Margaret Preston Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Margaret Preston Art Value Price Guide

Sep. 09, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia, Europe (1875 - 1963), Australian Rock Lily c1933, reproduction print, 18 x 18 cm. (7.08 x 7.08 in.), frame: 45 x 33 x 3 cm. (17.71 x 12.99 x 1.17 in.)
Est: $200 - $300
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, Europe, (1875 - 1963) Australian Rock Lily c1933 reproduction print Art Gallery NSW label verso
Lawsons
Sep. 09, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia, Europe (1875 - 1963), Everlasting Flowers, reproduction print, 22 x 18.5 cm. (8.66 x 7.28 in.), frame: 45 x 33 x 3 cm. (17.71 x 12.99 x 1.17 in.)
Est: $200 - $300
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, Europe, (1875 - 1963) Everlasting Flowers reproduction print Art Gallery NSW label verso
Lawsons
Aug. 26, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia, Europe (1875 - 1963), Gum Blossoms, 1928, reproduction print, 20 x 19 cm. (7.87 x 7.48 in.), frame: 45 x 33 x 3 cm. (17.71 x 12.99 x 1.17 in.)
Est: $250 - $350
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, Europe, (1875 - 1963) Gum Blossoms, 1928 reproduction print Art Gallery NSW label verso
Lawsons
Aug. 26, 2026
Margaret Preston, Still Life with native rose, 1920
Est: $350,000 - $450,000
Margaret Preston (1875 - 1963) Still Life with native rose, 1920 oil on cardboard 55.5 x 45.5 cm signed and dated lower left: M.PRESTON / /20 PROVENANCE Amy Beddome (née Byard), Adelaide Elizabeth White (née Beddome), Adelaide Samuel Paul Mortimer White, Adelaide Thence by descent Private collection, Adelaide EXHIBITED Margaret Preston: Art and Life, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 29 July – 23 October 2005, then touring to: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 12 November 2005 – 29 January 2006; Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 18 February – 7 May 2006; Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 26 May – 13 August 2006 (label attached verso) LITERATURE Edwards, D., Peel, R. and Mimmocchi, D., Margaret Preston, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2005, pp. 63 (illus.), 66, 282 Margaret Preston Catalogue Raisonne of paintings, monotypes and ceramics, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2005, Cd–Rom compiled by Mimmocchi, D., with Edwards, D., and Peel, R. ESSAY Margaret Preston's talent was evident from an early age, and she received initial study from William Lister Lister whilst still a teenager. Born Margaret Rose MacPherson, she enrolled at Melbourne’s National Gallery’s School of Design in 1893 under Frederick McCubbin but returned briefly to Adelaide on her father’s death, before recommencing at the Gallery School, choosing painting under Bernard Hall and winning one year’s free tuition for a still life painting. Preston excelled under Hall and ‘was eventually elevated to work in the ‘number one’ studio among the most talented in her cohort, including Hugh Ramsay, Violet Teague and Max Meldrum.’1 On conclusion, she returned to Adelaide undertaking a short spell of further tuition before leasing a studio and teaching full time. In 1903, one of her students was Bessie Davidson to whom she became very close, travelling to Europe together the following year with Preston undertaking yet more study in Munich before moving on to Paris where the two attended an atelier libre associated with the renowned Académie Colarossi; she also had paintings selected for the New Salons of 1905 and 1906. Equally important to her increasing knowledge and skill was exposure to the first fauves exhibition in 1905 which allowed her to attain a technical understanding of artists such as Matisse, Derain and Vlaminck. On returning to Adelaide in late 1906, the two opened a studio school together, a student of which was Stella Bowen who later described Preston as being ‘a red-headed little fire-brand of a woman who was not only an excellent painter… but a most inspiring teacher.’2 Davidson returned to Paris in 1910 and by 1911, one local critic considered that Preston was ‘probably unequalled in Australia in the department of still lifes.’3 Unfortunately, such displays of support did not prevent the straight-talking artist from feeling increasingly constrained by the otherwise prevailing conservatism of Adelaide. Thus in 1912, she returned to Europe, this time in the company of her star student Gladys Reynell, where she reconnected with Davidson and her old friend Rupert Bunny, and again sought further tuition. Preston’s continued search for new ideas and teachers has been described as ‘an opportunity to ‘fill the well’ and (thus) be able to return to her own work with refreshed eyes and enthusiasm.’4 Other new inspirations from these years included the decorative possibilities of Japanese prints and post-Impressionism, with Preston infusing her paintings further with defined rhythms and colour whilst simultaneously experimenting with the shallow space of modernism, all underscored by her prodigious intellect. The declaration of war compelled the women to relocate to London, a move which benefited Reynell who could now provide closer family support to her three serving brothers, one of whom, Carew, died at Gallipoli. Preston exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy, New English Art Club and the Society of Women artists, and with Reynell, took two separate groups of women students to Ireland for artist camps. A new radiance entered her work using a palette of less saturated colour to depict still life and dining settings, both indoor and outdoor, arranged on boldly patterned geometric tablecloths with the blooms set in a variety of local and Asian ceramic containers. Her paintings began to gain serious attention with one, Anemones, 1916, aka The window, being hung ‘on the line’ at that year’s Royal Academy, attracting praise for its ‘sheer beauty of painting and colour’5, whilst her entry at the following year’s annual exhibition by the Society of Women Artists saw her Indoor still life acclaimed by the Sunday Times as ‘one of the best exhibits.’6 Preston and Reynell studied further in pottery and various forms of printmaking, two particular skills they subsequently took to the Seale-Hayne Neurological Military Hospital in Devon, where Rupert Reynell, Gladys’s elder brother, was a surgeon. On his invitation, they taught pottery and basket weaving to shell-shocked veterans and a short film made there poignantly captures Preston helping these damaged men unload a kiln.7 At the cessation of hostilities, it appears the two women began making plans to return to Adelaide together and open their own pottery, but another fate intervened – Preston had met the man who was to become her husband. This was William (Bill) Preston, a Second Lieutenant Gunner in the