney Harbour. History In September 2017, Transport for NSW Transport for NSW (TfNSW) is a Government of New South Wales, New South Wales Government transport service ...

on the

Sydney Ferries Sydney Ferries is the public transport ferry network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales. Services operate on Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour and the connecting Parramatta River. The network is controlled by the New South Wales Government ...

network was named in her honour.

References

External links

Margaret Olley paintings at google.com

Margaret Olley
at the

Margaret Olley
Australian Government Cultural and Recreational Portal (Retrieved 23-July-2007)

ABR of ''Margaret Olley: Far from a Still Life'' by Meg Stewart
Margaret Olley & Donald Friend, 21 January – 19 March 2006
S H Ervin Gallery (Retrieved 23-July-2007)
Margaret Olley review by Grafico Topico's Sue Smith

* ttp://www.daao.org.au/bio/margaret-olley/ Design and Art Australia Online Biographical Record
Margaret Olley digital story and oral history

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

. Part of th
Johnstone Gallery digital stories and oral histories collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olley, Margaret 1923 births 2011 deaths Australian monarchists Companions of the Order of Australia National Art School alumni People from Lismore, New South Wales Queensland Greats 20th-century Australian philanthropists 20th-century Australian women philanthropists 20th-century Australian painters Australian modern painters People educated at Somerville House 20th-century Australian women painters