Lot 23

The Johnstone Gallery, Brisbane (label verso)
Private collection, Queensland

(Possibly) Margaret Olley, The Johnstone Gallery, Brisbane, 8 - 23 November 1966, cat. no. 8 or 23 ("Pomegranates I" or "Pomegranates II")

Margaret Olley remains one of Australia's most beloved painters. Her still lifes, in particular, are each a considered construction of light and colour. In the artist's own words,
"The subject matter is not important, it is the shape, the placement and the pictorial relationship which concerns me." (Margaret Olley, March 1989)

Margaret Olley's focus was to paint what was around her, which was most often an eclectic array of nature and objects in her studio and home. Although she did travel, she had a strong network of friends who kept her informed of the latest conversations of art overseas, maintaining her analytical eye which those around her came to value strongly. Olley did not seek out public exposure, in fact after the criticism of Dobell's portrait of her she remained reluctant to let the public see too much of her.
The travels that Olley did achieve abroad were instrumental in shaping her art. She drew inspiration from the art of Bonnard, Matisse and Derain, whose works are often seen portrayed through posters in Olley's interior scenes.
After her years abroad, Margaret Olley returned to Australia due to her father's ill health. Brisbane was not the same as when she had left. A new generation of local art critics, gallery directors and artistic circles brought a new hub of activity to the art scene. Brian and Marjorie Johnstone had opened their gallery, The Johnstone Gallery, with an exhibition of Margaret's drawings in 1952. It was the 1960s, however, that brought a new freedom and creative energy to Olley's works and her style became more expressive. By now, she was one of Australia's most recognised female artists, with sales at her 1962 Johnstone Gallery exhibition doubling the record price set for an Australian woman artist.
"I can think of no other Australian painter of the present time who orchestrates their themes with such uninhibited richness as Margaret Olley. She is a symphonist among flower painters: a painter who calls upon the full resources of the modern palette to express her joy in the beauty of living things." (James Gleeson, 1964)
The vitality of her 1960s work can be seen in Pomegranates 1965 and another larger depiction of Pomegranates in 1966, which displays a similar arrangement of the fruit and bowl to this work. The fruit is plump and bursting with ripeness. In looking at other still life works by Olley in 1964-66, she experiments with a loosely arranged scattering of fruit, often extending out of the vessel and onto the tablecloth or chosen surface. In Pomegranates 1965, the foliage carefully balances on top of the ascending fruit, with one small pomegranate still attached and balancing precariously in the air. As is Olley's style, she carefully considers the relationship between each object, the space between, and the rich colour and light of this harmonious assemblage of items. Pomegranates 1965 is a superior example from the artist's most revered period, when her work displayed a heightened invigoration and freedom.

Olivia Fuller
Head of Art

Reproduced with permission of the Margaret Olley Art Trust