Field Artillery Brigades who had served on the Western Front. Recently demobbed, he was now heading back to Australia to take up the position as a manager for Dalton Brothers, a mercantile firm and importing agency. They left London together in 1919, travelling via North America en route to Australia. Reynell, who was already back in Adelaide and had established the pottery she named ‘Reynella’, did not take kindly to the news that the couple were to marry, leading to an awkward estrangement which affected their planned two-person exhibition in Adelaide. In short, neither attended the opening though the show was well received. Happily, the two women reconciled, and the Prestons were married at Christ Church, O’Halloran Hill, Adelaide. Gladys and May Reynell (Carew’s widow) were witnesses, and the reception was held at Reynella. Preston stayed with May prior to the ceremony and gave her daughter Lydia painting lessons, later recalling that her teacher was ‘great fun’ but also ‘had very colourful language for the time. My mother’s eyebrows used to shoot up when Margaret used the word ‘bloody.’’8 In thanks for her kindness, Preston gifted May with a still life – Flowers, 1917 (National Gallery of Australia) – depicting ‘bright red geraniums and mauve primulas in a little Chinese porcelain bowl.’9 Following a honeymoon on Norfolk and Lord Howe islands, the Prestons moved to Sydney taking up residence at ‘Glenorie’ in Musgrave Street, approximately fifty metres from the South Mosman Wharf. Still life with native rose, 1920, dates from this first year in Sydney, likely painted in winter due to the leafless tree trunks visible through the window with the choppy waters of Sydney Harbour beyond. Due no doubt to the activities involved in setting up house in a new city, there are only four works by the artist from 1920 listed in her catalogue raisonné. Apart from native roses, this painting also features buttercups and (probably) pink stocks, and whilst the table setting and palette are similar to her British work, Preston was already responding to ‘regional nuances of colour and light… The striped awnings of earlier English paintings were raised to reveal the urban and harbour landscape’10, and indeed, one buttercup seems to be merging with the trees outside. The flowers are contained in a jug and a vase, and Preston again tilts the table’s angle, the bottom corner of which acts as a counterpoint for the pronounced diagonal of the blooms. Significantly, the painting is signed with her new married name, with the artist proclaiming emphatically that ‘(i)f my work would not stand, apart from the merit gained under my previous name as an artist, it would have to go. I did not want to be an artist with a name for past merits.’11 The strength of her European work was quickly noticed and the Art Gallery of New South Wales purchased two paintings – Nasturtiums, c.1916, and Summer, 1915 – within months of her arrival. In Adelaide, Gladys Reynell caused her own scandal by marrying the family’s gardener in 1922 – the ex-serviceman, George Osbourne, who was ten years older and whose standing as a ‘servant’ was beneath her parents’ snobbish dignity. The couple quickly moved to Bendigo as a result and set up a new pottery there. A number of subsequent paintings by Preston feature ceramics made by her friend including the exceptional The pottery of Gladys Reynell, SA, 1922 (Kerry Stokes, Perth). These events provide some clue as to when Preston gifted the painting to Amy Beddome, née Byard, sister of May Byard who had married Carew Reynell. Beddome’s descendants believe that Still life with native rose was given ‘in return for a small favour’ and although the exact details are now lost, it is plausible that the act occurred during Preston’s wedding or Reynell’s two years later. It has stayed within the family ever since and is now offered for the first time at auction. Still life with native rose is a vital and significant painting by Preston who would be described soon after as being ‘a distinguished and original artist… with abundant vitality, unerring taste in selection, the intellectual gift of invention and an emotional colour sense which amounts to genius.’12 Significantly, Anemones, 1916 (private collection), which in 2024 achieved the highest price ever paid for the artist's work at auction13, likewise originated in the Reynell family as a gift from Preston to Gladys. Both works are the same size and it is fascinating to study the stylistic differences between the two, painted four years apart – especially given that, by the time she painted Still life with native rose, Preston was already one of this country’s most rigorously trained artists and would remain Australia’s most prominent and outspoken modernist painter for the next four decades. What is equally remarkable is that each of her paintings was a logical step from the one preceding as Preston sought methodically to solve technical and stylistic challenges usually utilising the still life motif which she saw as being akin to a laboratory table ‘on which aesthetic problems can be solved.’14 1. Harding, L., Margaret Preston: recipes for food and art, Miegunyah Press, Melbourne, 2016, p. 6 2. Stella Bowen, cited in Edwards, D., Peel, R. and Mimmocchi, D., Margaret Preston, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2005, p. 273 3. ‘South Australian Society of Arts annual exhibition’, Adelaide Advertiser, Adelaide, 6 April 1911, p. 9 4. Harding, op. cit., p. xiii 5. The Morning Post, London, cited in ‘Personal’, The Journal, Adelaide, 23 June 1916, p. 1 6. Rutter, F., ‘The Galleries: Society of Women Artists’, Sunday Times, London, March 1917 cited in Drayton, J., Edith Holmes: her life and work 1885 – 1964, Canterbury University Press, New Zealand, 1999, p. 45 7. War Neuroses, British Pathé, 1918, at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYW5WaJRkL4 (accessed 6 July 2026) 8. Butel, E., Margaret Preston, Imprint, Sydney, 1995 (1985 edition), p. 21 9. ibid. 10. Edwards, D. et al., op. cit., pp. 66, 68 11. Preston, M., ‘The artist who changed her name’, Woman’s Budget, Sydney, 16 December 1931, p. 5 12. Proctor, T., ‘An artist’s appreciation of Margaret Preston’, Art in Australia, Ure Smith, Sydney, 3rd series, no. 22, 1 December 1926 [Margaret Preston issue] 13. See Deutscher and Hackett, Important Australian and International Fine Art, 24 April 2024, lot 12 14. Preston, M., ‘Aphorism 46’, in Gellert, L., and Ure Smith, S., (eds.), Margaret Preston: recent paintings 1929, Art in Australia, Sydney, 1929, non-paginated ANDREW GAYNOR © Margaret Preston/Copyright Agency 2026
Deutscher and Hackett
Aug. 12, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia, Europe (1875 - 1963), Sydney Bridge, c1932, reproduction print, 19 x 22.5 cm. (7.48 x 8.85 in.), frame: 33 x 45 x 3 cm. (12.99 x 17.71 x 1.17 in.)
