Margaret Hannah Olley (24 June 192326 July 2011) was an Australian painter. She was the subject of more than ninety solo exhibitions. Early life Margaret Olley was born in Lismore, New South Wales. She was the eldest of three children of Joseph Olley and Grace (née Temperley). The Olley family moved to Tully in far north Queensland in 1925, with Margaret boarding at St Anne's in Townsville in 1929, before returning to New South Wales in 1931. The family temporarily moved to Brisbane in 1935 with Margaret staying to attend Somerville House in Brisbane during her high school years. She was so focused on art that she dropped one French class in order to take another art lesson with teacher and artist Caroline Barker. In 1941, Margaret commenced classes at Brisbane Central Technical College and then moved to Sydney in 1943 to enrol in an Art Diploma course at East Sydney Technical College where she graduated with A-class honours in 1945. Career Olley concentrated on still life and colour. James V. Duhig reporting on her 1962 sell-out show at Johnstone Gallery in Brisbane wrote; "Margaret Olley has reached the flood tide of her art and has stepped up to the top rank of our artists," noting also that all the paintings sold at preview for a gross of £3000, then an Australian record for a woman, but attracted no interest from Brisbane Art Gallery. In 1997 a major retrospective of her work was organised by the Art Gallery of New South Wales. She received the inaugural Mosman Art Prize in 1947. Newcastle In November 1965 Olley moved to Newcastle. Whilst living here she painted 23 paintings of the city and waterfront in a series known as the 'Newcastle Watercolours'. Olley began a 'love affair' with the city and bought several properties in Newcastle and at East Maitland. This established a long association with the city and a major influence on her work. Several of her paintings can be found in institutions in Newcastle and the Hunter including, the University of Newcastle, Newcastle Art Gallery and Maitland Regional Art Gallery. Philanthropy On 13 July 2006 she donated more works to the Art Gallery of New South Wales; her donations included more than 130 works worth $7 million. Tributes and honours Olley was twice the subject of an Archibald Prize winning painting; the first in 1948 by William Dobell, who painted her