Margaret Cowling

Biography

Margaret Cowling

Born in Perth W.A.

STUDIES
• Studied Art (Illustration) at the Royal Melbourne Technical College (RMIT) under the tutelage of Murray Griffin, William Frater and Harold Freedman 1957 – 1960.
• Studied Italian at the University for Foreigners in Florence 1964.
• Studied oil painting at the Victorian Artists Society and Malvern Artists Society under Shirley Bourne OAM 1972 – 1973.

EXHIBITIONS
• Solo exhibition, oils, Abacus Gallery, Ashburton 1976.
• Water colour exhibition with fibre artist, Dorothy Payne,
Highway Gallery, Mt Waverley 1983.
• Water colour portraits were hung in the Portia Geach Memorial Award Exhibition, Sydney 1993, 1994, 1997.
• Exhibits in solo and group exhibitions.

ACTIVITIES
• Signatory member of the Victorian Artists Society. Member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society Inc.
• Was an Assistant to the State Artist Harold Freedman, the History of Transport Mural and the History of Geelong Mosaic 1977 – 1978.
Artist in Residence, Melbourne Grammar School 1992.
Taught water colour and life drawing. Conducted painting tours to mainland Italy and Sicily 1993 – 2009.
• Painted in Sicily and Northern Italy September and November 2013.
• Painted in Thailand October 2014.
• An assistant to Artist, Fern Smith – “The Sea is Sinking”, a Community Immersive Installation using recycled, non- toxic and compostable materials 2019.
• Is a watercolour painter and paints and draws en plein air and in the studio from the subject.

REPRESENTED
In private and public collections in Australia and overseas.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
• “More than Just Gumtrees”, Juliet Peers 1994. Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors; Dawn Revival Press.
• “The Australian Encyclopedia of Art”, Alan McCulloch, Revised 1994. Alan and Unwin.
• “90 Years of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society” 2008 TMPS.
• “Mavericks and Masters” Centenary of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society 1918 – 2018 TMPS.

AWARDS
• Artist of the Year, Victorian Artists Society 1990, 1992.
• “Special Award” AME Bale Trust 1988.