National Art School announces alum exhibition 'Margaret Olley: Australian Intimiste'

From 31 July to 24 October 2026, the National Art School Gallery will present Margaret Olley: Australian Intimiste, celebrating 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.

The exhibition includes more than sixty artworks by Margaret Olley AC and a selection of works by her National Art School friends, teachers and peers including Jean Bellette, Margaret Cilento, Douglas Dundas, Russell Drysdale, Frank Medworth, David Strachan and Tony Tuckson among others. It also includes Sir William Dobell’s famous 1948 Archibald Prize winning portrait of Margaret Olley that caused such a sensation in the day.

Curated by NAS Gallery Manager and Senior Curator Katrina Cashman in consultation with author and curator Christine France OAM. The exhibition explores Olley’s oeuvre as it relates to place and relationships. Rather than maintaining a separate painting studio, she worked primarily in her own home and those of family and friends. While she occasionally painted landscapes, portraits, and sketched outdoors—particularly while travelling—her principal subjects were interior spaces, window views, and intimate tabletop arrangements, capturing the resonance of light, memory, and everyday experience.

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. 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.

NAS Gallery Manager and Senior Curator Katrina Cashman observes: “For Margaret Olley, life and art were inextricably linked, with painting at the core of Margaret Olley’s purpose and existence. She was a mentor and friend to many artists throughout her life and was known for her forthright, charismatic personality. Later in her life also for her impressive generosity as a philanthropist.

The real beauty of her contribution to Australian art lies in her own artistry, and within her works made in the intimist tradition, which draw us into a conversation with the artist herself.”

NAS Director and CEO Dr Kristen Sharp notes: “Margaret Olley is one of Australia’s most successful female artists and we are excited to present this timely celebration of her remarkable practice and lasting influence. As one of the National Art School’s most renowned alum, Olley maintained a close relationship with the School, which we are proud to honour through this exhibition. Opening just over 15 years since her passing, Margaret Olley: Australian Intimiste is a poignant opportunity to revisit and reaffirm her place at the heart of Australian art.”

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. Each painting is more than a still life—it is a portrait, a sensory memory, and a trace of the artist's personal world, animated by beauty.

A substantial publication accompanies the exhibition, including essays by Katrina Cashman, Dr Georgina Cole, Christine France OAM, Dr Emily Gray and Dr Michael Hill. The publication is supported by The Gordon Darling Foundation.

The exhibition has been supported by NAS Gallery Ambassadors.