Margaret Dredge facts for kids
Margaret Anne Dredge (born January 27, 1928, died September 3, 2001) was an Australian artist. She was a talented painter and printmaker. Margaret was active from the mid-1950s until 1997, and she also taught art.
Contents
Early Life
Margaret Dredge was born in Murrumbeena, Australia, in 1928. Her father, William Arthur Vickery, was a war veteran and an accountant. He raised Margaret after her mother passed away in 1930.
Margaret and her father moved around a lot when she was young. They lived in places like Albert Park and South Yarra. Later, they settled in Sandringham, a bayside suburb, where she went to the State School.
Even during the Great Depression, her father's accounting work improved. In 1940, Margaret started studying at Methodist Ladies College. She earned her leaving certificate there. Margaret wanted to study art at the National Gallery School. However, her father wanted her to work as a secretary at the Commonwealth Bank.
From 1948 to 1950, she worked as a secretary in Sydney. She then returned home to care for her aging father. At the Commonwealth Bank, she met Peter John Dredge, a bank clerk. They married in 1950 and lived in Sandringham. Their first two children, Rhonda and Lesley, were born in 1951 and 1954.
Art Training
In the mid-1950s, Margaret Dredge began her art studies. She first learned from Inez Hutchinson. At this time, she created "figurative works," which means her art showed real people or objects.
By 1958, Margaret had joined the Beaumaris Art Group. She also started showing her art with them. After her third child, Peter, was born in 1959, she took art classes with Robert Grieve. He was an Australian abstract painter and printmaker. These classes encouraged Margaret to move towards "abstraction." This style of art uses shapes, colors, and forms that don't look like real things.
Art Exhibitions
Margaret Dredge showed her artwork in many exhibitions throughout her career. These included both solo shows and group shows with other artists.
Solo Shows
Margaret had her first solo exhibition in 1964 at the Peter Burrows Gallery in Melbourne. A solo show means all the art is by one artist. She also had other solo exhibitions, including:
- 1964: Margaret Dredge : Oils, at The Three Sisters Gallery in Brighton.
- 1979: Margaret Dredge : Paintings 1978-79, at Gryphon Gallery in Carlton.
Group Shows
Margaret Dredge took part in many group exhibitions. In these shows, her art was displayed alongside other artists' work. She exhibited with the Contemporary Art Society and the Melbourne Contemporary Artists group many times. Some of her notable group shows include:
- 1961: Contemporary Art Society members' exhibition at Eastside Gallery.
- 1961: Melbourne Contemporary Artists 1962 Exhibition at Argus Gallery.
- 1963: Melbourne Contemporary Artists 1963 Exhibition at Argus Gallery.
- 1965: Annual Inter-State Exhibition of the Contemporary Art Society.
- 1975: Mask Show at Mildura Art Centre, where she showed sculpture.
Posthumous Exhibitions
Even after Margaret Dredge passed away, her art continued to be shown. These exhibitions helped new audiences discover her work.
- 2003: Margaret Dredge : An Abstract, at Deakin University ICON Museum of Art.
- 2005: Margaret Dredge: Impulses of the Mind selected works 1985-2001, at Span Galleries.
- 2009: Personal Journeys : 40 years of Australian Women’s Abstract Art, at Shoalhaven City Arts Centre.
- 2013: Margaret Dredge – Retrospective 1960 to 2001, at Shoalhaven City Arts Centre.
Awards
Margaret Dredge received several awards for her artistic talent:
- 1966: Inez Hutchison Prize - Commended
- 1975: Inez Hutchison Prize - Commended
- 1975: Shire of Flinders Art Award - Co-winner
- 1978: Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery
Collections
Margaret Dredge's artworks are held in important art collections across Australia. This means her art is preserved and can be seen by the public. Some of these collections include:
- Artbank
- Ballarat Fine Art Gallery
- Council of Adult Education
- Deakin University
- Geelong Art Gallery
- Ian Potter Collection, University of Melbourne
- McClelland Gallery
- Monash University
- Shire of Flinders
- Shoalhaven Regional Gallery – M G Dingle & G B Hughes Collection Bequest
- Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery
- Commonwealth Banking Corporation
