Penny Meagher (1935 - 1995)
February 25 - March 22, 2006



 

      
The Penny
      Meagher retrospective comes at an auspicious moment. Over the
      past 6 months we have had retrospectives of two of Australia's
      greatest female artists at the Art Gallery of New South Wales:
      Margaret Preston and Grace Cossington-Smith. Penny's work is
      virtually next in time. This retrospective confirms what should
      have always been obvious - that Penny's paintings are informed
      by those who preceded her. In particular, her still lifes and
      interiors bear the gentle and loving influence of those two forerunners.

      
I was fortunate
      enough to know Penny in her lifetime, and I was blessed to have
      been the object of her kindness. But although I was always fascinated
      by her work while she was alive, I now believe that her humility
      and the casual way in which she worked (which was continuous)
      obscured the grandeur and importance of her oeuvre.

      
Over the
      almost eleven years since her death, I have come to a new appreciation
      of Penny's splendid paintings. In my opinion, whilst Penny clearly
      respected and paid homage to the traditions of those who came
      before her, she developed and perfected a style that was unique.
      Indeed, there are several paintings in this retrospective that
      are as exquisite as anything any artist in this country has ever
      produced.

      
I urge
      you to seize the opportunity and behold the beauty.

      
 

      
Richard
      Weinstein, February 2006

Elma Penelope Meagher was born in Sydney and educated at Ascham School,
Darling Point and at Frensham, Mittagong. She attended Sydney University
where she studied Economics.
She was drawing from a very early age, and on a trip to London in 1952
enrolled at the Chelsea School of Art. From 1960 to 1962 Penny was enrolled
at East Sydney Technical College and later did a graduate course in painting
at the University of NSW.
In the late 1960's she became a director of the Macquarie Galleries in Sydney.
Penny drew and painted throughout her life. Although exhibited on only a few
occasions, and then in group exhibitions, this included the important
STILL LIFES at David Jones Gallery in 1984.
Her favourite painters were Bonnard and Gwen John.
This current exhibition is Penny Meagher's first solo show.

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