Margaret Olley: Australian Intimiste at National Art School

‘Margaret Olley: Australian Intimiste’ celebrates the legacy and significant achievements of Margaret Olley AC – National Art School alum and one of Australia’s most beloved painters – through the lens of the European artistic tradition intimisme, which honours the quiet poetry of domestic life and the interior world.

Drawing from significant public and private collections, ‘Margaret Olley: Australian Intimiste’ traces Olley’s preoccupations from early interiors to her later richly textured compositions featuring floral arrangements, antiques, and domestic objects.

Curated by NAS Gallery Manager and Senior Curator Katrina Cashman curator in consultation with author and curator Christine France OAM, the exhibition explores Olley’s oeuvre as it relates to place and relationships.

Though working within intimiste traditions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Olley led an unconventional life, rejecting traditional domestic roles. Her work was never static, echoing the rhythms of a personal world in flux – shaped by the seasons, light, and her enduring dialogue with art history. ‘Australian Intimiste’ celebrates Olley’s remarkable six-decade career since graduating from the National Art School and honours the formative relationships and creative communities that sustained her practice.