PRIMARY STUDENT WORKSHEET

About the artist — Margaret Olley (1923–2011) was a much-loved Australian artist who lived and worked in in the early stages of her career. She was well- known for her still-lifes and paintings of interiors inspired by her home and the beauty of everyday objects. Olley was a charismatic character and had a lasting impact on many artists as a friend, mentor and muse.

Places 1 —

Evening, Stanley House, Versailles 1952 South Brisbane 1947 Why do you think Note the colours Olley used in Evening, Olley used pen and Stanley House, South Brisbane 1947 and watercolour for this the tone of the work. How do you think work, rather than she felt about Brisbane at that time? oil paints? How do the materials Victoria Bridge II 1966 contribute to her Find Olley’s Victoria Bridge II 1966. impression of Is the colour and tone different in this Versailles? work? How do you think Olley felt about Brisbane 20 years later? Places Yellow Room triptych 2007 Explore Olley’s Yellow Room triptych 2007 with a friend. Take turns at explaining — and listening to how your eyes move around the painting when you look at it.

Olley considered paintings of interiors to be portraits of the people who lived in spaces depicted. Think of Olley’s Yellow Room triptych as a portrait. Write a character description of the person whose room it is, based only on what you can see in this painting. State what the person looks like, smells like, feels like and sounds like. Share your ideas with others in your class. Are your descriptions similar or different?

Objects Triptych means ‘threefold’. 2 — A triptych is a work of art Cornflowers and figs1990 divided into three panels. Olley’s favourite flowers were cornflowers, and she painted them over and over again in different arrangements. How can the same thing appear different in different paintings? How is this difference explored by Olley in her paintings of cornflowers?

Lemons and oranges 1964 Consider this still-life painting of lemons and oranges. What is the story behind these pieces of fruit? How did they end up on this table? What happens next? Share your stories with the rest of the group.

White still life I 1977 Have you seen jugs and bowls like these before?

What do you think Olley saw and appreciated in these everyday household items? Do you think they were important to her? In small groups, discuss the different meanings objects can have to different people. People , Margaret Olley 1948 — Compare Olley’s self-portraits with the portraits of her by other artists. What do you notice about the way she presented herself compared to the way other Portrait in the mirror 1948 people saw her? If you were to draw a self-portrait and then have a friend draw Notice how Olley has chosen to show her a portrait of you, would they be the same? self-portrait as a reflection in a mirror? Many artists use mirrors in self-portraits. Why do you think they do this? What does it say about the relationship between the artist and the audience?

Ben Quilty, Margaret Olley 2011 The is a major prize Compare the colours used in this portrait for portraiture in Australian art. to some of ’s other works on display in ‘Quilty’ in Gallery 1.3. Why/ Margaret Olley is the only subject to what’s different? How has Olley’s own have won the Archibald Prize twice! work inspired Quilty here? 3 — Margaret Olley PUBLISHER 1923-2011 Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art © Margaret Olley Art Trust Stanley Place, South Bank, Brisbane PO Box 3686, South Brisbane Queensland 4101 Australia Evening, Stanley House, South Brisbane 1947 / Oil on board / 45.5 x 66.5cm / W: qagoma.qld.gov.au Gift of Philip Bacon am 2006 / Collection: National Gallery of Australia, Canberra Published in association with ‘Margaret Olley: A Generous Life’, organised by the Victoria Bridge II 1966 / Pen and watercolour on paper / 38.5 x 49cm / Queensland Art Gallery I Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) and held at GOMA, Collection: Moreton Bay Regional Council Brisbane, Australia, 15 June – 13 October 2019. © Queensland Art Gallery Board of Trustees, 2019. Versailles 1952 / Monotype and watercolour on paper / 48 x 60cm / Gift of the Margaret Olley Art Trust through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation 2012 / This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, Collection: Queensland Art Gallery / Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane no part may be reproduced without prior written permission of the copyright owners.

Yellow Room triptych 2007 / Oil on board / 138 x 290cm / Purchased through The Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Yellow Room Appeal 2013 / Collection: New England Regional Museum, Armidale publisher. Copyright for texts in this publication is held by the Queensland Art Gallery.

Cornflowers and figs 1990 / Oil on board / 67.5 x 90cm / Private collection This resource has been developed by QAGOMA Learning Staff.

Lemons and oranges 1964 / Oil on composition board / 76.6 x 102cm / Purchased Acknowledgment of Country 1964 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane The Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) acknowledges the White still life I 1977 / Oil on hardboard / 66.3 x 89.2cm / Gift of Wayne Kratzmann traditional custodians of the land upon which the Gallery stands in Brisbane. We pay 2012. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program / respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders past and present and, in the Collection: National Gallery of Australia, Canberra spirit of reconciliation, acknowledge the immense creative contribution Indigenous people make to the art and culture of this country. White still life II 1977 / Oil on board / 60 x 74.5cm / Private collection

Portrait in the mirror 1948 / Oil on board / 68.3 x 84.8cm / Gift of the artist 2001 /

Collection: Art Gallery of New South Wales, PRINCIPAL BENEFACTOR MAJOR BENEFACTOR

Other artists Margaret Olley R Ian Lloyd / Canada/Australia b. 1953 / Margaret Olley in her studio in Sydney, Art Trust New South Wales, Australia at 9:22am on December 13th, 2005 2005 / Giclée print / 51 x 61.2cm / Gift of the artist through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation 2010. TOURISM & MEDIA PARTNERS WINE PARTNER Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane. © The artist.

William Dobell / Australia 1899–1970 / Margaret Olley 1948 / Oil on hardboard / 114.3 x 85.7 cm / Purchased 1949 / Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney / © William Dobell/Licensed by Copyright Agency, 2019

Ben Quilty / Australia b. 1973 / Margaret Olley 2011 / Oil on linen / 170 x 150cm / Private collection / Photograph: Mim Stirling / © Ben Quilty. Courtesy the artist, The artist, Jan Murphy Gallery and Tolarno Galleries