Margaret Olley: Her works reflect her personality perfectly

Renowned Australian artist William Robinson offers his personal reflections on Margaret Olley’s life, art practice, and his fond memories of visiting Olley in her home is Sydney.

Lewis Morley, Hong Kong/England/Australia 1925–2013 / *Portrait Margaret Olley* 1998 / Gelatin silver photograph / 24.1 x 36.6 cm / Gift of the artist 2003. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program / Collection: National Portrait Gallery, Canberra / © Lewis Morley/ National Science & Media Museum/ Science & Society Picture Library

I used to go around and see her at Paddington in Sydney. Her house was more or less just a subject for her continual group of paintings. There never seemed to be anything that was actually finished — it was always in flux — some piled up with hardly a start, others three quarters finished. She had flower arrangements like still lifes dying on the table and fruit rotting all over the place. It was almost like a party when you brought some fresh cut flowers for her, because [the ones she had] were already dead. I remember she had her big lounge chair piled up with stuff and nobody could sit on it. She had a lithograph by Cézanne — Bathers, I think it was — and a little drawing of Bonnard’s, and all of her Indian and Eastern sculpture and mats everywhere. There was hardly any room to walk.

The re-creation of her home at the Tweed Regional Gallery is a lovely lasting tribute to her, but it is nowhere near as untidy as Margaret’s place really was! William Robinson

Greg Weight, Australia b.1946 / *Portrait Margaret Olley* 1991 / Gelatin silver photograph / 36.2 x 45.3cm / Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004 / Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program / Collection: National Portrait Gallery, Canberra / Image reproduced courtesy of Greg Weight / © Greg Weight

R. Ian Lloyd, Canada/Australia b.1953 / Margaret Olley in her studio in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia at 9:22am on December 13th, 2005 2005, printed 2009 — R. Ian Lloyd, Canada/Australia b.1953 / *Margaret Olley in her studio in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia at 9:22am on December 13th, 2005* 2005, printed 2009 / Gift of the artist through the QAGOMA Foundation 2010. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program / Collection: QAGOMA / © R. Ian Lloyd.

RELATED: Margaret Olley

I have always thought of Margaret as a very accomplished painter. She painted loosely and freely but she was always representational in her painting. Her works reflect her personality perfectly and I can’t imagine Margaret painting any other way. Shirley and I used to take her paint, too. Margaret wasn’t always using artist-quality paint, so we’d take her the odd tube of good paint, like Winsor & Newton cobalt violet and the carmines. Her eyes would light up when she saw colours like that!¹

William Robinson AO is an Australian painter and lithographer. He has won the Archibald Prize for portraiture in 1987 and 1995 and also the Wynne Prize for landscape painting in 1990 and 1996.

Endnote
¹ Interview between William Robinson and Simon Elliott, January 2019