Est: $250 - $350
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, Europe, (1875 - 1963) Sydney Bridge, c1932 reproduction print Art Gallery NSW label verso
Lawsons
Aug. 12, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia, Europe (1875 - 1963), Gum Blossoms, 1928, reproduction print, 20 x 19 cm. (7.87 x 7.48 in.), frame: 45 x 33 x 3 cm. (17.71 x 12.99 x 1.17 in.)
Est: $250 - $350
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, Europe, (1875 - 1963) Gum Blossoms, 1928 reproduction print Art Gallery NSW label verso
Lawsons
Jul. 29, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia, Europe (1875 - 1963), Implement Blue, 1927, reproduction print, 43 x 43.5 cm. (16.92 x 17.12 in.), frame: 61 x 61 x 4 cm. (24.01 x 24.01 x 1.57 in.)
Est: $250 - $350
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, Europe, (1875 - 1963) Implement Blue, 1927 reproduction print
Lawsons
Jul. 22, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia, Europe (1875 - 1963), Western Australian Gum Blossom, 1928, decorative print, 45 x 37 cm. (17.71 x 14.57 in.), frame: 55 x 46 x 2 cm. (21.64 x 18.10 x 0.79 in.)
Est: $300 - $500
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, Europe, (1875 - 1963) Western Australian Gum Blossom, 1928 decorative print
Lawsons
Jul. 08, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia (1875 - 1963), Christmas Bells, decorative print after original, 40 x 39 cm. (15 3/4 x 15.34 in.), frame: 55 x 55 x 3 cm. (21.64 x 21.64 x 1.17 in.)
Est: $250 - $350
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, (1875 - 1963) Christmas Bells decorative print after original
Lawsons
Jul. 08, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia, Europe (1875 - 1963), Western Australian Gum Blossom, 1928, decorative print, 45 x 37 cm. (17.71 x 14.57 in.), frame: 55 x 46 x 2 cm. (21.64 x 18.10 x 0.79 in.)
Est: $300 - $500
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, Europe, (1875 - 1963) Western Australian Gum Blossom, 1928 decorative print
Lawsons
Jun. 24, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia, Europe (1875 - 1963), Anemones, 1925, decorative print, 36 x 33 cm. (14.16 x 12.99 in.), frame: 48 x 45 x 2 cm. (18.89 x 17.71 x 0.79 in.)
Est: $250 - $350
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, Europe, (1875 - 1963) Anemones, 1925 decorative print
Lawsons
Jun. 17, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia, Europe (1875 - 1963), Implement Blue, decorative print, 43 x 44 cm. (16.92 x 17.32 in.), frame: 59 x 58 x 2 cm. (23.23 x 22.82 x 0.79 in.)
Est: $300 - $500
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, Europe, (1875 - 1963) Implement Blue decorative print
Lawsons
Jun. 17, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia, Europe (1875 - 1963), Western Australian Gum Blossom, 1928, decorative print, 45 x 37 cm. (17.71 x 14.57 in.), frame: 55 x 46 x 2 cm. (21.64 x 18.10 x 0.79 in.)
Est: $300 - $500
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, Europe, (1875 - 1963) Western Australian Gum Blossom, 1928 decorative print
Lawsons
Jun. 10, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia, Europe (1875 - 1963), Anemones, 1925, decorative print after original, 33.5 x 31 cm. (13.18 x 12.19 in.), frame: 56 x 55 x 3 cm. (22.05 x 21.64 x 1.17 in.)
Est: $250 - $350
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, Europe, (1875 - 1963) Anemones, 1925 decorative print after original
Lawsons
Jun. 10, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia (1875 - 1963), Christmas Bells, decorative print after original, 40 x 39 cm. (15 3/4 x 15.34 in.), frame: 55 x 55 x 3 cm. (21.64 x 21.64 x 1.17 in.)
