Margaret olley prints from slides

Margaret Olley was born in 1923 in the Lismore District. She enrolled in Brisbane Central Technical College in 1941 and following this, studied at East Sydney Technical College under Dorothy Thornhill, Douglas Dundas, Frank Medworth and Herbert Badham.

In 1945 she attended Jean Bellette’s evening life classes where she met David Strachan who became a close friend and important influence on her work. She also met Sam Hughes, former director of the Zwemmer Galleries in London; Hughes was a catalyst and would become the love of Olley’s life.

After she graduated, Olley quickly became involved in the post-war Sydney art scene and in 1948 she held her first solo exhibition at the Macquarie Galleries.

Margaret olley prints from slides

In the same year William Dobell painted an Archibald Prize-winning portrait of Olley. In 1949 Olley travelled through France, Spain, Venice, Lisbon and London. Following her father’s death in 1953, Olley returned to Brisbane where she remained for ten years, painting, designing theatre sets a