Margaret Priest
03 Dec 2009 - 07 Feb 2010
Margaret Priest was one of the foremost figures in post-war art in Western Australia. Given Perth's cultural isolation from mainstream Australian art in the early 1960s, she was the first sculptor to introduce modernist ideas and became an important link to contemporary European practice at that time.
She played a prominent part in the aesthetic development of Perth during the decades between 1950 and 1980, a significant period for both artistic growth and cultural identity in WA. For over a decade she made an important contribution as a lecturer at WAIT (now Curtin) where she influenced many of the current generation of contemporary sculptors. She has always maintained contact with her national and international peers.
She created an important body of work, much of it in high profile public positions in the city of Perth. Her Pioneer Woman is the centrepiece of the public space in Kings Park. Despite her work being an integral part of the landscape in the City of Perth few people are now familiar with the wider framework of her career. Now in her mid-eighties, Margaret lives in the South West where she has continued to practise as a highly professional artist for many years.
The exhibition will include sculptures, associated drawings, and recent paintings. It will be accompanied by a new publication exploring the work of Margaret Priest in its historical context.
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| Margaret Priest , Fragment , 1960, driftwood, 99 x 25 x 29 cm Collection of the artist |
Margaret Priest , Lake at Twizel acrylic on card, 36 x 41 cm, 1993 |
Margaret Priest , acrylic on board, 36 x 91 cm, 1993 $6000 |
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| Margaret Priest , Celebrating Naidoc Week acrylic on canvas, 90 x 160 cm, 2006 $12 000 |
Margaret Priest , Remembering Landsdale: Bulldozer Rampant, Felix Dormant, Birds Insouciant, Strelitzia Defiant acrylic on canvas, 117 x 183 cm, 1994 $15 000 |
Margaret Priest , Ragged Range acrylic on canvas, 90 x 140 cm, 1999 $10 000 |
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| Margaret Priest , Purnululu (Don’t sit on the Spinifex, Margaret!) acrylic on board, 57 x 73 cm, 1999 $2400 |
Margaret Priest , Sundowners acrylic on canvas, 129 x 100 cm, 2000 $12 000 |
Margaret Priest , Troubled Waters acrylic on canvas, 100 x 133 cm, 2005 $10 000 |
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| Margaret Priest , Mini Palms acrylic on board, 64 x 50 cm, 1999 $2400 |
Margaret Priest , Kununurra acrylic on board, 49 x 63 cm, 1999 $2400 |
Margaret Priest , Allie’s House acrylic on canvas, 64 x 76 cm, 2005 $3200 |
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| Margaret Priest , Waiting for Me oil on canvas, 92 x 156 cm, 2009 $12 000 |
Margaret Priest , Lilies at Twizel acrylic on cork, 41 x 36 cm, 1993 $900 |
Margaret Priest , Augusta Garden oil on canvas, 92 x 153 cm, 2009 $12 000 |
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| Margaret Priest , Strelitzia Still Life (work in progress) acrylic on canvas, 122 x 57 cm, 2009 $8000 |
Margaret Priest , The Art Lesson acrylic on canvas, 77 x 66, 2006 $3200 |
Margaret Priest , Remembering Landsdale: Bulldozer Rampant, Felix Dormant, Birds Insouciant, Strelitzia Defiant acrylic on canvas, 117 x 183 cm, 1994 $15 000 |