Est: $250 - $350
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, (1875 - 1963) Christmas Bells decorative print after original
Lawsons
May. 30, 2026
PRESTON Margaret (1875-1963), 'Flowers in Jug,' c.1929., Woodcut with Hand Colouring, ed. (possibly) 125, 28x20cm (image)
Est: $8,000 - $12,000
PRESTON, Margaret (1875-1963) 'Flowers in Jug,' c.1929. Signed in pencil lower right. Originally inserted into Margaret Preston: Recent Paintings, Art & Australia, Sydney, 1929. Woodcut with Hand Colouring, ed. (possibly) 125 28x20cm (image)
Davidson Auctions
May. 20, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia, Europe (1875 - 1963), Anemones, 1925, decorative print, 36 x 33 cm. (14.16 x 12.99 in.), frame: 46 x 43 x 4 cm. (18.10 x 16.92 x 1.57 in.)
Est: $250 - $350
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, Europe, (1875 - 1963) Anemones, 1925 decorative print
Lawsons
Apr. 29, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia, Europe (1875 - 1963), Sydney Bridge, decorative print, 29 x 34 cm. (11.41 x 13.39 in.), frame: 38 x 43 x 4 cm. (14.96 x 16.92 x 1.57 in.)
Est: $250 - $350
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, Europe, (1875 - 1963) Sydney Bridge decorative print signed in print lower right titled in print lower left
Lawsons
Apr. 29, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia, Europe (1875 - 1963), Anemones, 1925, decorative print, 36 x 33 cm. (14.16 x 12.99 in.), frame: 46 x 43 x 4 cm. (18.10 x 16.92 x 1.57 in.)
Est: $250 - $350
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, Europe, (1875 - 1963) Anemones, 1925 decorative print signed in print lower right titled in print lower left
Lawsons
Apr. 29, 2026
Margaret Preston, Bottlebrush, 1952
Est: $60,000 - $80,000
Margaret Preston (1875 - 1963) Bottlebrush, 1952 oil on canvas 42.0 x 34.0 cm signed and dated lower right: Margaret Preston / -52 PROVENANCE Macquarie Galleries, Sydney Private collection John Martin & Co., Adelaide (labels attached verso) Joseph Brown Gallery, Melbourne Queensland Fine Art Auctioneers, Brisbane, 1989 Sotheby's, Melbourne, 22 April 1996, lot 134 (as ‘Still life of native flowers’) Henry Krongold, Melbourne Thence by descent Private collection, Melbourne EXHIBITED Macquarie Galleries Exhibition: Sydney painting 1952, Finney’s Gallery, Brisbane, 15 - 25 July 1952, cat. 43 Fine paintings, Queensland Fine Art Auctioneers, Brisbane, 25 February – 2 March 1989, lot 68 (as ‘Native flowers’) LITERATURE Margaret Preston Catalogue Raisonné of paintings, monotypes and ceramics, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2005, CD-Rom compiled by Mimmocchi, D., with Edwards, D., and Peel, R. cat. 1952.01 (illus.) ESSAY Flowers proliferate throughout Margaret Preston’s oeuvre, set within striking still life arrangements though none are merely pretty. They are decorative in the modernist sense of the word but were never dashed off in the afternoon over a nice pot of tea. Preston approached each canvas as an exercise unto itself, one which built on lessons gleaned over the course of her long and sustained career. For noted historian Humphrey McQueen, ‘Margaret Preston was Modernism in Australia between the wars… because she was the one artist who persistently attempted to engage, in various media, the complex of problems which gave rise to Modernism.’1 Preston saw art as being ‘a problem of relationships… where every form or shape realized on the canvas alters the nature and character of the original stimulus.’2 Her paintings from the mid-1920s bear testament to such ideas with, for example, Gum blossom (or eucalyptus), 1928 (Art Gallery of Western Australia), which contrasts spikey Australian flora set against a streamlined background informed by contemporary interior design, or those from the 1940s, infused by her selective understanding of the palette integral to Australian Indigenous art. Echoes from each of these stages may be found in Bottlebrush, 1952, painted at the artist’s home in Mosman, NSW. In related paintings such as Western Australian wildflowers, c.1951 (private collection), the table outline is bold and uninterrupted, whilst in Bottlebrush and flannel flower, c.1951 (private collection), there is no line at all – space is only delineated by tone and vigorous brushwork. These steps underscore the later painting, Flannel flowers, 1952 (collection unknown), where Preston now has the table-top merging directly into the backyard lawn through an orchestrated pattern of strokes in a myriad choice of greens. Between these three extremes sits Bottlebrush, whose black jug is set against its own fugitive background of indeterminate space, the table’s surface anchored only by minimal brushwork to the right which, by its very fluidity, seems to follow direction – the curved sweep of white cloth – rather than demarcation of the actual edge. By contrast, to the left, the background implodes into an entropic space of three tonal regions, black, white and grey. This causes the black jug to visually step forward, its own surface agitated by expressive but controlled brushwork. The plants also stand out from the dissolve, their red, green, yellow and blue flowers – so distinctive of Australian flora – coming to the fore. The blooms in Bottlebrush are bottlebrush, wattle, yellow pea, and Dampiera (fan flower), and since these all favour Spring to early Summer for their flowers, the painting was likely begun late in 1951 but completed in the first months of 1952 before exhibition at the Macquarie