Margaret Preston at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia

The art of Margaret Preston has shaped the cultural and aesthetic landscape of Australia. Born in Adelaide in 1875, Preston (nee McPherson) studied in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne, before travelling extensively across England and Europe. Participating in the growing discourses surrounding modernism, Preston began to merge a variety of influences, such as Post-Impressionism, primitivism in European art, the Arts and Craft movement, and Japanese ukiyo-e.

Following Preston’s return from Europe to Sydney in 1919, she established herself as a central figure in the dissemination of modernist principles and pursued the development of a visual language that was uniquely Australian. To resolve her passion in defining a national art, Preston turned towards the cultural material of First Peoples, whose designs she perceived as untouched by European taste. Although Preston was progressive in recognising the aesthetic value of the objects and motifs she incorporated, her approach did not consider their significance to the communities from which she appropriated.

Today, Margaret Preston’s work continues to inspire and generate debate, emphasising her important contribution to Australian art of the twentieth century. This retrospective exhibition contextualises Preston alongside her peers, as well as contemporary artists who have responded to her legacy.

For more information and tickets visit: https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/margaret-preston/