Margaret Preston

One of the most important Australian artists of the twentieth century, Margaret Preston was a passionate advocate for modernism who forged a truly national art based on European, Asian and Indigenous influences. Rigorously trained at schools and academies in Sydney, Melbourne, Munich, Paris and London, she exhibited at prestigious institutions including the Royal Academy and New English Art Club in London, and the New Salon in Paris.

Preston’s dynamic paintings and woodblocks, particularly her beloved depictions of Australian native flora, became embedded in the national consciousness and remain among the most recognisable artworks in this country. Her prolific writing matched her artistic output, producing twenty-seven articles for Art in Australia and The Home, alongside numerous lectures advocating for modernist principles. Following travels through Indigenous Australia in 1927, she powerfully incorporated Aboriginal design elements into her work. In 1926, she was honoured with a special edition of Art in Australia, and in 1930 became the first woman commissioned by the Art Gallery of New South Wales to paint a self-portrait for their collection.