Galleries-affiliated Finney’s Gallery, Brisbane, in July. Throughout her career, Preston was often dismissed by critics due to her gender and, as Art Gallery of New South Wales director, Hal Missingham, noted upon her death that ‘if Margaret Preston had been a man, I feel sure she would have enjoyed a public reputation equally as great as Dobell, Drysdale or Nolan.’3 Time has eased this view of the status quo, and Preston is now rightly regarded – and loved – for the strength, vigour and intelligence of her art. 1. Humphrey McQueen, 1979, cited in Edwards, D., Mimmocchi, D., and Peel, R., Margaret Preston, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2005, p. 9 2. Margaret Preston, ‘Aphorisms 25 & 27’, in Gellert, L., and Ure Smith, S., (eds), Margaret Preston: recent paintings 1929, Art in Australia, Sydney, 1929, non-paginated 3. Missingham, H., ‘Margaret Preston’, Art and Australia, Sydney, vol.1, no. 2, August 1963, p. 100 ANDREW GAYNOR © Margaret Preston/Copyright Agency 2026
Deutscher and Hackett
Apr. 29, 2026
Margaret Preston, Aboriginal bark ornament, 1940
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
Margaret Preston (1875 - 1963) Aboriginal bark ornament, 1940 hand-coloured woodblock print on tapa cloth 35.5 x 34.5 cm (image) signed with initials and dated in image lower left: MP / 1940 signed and inscribed below image: Tapa Cut Aboriginal Hunt Margaret Preston PROVENANCE Private collection Christie’s, Melbourne, 21 May 1990, lot 144 Private collection, Sydney, acquired from the above Estate of the above EXHIBITED Society of Artists Annual Exhibition, Education Department's Art Gallery, Sydney, 6 – 25 September 1940, cat. 62 (another example, as 'drawing' [sic]) The Art of Margaret Preston, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 23 May – 22 July 1980, and touring to the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, and Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, cat. 28 (another example) LITERATURE Christesen, C. B. (ed.), Meanjin Papers 2, The Meanjin Press, Brisbane, vol. 2, no. 2, Winter 1943, p. 3 (illus. as 'Aboriginal Hunt Design', another example) Draffin, N., Australian Woodcuts and Linocuts of the 1920s and 1930s, Sun Books, South Melbourne, 1976, p. 54 (illus., another example) North, I., The Art of Margaret Preston, Art Gallery Board of South Australia, Adelaide, 1980, P.28, p. 56 (illus., another example) Butler, R., The Prints of Margaret Preston, A Catalogue Raisonné, Australian National Gallery, Canberra and Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1987, cat. 228, pp. 196, (illus., another example), 197 RELATED WORK Other examples of this work are in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra and the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (as 'Aboriginal design - The hunt') © Margaret Preston/Copyright Agency 2026
Deutscher and Hackett
Apr. 28, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON 1875-1963 Christmas Bells 1925 hand-coloured woodcut on paper, edition 7 of 50 30 x 29.5 cm (image); 36.4 x 33 cm (she
Est: $30,000 - $40,000
MARGARET PRESTON 1875-1963 Christmas Bells 1925 hand-coloured woodcut on paper, edition 7 of 50 inscribed and dated ‘7th proof Xmas Bells – 25' lower left; signed ‘Margaret Preston' lower right; signed artist's monogram ‘MP' lower right (in image) 30 x 29.5 cm (image); 36.4 x 33 cm (sheet) PROVENANCE Margaret Preston, Sydney Private Collection, Sydney Private Collection, Sydney, by descent from the above EXHIBITED The Society of Artists Exhibition, Dunster Galleries, Adelaide, 4-20 November 1925, no. 99 (another impression) Thea Proctor and Margaret Preston Exhibition, Grosvenor Galleries, Sydney, 18 November – 2 December 1925, no. 6, ‘Xmas Bells' (another impression) Exhibition of Woodcuts by Margaret Preston, Dunster Galleries, Adelaide, September 1926, no. 39 (another impression) LITERATURE Wentworth Magazine, Sydney, Vol. 4, No. 11, August 1928, cover (illustrated, another impression) Roger Butler, The Prints of Margaret Preston: A Catalogue Raisonné, Australian National Gallery, Canberra and Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1987, cat. no. 93, p. 112 (illustrated, another impression) Roger Butler, The Prints of Margaret Preston: A Catalogue Raisonné (rev. ed.), National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2005, cat. no. 93, p. 123 (illustrated, another impression) PUBLIC COLLECTIONS Impressions of this woodcut are held in the following collections: National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (2 impressions)
Smith & Singer
Apr. 02, 2026
MARGARET ROSE (MACPHERSON) PRESTON, Australia, Europe (1875 - 1963), Anemones, 1925, archival pigment print, 36 x 33 cm. (14.16 x 12.99 in.), frame: 48 x 45 x 2 cm. (18.89 x 17.71 x 0.79 in.)
Est: $300 - $500
MARGARET ROSE (MACPHERSON) PRESTON Australia, Europe, (1875 - 1963) Anemones, 1925 archival pigment print signed and dated in print
Lawsons
Apr. 02, 2026
MARGARET ROSE (MACPHERSON) PRESTON, Australia, Europe (1875 - 1963), Implement Blue, 1927, archival pigment print, 36.5 x 36.5 cm. (14.36 x 14.36 in.), frame: 47 x 47 x 2 cm. (18 1/2 x 18 1/2 x 0.79 in.)
Est: $300 - $500
MARGARET ROSE (MACPHERSON) PRESTON Australia, Europe, (1875 - 1963) Implement Blue, 1927 archival pigment print signed and dated in print lower right
Lawsons
Mar. 12, 2026
(2 works) Margaret Preston (1875 - 1963), Sydney Bridge & Sydney Heads, and (1 work), Ichkawa Hakuen II. All offset lithographs. (largest: 51 x 38 x 2 cm.)
