y separately published work icon Margaret Olley : Far from a Still Life single work   biography  
Issue Details: First known date: 2005... 2005 Margaret Olley : Far from a Still Life
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Margaret Olley's life began in the tropics of north Queensland on a cane and dairy farm. But her family was soon on the move, first to the Tweed in New South Wales, then to Brisbane. During her last years at school, Margaret's artistic talent became apparent and she was encouraged to apply to study art formally.

So, in Sydney in the early 1940s, her life-long love affair with painting began. Here, too, she met artists such as Russell Drysdale, Donald Friend, David Strachan and William Dobell, with whom she would form enduring friendships. In 1948 William Dobell asked if she would sit for him and the resulting portrait won the Archibald Prize, just as she was setting off overseas. Bohemian adventures in Europe followed.

Margaret travelled - sketch book in hand - in England, France, Italy and Spain, and lived on a vineyard in Cassis in the south of France. But in 1953 she returned to Australia struggling with her drinking and was forced to choose to dry out or dry up creatively. Once she'd made her decision, her return to life and painting was joyous.

Nowadays, despite a recent bout of profound depression, when not only did she want to give up painting but also living, she still produces magnificent art, donates to our galleries and entertains in her notoriously cluttered Paddington terrace in Sydney.

This is a rich and comprehensive look at eighty-odd years of Margaret Olley - at her lovers and friends, and, of course, her painting. It is glorious proof that indeed her life has been far from still. (Publisher's blurb)

Notes

  • Epigraph: 'God gave Olley an extra battery' (Justin O'Brien)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Milsons Point, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Random House Australia , 2005 .
      Extent: xvi, 568p., [32] p. of platesp.
      Description: illus. (some col.), map, ports.
      Note/s:
      • Includes notes, bibliography, index, list of principal figures and selected solo exhibitions.
      • Foreword by Barry Pearce.
      ISBN: 1740513142
    • Milsons Point, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Random House Australia , 2006 .
      Extent: xi, 568pp.
      Description: [32] p. of plates : ill. (some col.), 1 map, ports. (some col.)
      Note/s:
      • Includes bibliographic references and index.
      ISBN: 9781741664720
    • North Sydney, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Random House Australia , 2007 .
      Extent: xix, 568pp.
      Description: [32] p. of plates : ill. (some col.), map, ports.
      Note/s:
      • Includes index.
      • Bibliography: p. 545-552.
      ISBN: 9781741661453 (pbk.)
    • North Sydney, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Random House Australia , 2012 .
      Extent: xix, 625pp.
      Edition info: Rev. and updated ed.
      Description: [32] p. of plates : ill. (some col.), map, ports
      Note/s:
      • Includes bibliographical references (p. 601-608) and index.
      ISBN: 9781742755854 (pbk)

Other Formats

  • Also braille, sound recording.

Works about this Work

Non Fiction Gillian Bramley-Moore , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 10 - 11 March 2012; (p. 23)

— Review of Margaret Olley : Far from a Still Life Meg Stewart , 2005 single work biography
On My Bedside Table Marlene Stafford , 2009 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 10 October 2009; (p. 20)

— Review of Margaret Olley : Far from a Still Life Meg Stewart , 2005 single work biography
Out from Under the Balcony Clive James , 2006 single work review
— Appears in: The Times Literary Supplement , 1 September no. 5396 2006; (p. 16-17)

— Review of Margaret Olley : Far from a Still Life Meg Stewart , 2005 single work biography ; Jeffrey Smart Barry Pearce , 2005 single work biography

'One big advantage of having your name attached for long enough to Australia’s unstoppable cultural upsurge is that you eventually get to meet everyone else.

'Last time I looked, I was personally acquainted with at least three of the most illustrious Australian painters of the post-war generation, the gang who put the Australian branch of their art-form on an international level. Admittedly I had met Sidney Nolan and Charles Blackman only once, and Russell Drysdale and Arthur Boyd not at all. But Margaret…'  (Introduction)

Easel Does It Robin Wallace-Crabbe , 2006 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 24 January vol. 124 no. 6504 2006; (p. 68-69)

— Review of Judy Cassab : A Portrait Brenda Niall , 2005 single work biography ; Margaret Olley : Far from a Still Life Meg Stewart , 2005 single work biography
The Age of Paint Ian Britain , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 31 December 2005; (p. 19)

— Review of Margaret Olley : Far from a Still Life Meg Stewart , 2005 single work biography ; Jeffrey Smart Barry Pearce , 2005 single work biography
Portrait of an Artist Rosemary Sorensen , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 22 - 23 October 2005; (p. 5)

— Review of Margaret Olley : Far from a Still Life Meg Stewart , 2005 single work biography
The Yin and Yang of an Original Talent John McDonald , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 12-13 November 2005; (p. 24)

— Review of Margaret Olley : Far from a Still Life Meg Stewart , 2005 single work biography
A Portrait of the Artist as a Most Unusual Woman Sasha Grishin , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 19 November 2005; (p. 15)

— Review of Margaret Olley : Far from a Still Life Meg Stewart , 2005 single work biography
Tyranny of the Tape Recorder Brenda Niall , 2005-2006 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December-January no. 277 2005-2006; (p. 52)

— Review of Margaret Olley : Far from a Still Life Meg Stewart , 2005 single work biography
The Age of Paint Ian Britain , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 31 December 2005; (p. 19)

— Review of Margaret Olley : Far from a Still Life Meg Stewart , 2005 single work biography ; Jeffrey Smart Barry Pearce , 2005 single work biography
Good Golly, Miss Olley Janet Hawley , 2005 single work biography
— Appears in: Good Weekend , 24 September 2005; (p. 20-26)
Last amended 9 Oct 2014 14:05:19
X