Margaret Jane Gurney (born 1943) is an Australian artist who lives and works in Melbourne and is an advocate for Australian arts.
Born into an artistic family, Margaret represented Australia at the 2009
Florence Biennale The Biennale Internazionale Dell’Arte Contemporanea, also known as the Florence Biennale is an art exhibition held in Florence, Italy. Since 1997 it has been held every two years in the exhibition spaces of the Fortezza da Basso, Florence.
The li ...
. She has won numerous awards, was one of the first women to work as a
graphic artist
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, p ...
in Australian television and, also, was one of the first women to work in Australia as an
art director in advertising.
She worked extensively as both an educator and as an administrator in
Community Arts
Community art, also known as social art, community-engaged art, community-based art, and, rarely, dialogical art, is the practice of art based in and generated in a community setting. It is closely related to social practice and social turn. Work ...
, and as a Program Manager in Arts Adult Education long before the creation of ''Creative Victoria'' in 2015.
She established her own studio in Melbourne, and has painted full time for many years.
Family
The daughter of Australian war artist,
Alex Gurney (1902-1955) — the creator of the legendary ''
Bluey and Curley
''Bluey and Curley'' is an Australian newspaper comic strip written by the Australian artist, caricaturist, and cartoonist Alex Gurney.
Few original ''Bluey and Curley'' strips are held in public collections, because Gurney often gave the origina ...
'' cartoon — and Junee Gurney (1909-1984), née Grover, youngest daughter of the journalist Montague "Monty" MacGregor Grover (1870–1943), and Ada Grover (1877-1928), née Goldberg, Margaret Jane Gurney was born in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
in 1943.
The youngest of four children, Margaret's elder siblings were John (1929–2004), Jennifer Anne (1932–2004), and Susan (1937–2003).
She married
cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
Alan Charles Weatherley (1937-1986) on 8 April 1967. She has two children, Jane Leza Weatherley (1969-), and Mark Alan Weatherley (1972), and two grand-children, Emma and Kate Weatherley.
Education
Educated at:
* The
Elsternwick State School.
* The
Methodist Ladies' College, Elsternwick.
* The
Swinburne Technical College, in Hawthorn, gaining a ''Certificate in Art'' (conferred on 16 August 1962), and a ''Diploma of Advertising Art'' (conferred on 11 August 1965),
* The
Phillip Institute of Technology, in Preston, gaining her ''Post Graduate Diploma in Community Education and Development'', in 1985.
Prizes
During her time as a student she won a number of prizes for her art, including:
* At MLC: she won the Drawing Prize for original art work in 1958.
* At Swinburne: she won the Fourth Year Art School Class Prize in 1963.
Drama
A talented actress, Margaret took the part of Concha Puerto, the major protagonist in ''The Women Have Their Way'' (an English version of the
Quintero brothers' ''
:es:Puebla de las Mujeres''), in MLC’s (August 1959) annual School Play.
Whilst at Swinburne, she had a number of leading roles in each of the College's first two
student revues (each produced by Brian Robinson): ''In the Pink'' (1962), and ''Get Well Soon'' (1963).
Employment
After completing her formal studies at Swinburne, she worked at two small
advertising agencies
An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...
: as a Graphic Artist with Curtis Stevens and Charles Billich, Melbourne, in 1964, and in Advertising Marketing with George Santos, Melbourne, from 1964 to 1966.
She was, then, employed as a graphic artist at
Channel O, Melbourne from 1966 to 1967, and as television art director at
George Patterson's advertising agency, in Melbourne, from 1967 to 1969.
Artist
Working as an artist from her time at Swinburne, she has "exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions both nationally and internationally,
nd hasrepresented Australia at the
Florence Biennale The Biennale Internazionale Dell’Arte Contemporanea, also known as the Florence Biennale is an art exhibition held in Florence, Italy. Since 1997 it has been held every two years in the exhibition spaces of the Fortezza da Basso, Florence.
The li ...
in 2009 and has won numerous awards".
She is an exhibiting member of the
Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors
The Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors, established in Melbourne, Victoria in 1902, is the oldest surviving women's art group in Australia.
History
The Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors (MSWPS) began in 1902 as a ...
, the
Victorian Artists Society
The Victorian Artists Society, which can trace its establishment to 1856 in Melbourne, promotes artistic education, art classes and gallery hire exhibition in Australia. It was formed in March 1888 when the Victorian Academy of Arts (previously Vi ...
, the
Contemporary Art Society
The Contemporary Art Society (CAS) is an independent charity that champions the collecting of outstanding contemporary art and craft for UK museum collections. Since its founding in 1910 the organisation has donated over 10,000 works to museums ...
, and several other Melbourne art societies.
Educator
From her (1979) experience as a sessional lecturer at the Phillip Institute, Melbourne, where she lectured to Art and Design Students, she developed a strong interest in both formal and informal arts education; an interest that has remained with her ever since.
Promoter and defender of Alex Gurney's heritage
In addition to her own work as an artist, Margaret is extremely active in reviving, maintaining, and preserving the artistic legacy of her father,
Alex Gurney (1902-1955).
In 2007 Margaret was the means through which the significant collection of papers and works of Alex Gurney,
accession number MS 13561, were able to be acquired by the
State Library of Victoria
State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the ...
.
Works
* Gurney, M., ''My Dad: Alex Gurney 1902-1955'', Margaret Gurney, (Black Rock), 2006.
* Roennfeldt, M.J. (ed.), Gurney, M. (illustrator), ''Drama in Action for Secondary Schools: Book III'', (Melbourne), Thomas Nelson, 1969.
Awards
* 2005:
Melbourne Savage Club
Melbourne Savage Club is a private Australian gentlemen's club founded in 1894 and named after the poet, Richard Savage. Bohemian in spirit, the club was to bring together literary men, and those immediately connected or sympathising with li ...
Invitation Art Prize for Painting.
* 2007:
The Kenneth Jack Memorial Drawing Award (''Australian Guild of Realist Artists''): the award's inaugural winner.
Kenneth Jack Memorial Drawing Award, ''The Australian Guild of Realist Artists''.
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* 2014
The Constance Wu Award (''Melbourne Women Painters and Sculptors Society'' Artist of the Year).
* 2018
Fellowship Award (''Victorian Artists' Society'').
Notes
References
Man Who Pulled Girl from Sea Reopens Club, ''The Age'', (Monday, 14 January 1957), p.5.
"Margaret Gurney", in Tunberg, Despina (curator) and Tunberg, Thomas (ed.), ''International Contemporary Masters IV'', World Wide Art Books, INC, (Santa Barbara, California), 2011, pp.128-129.
Hollingworth, Sarah, "Spirit of Creativity", ''Wellplan'', No.22, (Autumn 2013), pp.14-15.
External links
''Gurney Art'' website.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurney, Margaret
1943 births
Living people
Artists from Melbourne
Swinburne University of Technology alumni
Australian art directors
20th-century Australian women artists
Australian watercolourists
Australian art teachers
Women watercolorists
21st-century Australian women artists
21st-century Australian artists
20th-century Australian painters