Est: $30 - $50
(2 works) Margaret Preston (1875 - 1963), Sydney Bridge & Sydney Heads, and (1 work), Ichkawa Hakuen II. All offset lithographs. (largest: 51 x 38 x 2 cm.)
Lawsons
Mar. 11, 2026
MARGARET ROSE (MACPHERSON) PRESTON, Australia, Europe (1875 - 1963), Sydney Heads 2, 1925, poster, 43 x 32 cm. (16.92 x 12.59 in.), frame: 65 x 48 x 2 cm. (25.58 x 18.89 x 0.79 in.)
Est: $150 - $250
MARGARET ROSE (MACPHERSON) PRESTON Australia, Europe, (1875 - 1963) Sydney Heads 2, 1925 poster Art Gallery of NSW blindstamp lower right
Lawsons
Mar. 03, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, "Indigenous Design", Decorative print, plate art in Australia 1925., Image: 10cm x 15cm Frame: 31cm x 55cm
Est: $200 - $300
MARGARET PRESTON "Indigenous Design" Decorative print, plate art in Australia 1925. Artwork is stretched and ready to hang.
Ozbid Auctions
Mar. 03, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, "Indigenous Design", Decorative print plate Art in Australia 1925., Image: 10cm x 10cm Frame: 29cm x 28cm
Est: $200 - $300
MARGARET PRESTON "Indigenous Design" Decorative print plate Art in Australia 1925. Artwork is framed and ready to hang.
Ozbid Auctions
Jan. 14, 2026
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia (1875-1963), Gum Blossom, decorative print after original, 20 x 19 cm. (7.8 x 7.4 in.), frame: 47 x 35 x 2 cm. (18 1/2 x 13.7 x 0.7 in.)
Est: $250 - $350
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, (1875-1963) Gum Blossom decorative print after original gallery frame
Lawsons
Jan. 07, 2026
(AFTER) MARGARET PRESTON, Australia (1857 - 1963), Rock Lily, 1953, decorative print after original, 60 x 48 cm (frame: 86 x 77 x 3 cm)
Est: $250 - $350
(AFTER) MARGARET PRESTON Australia, (1857 - 1963) Rock Lily, 1953 decorative print after original
Lawsons
Nov. 26, 2025
Margaret Preston, Native flowers, 1949
Est: $25,000 - $35,000
Margaret Preston (1875 - 1963) Native flowers, 1949 colour stencil on paper 31.5 x 23.0 cm from an edition of 3 (plus 2 proofs) signed with initials in image lower right: M.P. PROVENANCE Henry Castle, New South Wales, acquired directly from the artist Thence by descent Private collection, New South Wales EXHIBITED probably Gouache Stencils by Margaret Preston, Grosvenor Galleries, Sydney, September 1949 Margaret Preston: The Art of Constant Rearrangement, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 27 December 1985 – 9 February 1986 (another example) Cutting Through Time—Cressida Campbell, Margaret Preston, and the Japanese Print, Geelong Gallery, Victoria, 17 May – 28 July 2024 (another example) LITERATURE Your Garden: Australia’s down-to-earth gardening magazine, The Argus and Australasian Ltd, Melbourne, April 1954 (illus. front cover, another example) Butel, E., Margaret Preston: The Art of Constant Rearrangement, Penguin Books & Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1985, cat. P.59, pp. 68 (illus., another example), 92 Butler, R., The Prints of Margaret Preston: A Catalogue Raisonné, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 1987, cat. 361, pp. 279 (illus., another example), 336 RELATED WORK Other examples of this work are in the collections of the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. © Margaret Preston/Copyright Agency 2025
Deutscher and Hackett
Nov. 26, 2025
Margaret Preston, River Murray, near Wilcannia, 1946
Est: $15,000 - $20,000
Margaret Preston (1875 - 1963) River Murray, near Wilcannia, 1946 colour monotype 36.0 x 38.0 cm (sight) signed and inscribed with title below image: River Murray near Wilcannia monotype Margaret Preston PROVENANCE H. A. McClure Smith C.V.O., Sydney, by 1949 James R. Lawson, Sydney, 14 December 1964 Private collection, Sydney Thence by descent Private collection, Sydney LITERATURE Ure Smith, S., Margaret Preston’s Monotypes, Ure Smith, Sydney, 1949, p. 67 Butler, R., The Prints of Margaret Preston, Australian National Gallery, Canberra, 1987, cat. 304, p. 246 © Margaret Preston/Copyright Agency 2025
Deutscher and Hackett
Nov. 26, 2025
Margaret Preston, Sturt's desert pea, 1925
Est: $12,000 - $15,000
Margaret Preston (1875 - 1963) Sturt's desert pea, 1925 hand-coloured woodcut 18.5 x 24.5 cm (image) 26.5 x 29.0 cm (sheet) edition: 3/50 signed with initials in image lower left: MP. signed, numbered and inscribed with title below image: Sturt’s desert pea / 3rd proof / Margaret Preston PROVENANCE James R. Lawson, Sydney, c.1960s Private collection, Sydney Thence by descent Private collection, Sydney EXHIBITED Thea Proctor and Margaret Preston Exhibition, Grosvenor Galleries, Sydney, 18 November – 2 December 1925, cat. 20 (another example) Exhibition of Woodcuts by Margaret Preston, Dunster Galleries, Adelaide, September 1926, cat. 66 (another example) LITERATURE Woman's World, Sydney, vol. 6, no. 1, January 1926, p. 64 (illus., another example, as 'N.S.W. Wild Flowers') The Home, Sydney, vol. 8, no. 8, August 1927, p. 26 (illus., another example) Art in Australia, Sydney, 3rd Series, no. 22 (Margaret Preston Number), December 1927, p. 76, pl. 41 (illus., another example, as 'Australian Wild Flowers') Art in Australia, Sydney, no. 57, 15 November 1934, p. 90 (illus., another example) Butler, R., The Prints of Margaret Preston, Australian National Gallery, Canberra, 1987, cat. 88, p. 109 (illus., another example) RELATED WORK Other examples of this print are held in the collections of the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide and the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra © Margaret Preston/Copyright Agency 2025
