Title
Implement blue
1927
Artist
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Details
- Place where the work was made
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Sydney
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New South Wales
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Australia
- Date
- 1927
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- oil on canvas on hardboard
- Dimensions
- 42.5 x 43.0 cm board; 58.3 x 59.0 x 4.0 cm frame
- Signature & date
Signed and dated l.r. corner, blue oil "M.PRESTON/ 27".
- Credit
- Gift of the artist 1960
- Location
- South Building, ground level, 20th-century galleries
- Accession number
- OA7.1960
- Copyright
- © Margaret Rose Preston Estate/Copyright Agency
- Artist information
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Margaret Preston
Works in the collection
- Share
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About
She feels that this is a mechanical age - a scientific one - highly civilised and unaesthetic. She knows that the time has come to express her surroundings in her work. All around her in the simple domestic life is machinery - patent ice-chests that need no ice, machinery does it; irons heated by invisible heat; washing up machines; electric sweepers, and so on. They all surround her and influence her mind …
Margaret Preston, 1927
'Implement blue' is one of Margaret Preston's most innovative works, embodying the values of progressive, modern living. Its restricted palette and strict analysis of form exemplify Preston's quest to isolate and resolve pictorial problems within the still-life genre. The domestic vessels have been renamed 'implements' and reduced to essential forms.
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Places
Where the work was made
Sydney
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Audio
Implement blue - Margaret Preston 3:46
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Exhibition history
Shown in 14 exhibitions
The Burdekin House exhibition: in aid of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Burdekin House, , 08 Oct 1929–21 Dec 1929
Purchases and Acquisitions for 1960, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 22 Mar 1961–23 Apr 1961
Seeing is believing - the art in photography, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 13 Dec 1985–19 Jan 1986
South Australian Women Artists: 1890s - 1940s, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 15 Apr 1994–17 Jul 1994
The Real Thing, Museum of Modern Art at Heide, Melbourne, 08 Dec 1997–22 Feb 1998
Australian icons: twenty artists from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 04 Aug 2000–03 Dec 2000
Modern Australian women: paintings and prints, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 24 Nov 2000–21 Feb 2001
Favourites: Margaret Olley and Jeffrey Smart (2002), S.H. Ervin Gallery, The Rocks, 12 Jan 2002–24 Feb 2002
Margaret Preston in Mosman, Mosman Art Gallery, Mosman, 07 Sep 2002–13 Oct 2002
Margaret Preston retrospective, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 29 Jul 2005–23 Oct 2005
Margaret Preston retrospective, Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Melbourne, 12 Nov 2005–29 Jan 2006
Margaret Preston retrospective, Queensland Art Gallery, South Brisbane, 18 Feb 2006–07 May 2006
Margaret Preston retrospective, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 26 May 2006–13 Aug 2006
Modern Times, Powerhouse Museum, Ultimo, 01 Aug 2008–08 Feb 2009
Modern Times, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne, 23 Mar 2009–12 Jul 2009
Modern Times, State Library of Queensland, South Brisbane, 31 Jul 2009–08 Nov 2009
Sydney Moderns, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 06 Jul 2013–07 Oct 2013
O'Keeffe, Preston, Cossington Smith: Making Modernism, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne, 12 Oct 2016–19 Feb 2017
O'Keeffe, Preston, Cossington Smith: Making Modernism, Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, 11 Mar 2017–11 Jun 2017
O'Keeffe, Preston, Cossington Smith: Making Modernism, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 01 Jul 2017–02 Oct 2017
20th-Century galleries, ground level (rehang), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 20 Aug 2022–2023
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Bibliography
Referenced in 61 publications
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Art Gallery of South Australia, Visions after light: Art in South Australia 1836-1981, Adelaide, 1981. cat.no. 138; not paginated
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Art Society of Tasmania, 44th Annual Exhibition of pictures, Hobart, 1928. cat.no. 139; not paginated; priced at 20 guineas
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Alison Broinowski, The yellow lady: Australian impressions of Asia, Australia, 1992, 55, 55 (illus.).
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Elizabeth Butel, Margaret Preston: the art of constant rearrangement, Ringwood, 1985, 38 (colour illus.), 85. cat.no. O.7
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Roger Arthur Butler, The prints of Margaret Preston: a catalogue raisonné, Canberra, 2005, 23, 198 (colour illus.).
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Edmund Capon AM, OBE, Art Gallery of New South Wales: highlights from the collection, Sydney, 2008, 92 (colour illus.).
