Margaret Rose (MacPherson) Preston Australia, Europe, 1875-1963
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About Margaret Preston
Born in Adelaide in 1875, Preston studied in Adelaide, Melbourne and in Europe. She was a painter, wood engraver and printmaker, and was greatly interested in the decorative beauty of Aboriginal bark paintings. She became celebrated throughout Australia for her decorative still life studies, particularly of native flowers.
MacPherson Preston is one of the most prolific of the artists listed in our database, with the number of works offered for sale by auction since 1970 of 822, of which 625 (76%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $613,636 for Anemones sold by Deutscher and Hackett in April 2024. This year 8 works have been offered for sale. Works by MacPherson Preston are held by the National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of NSW and a further eight major public national galleries (see list below).
Margaret Preston is listed in the following standard biographical references:
- McCulloch, Alan McCulloch, Susan McCulloch, Emily McCulloch-Childs. The New McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art. 4th Edition, Aus Art Melbourne & The Miegunyah Press, 2006. Page 795
- Campbell, Jean. Australian Watercolour Painters: 1780 to the Present Day. Craftsman House, Sydney, 1989. Page 356
- Dictionary of Australian Artists Online, an online resource for biographical data about Australian artists, designers, craftspeople and curators.
- The Find New Zealand Artists web site: a database of artist names that directs researchers to the rich resources found in New Zealand's libraries, art society exhibition histories and published sources.
- Australian Prints + Printmaking, a database listing printmaking artists from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region based on the print collection of the National Gallery of Australia.
Artists' Resale Royalty
Could the second and subsequent works by this artist sold after June 9, 2010 for over $1,000 be liable for the Artists' Resale Royalty? More info…
Yes, eligible, subject to the artist satisfying the residency test. The artist is alive or has been deceased for less than 70 years. Contact the Copyright Agency for information on the residency test.
The Australian Art Sales Digest is a database of over 610,000 works by more than 12,000 artists who are listed as having either lived or worked in Australia or New Zealand, and an additional 36,000 foreign and other artists, offered for sale by auction in Australia and New Zealand from the early 1970s to the present day.
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