Deutscher and Hackett
Nov. 25, 2025
MARGARET PRESTON 1875-1963 Cottage Kitchen (1905) oil on canvas 91 x 91 cm
Est: $40,000 - $60,000
MARGARET PRESTON 1875-1963 Cottage Kitchen (1905) oil on canvas signed 'MP' lower left 91 x 91 cm PROVENANCE Margaret Preston, Paris Private Collection, Adelaide, by descent from the above Fine Australian Paintings, Sotheby's Australia, Melbourne, 19 August 1991, lot 263, illustrated Private Collection, Sydney, acquired from the above EXHIBITED Margaret Preston: Art and Life, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 29 July – 23 October 2005; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 12 November – 29 January 2006; Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 18 February – 7 May 2006, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 26 May – 13 August 2006, illustrated (label verso) LITERATURE Deborah Edwards, Rose Peel and Denise Mimmochi, Margaret Preston, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2005, pp. 24 (illustrated), 26, 27, 282 Denise Mimmochi, Margaret Preston: Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings, Monotypes and Ceramics, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2005, illustrated
Smith & Singer
Nov. 19, 2025
MARGARET PRESTON (1875-1963), Flowers in Jug c1929
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, MELBOURNE MARGARET PRESTON (1875-1963) Flowers in Jug c1929 hand-coloured woodcut 28.0 x 20.5 cm (image); 33.0 x 25.0 cm (sheet); 80.0 x 70.0 cm (framed) edition of 125 signed lower right: Margaret Preston
Menzies
Nov. 05, 2025
MARGARET ROSE (MACPHERSON) PRESTON, Australia (1875 - 1963), Gum Blossoms, 1928, decorative print after original, 20 x 19 cm. (7.8 x 7.4 in.), frame: 47 x 37 x 2 cm. (18 1/2 x 14.5 x 0.7 in.)
Est: $150 - $250
MARGARET ROSE (MACPHERSON) PRESTON Australia, (1875 - 1963) Gum Blossoms, 1928 decorative print after original unsigned
Lawsons
Oct. 16, 2025
Margaret Preston
Est: $30 - $50
Margaret Preston
Lawsons
Sep. 28, 2025
Margaret Preston print with gourd & elephant stand
Est: $50 - $100
Margaret Preston print with gourd & elephant stand teak elephant stnd 11.4cm H x 14.5cm W with Edward V111 Coronation commemorative hanky see photos gourd 28.5cm H (4)
Lugosi Auctioneers & Valuers
Sep. 22, 2025
MARGARET PRESTON (1875-1963) Sturt's Desert Pea 1925 hand-coloured woodcut 18.5 x 24.5cm
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
MARGARET PRESTON (1875-1963) Sturt's Desert Pea 1925 hand-coloured woodcut signed lower right: Margaret Preston titled and inscribed lower left initialled in plate lower left 18.5 x 24.5cm PROVENANCE: Private collection, New South Wales Shapiro Auctioneers, Sydney, 22 November 2022, lot 39 Private collection, Melbourne EXHIBITIONS: Thea Proctor and Margaret Preston Exhibition, Grosvenor Galleries, Sydney, 18 November - 2 December 1925, cat. no. 20 (another example) Exhibition of Woodcuts by Margaret Preston, Dunster Galleries, Sydney, September 1926, cat. no. 66 (another example) LITERATURE: Woman's World, Sydney, vol. 6, no. 1, January 1926, p. 64 (as "N.S.W. Wild Flowers") (illus., another example) The Home, Sydney, vol. 8, no. 8, August 1927, p. 26 (illus., another example) Art in Australia, Sydney, 3rd series, no. 22, December 1927, pl. 41, p. 76 (as "Australian Wild Flowers") (illus., another example) Art in Australia, Sydney, no. 57, 15 November 1934, p. 90 (illus., another example) Butler, R., The Prints of Margaret Preston, Australian National Gallery, Canberra, 1987, cat. no. 88, p. 109 (illus., another example) OTHER NOTES: Other examples of this print are held in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; and Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide. Printmaking formed a large part of the modernist art movement in Australia during the 1920s and 1930s. Following the war, many female artists had studied abroad, now returning home with a wealth of artistic knowledge. Margaret Preston was one such artist, becoming a leading exponent of this modernist vision and a driving force in reshaping art in Australia. Like many of her peers, Margaret Preston's artistic talents were not confined solely to painting. She was dedicated to progressing the celebrated medium of printmaking, developing woodcuts throughout every phase of her career. It is those of the 1920s that represent her most refined achievements. Preston skilfully utilised the inherent qualities of woodcuts to create her unique and recognisable works. She understood that the very nature of the woodcut affected the character of the image produced and employed this technique to produce single-block prints, explaining that "the wood hinders facility and compels the worker to keep forms in the compositions severe."