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Katrina Cashman., Margaret Preston in Mosman, 'Margaret Preston in Mosman', Mosman, 2002, (colour illus.). no catalogue numbers; not paginated
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Gary Catalano, Art and Australia (Vol. 21, No. 1), 'About the house: the domestic theme in Australian art', Sydney, Spring 1983, (illus.). not paginated
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Patrick Cavanagh, Nature, 'The artist as neuroscientist', pg. 301-307, London, 17 Mar 2005, 304 (colour illus.).
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Chris Deutscher, Australian modern masters and 19th & 20th century Australian and International Fine Art: Fine Art auction 3 & 4 May 2000, Melbourne, 2000, 98. reference to work in association with lot 61 'Australian gum blossom' painted in 1929; colour illus. of lot 61 on pg. 99
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Susanna de Vries, The complete book of great Australian women: thirty-six women who changed the course of Australia, 'Margaret Rose Preston', pg. 547-563, Pymble, 2003, 556.
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Jackie de Diana, Look, 'Art and Australia: More views of European preludes and parallels', pg. 16-17, Sydney, Nov 2010, 12 (colour illus.).
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Mary Eagle, Australian Modern Painting Between the Wars 1914-1939, 'Recall to order', pg. 78-91, Sydney, 1989, 81, 83 (colour illus.), 84. plate no. 59
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Deborah Edwards, Australian art: in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 'Moderns', pg. 103-104, Sydney, 2000, 118 (colour illus.), 301.
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Deborah Edwards and Rose Peel, Margaret Preston: Catalogue raisonné of paintings, monotypes and ceramics, Sydney, 2005, (colour illus.). Artworks: paintings 1927.
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Juliana Engberg (Curator), The Real Thing, Australia, 1997, 26 (colour illus.), 88.
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Sarah Engledow', The world of Thea Proctor, 'The world of Thea Proctor', pg. 16-84, Canberra, 2005, 50.
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Lesley Harding, Cubism & Australian art, 'L'Esprit Nouveau 1913-1929', pg. 19-47, Melbourne, 2009, 29 (colour illus.).
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Deborah Hart, Grace Cossington Smith, 'A distinctive vision', pg. 26-55, Canberra, 2005, 36, 103.
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John Healey (Editor), S.A.'s greats: the men and women of the North Terrace plaques, 'Margaret Presont (1875-1963), Artist', pg. 106, Kent Town, 2001, 106.
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Jeanette Hoorn (Editor), Strange women: essays in art and gender, Melbourne, 1994, 36-37, 38 (colour illus.).
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Robert Hughes, The art of Australia, Melbourne, 1970, 123 (illus.). cat.no. 46
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Lois Hunter, The Australian art companion - A selection of influential artists, 'Margaret Preston', pg. 38-39, Balgowlah Heights, (1990), 39 (colour illus.).
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Jane Hylton, Modern Australian women: paintings & prints 1925-1945, 'Modern Australian women', pg. 15-27, Adelaide, 2000, 22, 23 (colour illus.), 67, 125.
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Glenis Israel, Artwise: visual art 7-10, 'Chapter 5: Human-made: Structures and Objects', pg. 153-200, Milton, 2013, 176 (colour illus.), 177-178..
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Bruce James, Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, 'Australian Collection: Painting and Sculpture', pg. 102-181, Sydney, 1999, 138 (colour illus.).
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Rosemary Lloyd, Shimmering in a transformed light: writing the still life, 'Looking in, looking out: objects in the mirror', pg. 114-132, Ithaca, 2005, front cover (illus.), 5, 128 (illus.), 129. figure no. 14
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Rosemary Lloyd, Yearbook of comparative and general literature [Vol. 49, 2001], 'Objects in the mirror: gendering the still life', pg. 39-55, Bloomington, 2002, 47, 54 (illus.).
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John McDonald, Australian painters of the twentieth century, 'Margaret Preston', pg. 16-27, Sydney, 2000, 23 (colour illus.).
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Humphrey McQueen, Hemisphere [vol. 20, no. 8], 'An enemy of dull', pg. 34-39, Australian Capital Territory, 1976, 34 (colour illus.).
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Hal Missingham, Art Gallery of New South Wales Quarterly, 'Acquisitions for 1960', pg. 58-67, Sydney, Apr 1961, 65 (illus.).
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Hal Missingham (Editor), 1960 Acquisitions, Sydney, 1960, 24. cat.no. 31
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Drusilla Modjeska, Stravinsky's lunch, Sydney, 1999, 264, 265 (illus.).
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William Moore, Daily telegraph, 'Contemporary painters' show has originality', pg. 13, Sydney, 01 Dec 1929, 13.
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National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Margaret Preston and William Dobell loan exhibition, Sydney, 1942, 9. cat.no. 34
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National Gallery of South Australia, Modern Australian women: paintings and prints 1925-1945, Adelaide, 2000, (colour illus.). not paginated; 6-page fold-out brochure accompanying the exhibition
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Ian North, The art of Margaret Preston, South Australia, 1980, 21 (colour illus.), 47 (illus.). cat.no. O.19
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Barry Pearce, Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, 'Australian', pg. 13-35, Sydney, 1988, 24 (illus.).
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Barry Pearce, Margaret Preston, 'Implement Blue', pg. 122, Sydney, 2005, 54, 108, 118, 120-121, 122, 124, 128, 123 (colour illus.), 6 (colour illus., detail),.
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Georgina Pemberton, H&H: Hoofs & horns, 'Portrait of a lady', pg. 128-129, Neutral Bay, Autumn 2005, 128, 129 (colour illus.).
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Ann Proudfoot, An expanded view: the Mary Turner Collection at Orange Regional Gallery, 'An expanded view', pg. 5-23, Orange, 2011, 17.
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Ursula Prunster, Aspects of Australian art, Sydney, 2000, (colour illus.). card no. 5: Margaret Preston 'Implement blue' 1927
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Ursula Prunster, Seeing is believing: the art in photography, 'Art Deco & Modernism', Sydney, 1985, colour illus.. cat.no. 37; not paginated
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John Saxby, Sydney Morning Herald, no 15348, 'A window opens on new stories about building the collection', pg. 26-28, Sydney, 04 Jun 1887, 26.
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Andrew Sayers, Australian art, 'Order and transcendence: art between the wars 1919-39', pg. 120-139, Oxford, 2001, 120 (colour illus., detail), 127 (colour illus.). plate no. 70
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Bernard William Smith, The formalesque: a guide to modern art and its history, South Yarra, 2007, 92 (colour illus.).
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Bernard William Smith and Terry Smith, Australian painting 1788-1990, South Melbourne, 1991, 208 (colour illus.). cat.no. 117
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Terry Smith, Transformations in Australian art: The twentieth century - Modernism and Aboriginality [Volume Two], 'Adopt, adapt, transform! Modernist strategies in Margaret Preston's Still Life, 1927', pg. 47-74, St Leonards, 2002, 48, 49,50, 53 (illus.), 54, 55, 56, 64, 65, 66.
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Ann Stephen, Art and Australia (Vol. 46, No. 1), 'Defining modernism in Australia', pg. 56-57, Sydney, 2008, 57.
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Ann Stephen, Modern times: the untold story of modernism in Australia, 'Introduction', Sydney, 2008, xxiv (colour illus.), xxv.
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Jill Sykes, Look, 'Breaking the territorial mould: some thoughts from a new head curator', pg. 30-31, Sydney, Sep 2011, 30 (colour illus.).
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Daniel Thomas, Sydney moderns: art for a new world, 'Foreword', pg. 11-12, Sydney, 2013, 11, 73, 118, 120, 148, 149 (colour illus.), 200, 315, 323.
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Daniel Thomas, Art and Australia [vol. 9, no. 4], 'Art Deco in Australia', pg. 338-350, Sydney, Mar 1972, 350 (illus.).
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Laurie Thomas (Editor), 200 Years of Australian painting, Rushcutters Bay, 1971, 46, 47 (colour illus.).
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Helen Topliss, Modernism and Feminism Australian Women Artists 1900-1940, Sydney, 1996, 58 (illus.). Illustration 14
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Wayne Tunnicliffe and Deborah Edwards, Look, 'New Australia', pg. 24-27, Sydney, May 2012, 25.
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Sydney Ure Smith and Leon Gellert (Editors), Art in Australia [series 3, no. 22], Sydney, Dec 1927, front cover (colour illus.). Margaret Preston number.
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Donald Williams, In our own image: the story of Australian art, Sydney, 1995, 106 (colour illus.).
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Donald Williams, In our own image: the story of Australian art, Sydney, 2002, 101 (colour illus.).
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Author Unknown, South Australian Women Artists: 1890s - 1940s, Apr 1994, 13 (colour illus.), 74 (illus.). fig. 13; cat. no. 68
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The Burdekin House Exhibition, Sydney, 1929. not paginated
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