(1) Whilst she knew the methods for multi-block colour printing, Preston most often printed a single key block in black and then added colour by hand, a practice that heightened the decorative harmony of the image while letting the composition remain boldly graphic. 'Sturt's Desert Pea' 1925 is one of the classic arrangements from this breakthrough decade. Worked from a single block, printed in black ink and hand-coloured, the image orchestrates a chorus of native flora, sturt's desert peas, flannel flowers and waratahs. Her focus on distinctly local species reflected a broader search for a national identity in the visual arts. Rather than presenting flowers as a decorative form, Preston imbued them with cultural weight, making them symbols of place and belonging. Her project in these years went beyond decoration. Preston consistently called for the development of an art that reflected the forms, colours and motifs of the local environment. In 1924 she wrote in Art in Australia on "The Indigenous Art of Australia", encouraging artists to draw inspiration from Aboriginal design in shaping a truly national style, "I have studied the aboriginal's art and have applied their designs to the simple things of life, hoping that the craftsman will succeed where, until now, the artist has certainly failed".(2) She returned to the subject in 1930 with a practical essay on applying such designs. These writings, together with her prints of native flora such as 'Sturt's Desert Pea', highlight her ambition to establish a modern visual language that was uniquely her own. The women artists of the 1920s and 1930s, in many ways, championed the modernist movement and were major contributors to the development of Australian art. The prints of Margaret Preston stand the test of time and sing to their own accord, reflecting pure passion for art and her perseverance through this transformative period. First shown in Sydney soon after it was made, 'Sturt's Desert Pea' remains emblematic of Preston's achievement as a union of rigorous craft, modernist design and an enduringly Australian subject. Hannah Ryan Senior Art Specialist (1) Grant, K., In Relief, Australian Wood Engravings, Woodcuts and Linocuts, The National Gallery of Victoria, 1997, p. 30 (2) Preston, M., 'The Indigenous Art of Australia', Art in Australia, Sydney, 3rd series, no. 11, March 1925, p. 52 © Margaret Preston/Copyright Agency, 2025
Leonard Joel
Sep. 10, 2025
MARGARET PRESTON, (1875 - 1963), Anemones, 1925, decorative print after original, 20 x 19 cm. (7.8 x 7.4 in.), frame: 45 x 33 x 2 cm. (17.7 x 12.9 x 0.7 in.)
Est: $200 - $300
MARGARET PRESTON (1875 - 1963) Anemones, 1925 decorative print after original gallery frame
Lawsons
Aug. 27, 2025
MARGARET PRESTON, (1875 - 1963), Anemones, 1925, decorative print after original, 20 x 19 cm. (7.8 x 7.4 in.), frame: 45 x 33 x 2 cm. (17.7 x 12.9 x 0.7 in.)
Est: $200 - $300
MARGARET PRESTON (1875 - 1963) Anemones, 1925 decorative print after original gallery frame
Lawsons
Aug. 27, 2025
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia (1875-1963), Western Australian Gum Blossom, decorative print after the original, 43 x 36 cm. (16.9 x 14.1 in.), frame: 60 x 52 x 2 cm. (23.6 x 20.4 x 0.7 in.)
Est: $250 - $350
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, (1875-1963) Western Australian Gum Blossom decorative print after the original
Lawsons
Aug. 17, 2025
MARGARET ROSE PRESTON, (AUS) (1875-1963), "Circular Quay", Decorative art print after the original., I: 26cm x 25cm, F: 45cm x 44cm
Est: $500 - $1,000
MARGARET ROSE PRESTON (AUS), (1875-1963) "Circular Quay" Decorative art print after the original. Artwork is framed and ready to hang.
Ozbid Auctions
Aug. 13, 2025
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia (1875 - 1963), Everlasting Flowers, c1929, decorative print after original, 21 x 19 cm. (8.2 x 7.4 in.), frame: 45 x 33 x 4 cm. (17.7 x 12.9 x 1.5 in.)
Est: $200 - $300
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, (1875 - 1963) Everlasting Flowers, c1929 decorative print after original
Lawsons
Aug. 07, 2025
MARGARET PRESTON, "Indigenous Design", Decorative print, plate art in Australia 1925., Image: 10cm x 15cm Frame: 31cm x 55cm
Est: $300 - $500
MARGARET PRESTON "Indigenous Design" Decorative print, plate art in Australia 1925. Artwork is framed and ready to hang.
Ozbid Auctions
Aug. 07, 2025
MARGARET PRESTON, "Indigenous Design", Decorative print plate Art in Australia 1925., Image: 18cm x 15cm Frame: 36cm x 32cm
Est: $400 - $600
MARGARET PRESTON "Indigenous Design" Decorative print plate Art in Australia 1925. Artwork is framed and ready to hang.
Ozbid Auctions
Aug. 06, 2025
MARGARET PRESTON, (1875 - 1963), Calabash bay, Berowra, c.1939, woodcut, 19 x 19 cm; frame: 33.5 x 33 cm
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
MARGARET PRESTON (1875 - 1963) Calabash bay, Berowra, c.1939 woodcut signed "Margaret Preston" lower left
Lawsons
Aug. 06, 2025
MARGARET PRESTON, Australia (1875 - 1963), Wheel Flower, decorative print after original, 19.5 x 19 cm. (7.6 x 7.4 in.), frame: 45 x 33 x 2 cm. (17.7 x 12.9 x 0.7 in.)
Est: $200 - $300
MARGARET PRESTON Australia, (1875 - 1963) Wheel Flower decorative print after original unsigned
Lawsons