Mary Macqueen facts for kids

Mary McCartney Macqueen (born January 29, 1912 – died September 15, 1994) was a talented Australian artist. She was well-known for her amazing drawings, printmaking (making art by printing), and mixed media artworks. Mixed media means she used different materials together. Her art style was very expressive and experimental. She loved to show feelings and try new things in her work.

Mary Macqueen's Art Journey

Mary Macqueen was born in Carlton, Victoria on January 29, 1912. From a young age, she loved to draw. Her grandmothers' drawings inspired her, and her parents always encouraged her. She went to school in Melbourne. In 1927, she studied commercial art for a year. Then, in 1928, she took private drawing lessons.

In 1930, when Mary was eighteen, she married Allan Macqueen. He was older and had two sons. For about ten years, Mary didn't draw much. She was busy raising her three children, who were born between 1931 and 1935.

Returning to Art

In 1939, Mary started drawing again. She also began trying out watercolour painting. In 1941, she went back to college to study art for a short time. During this period, she drew everyday scenes from her home. She also drew buildings, landscapes, and people in Melbourne.

In March 1945, Mary had her first art show. It featured her watercolour paintings in Melbourne. In 1946, she attended drawing classes with George Bell. He talked about art styles like Cubism and artists like Georges Braque. However, Mary's natural drawing style was different from his structured way of teaching. She stopped the lessons when her fourth child was born.

Learning Printmaking

Between 1956 and 1958, Mary took printmaking classes. She went to the Royal Melbourne Technical College, which is now RMIT University. There, she became very interested in lithography. Lithography is a special way of printing using a stone or metal plate.

To print at home, she turned an old hand mangle (a machine for pressing clothes) into an art press. She used this homemade press for her entire art career! As she got better at printmaking, RMIT asked her to teach. She taught printmaking and free drawing techniques. Mary taught at RMIT for over ten years.

Animals and Travel

In the 1960s, Mary started focusing on animals in her art. She often visited the Melbourne Zoo to draw animals. Giraffes were her favorite to draw.

After her husband passed away in 1970, she traveled a lot. She visited places like England, Mexico, Kenya, and the United States. These trips made the 1980s her "most interesting and productive" time for art.

Mary Macqueen passed away on September 15, 1994, at 82 years old.

Her Unique Art Style

Mary Macqueen's art style was usually very spontaneous and expressive. This means she drew what she felt in the moment. She was best at line drawing, lithography, and mixed media art on paper. Her best line drawings captured the true spirit of what she was drawing. She drew animals, landscapes, and scenes from everyday life. Throughout her career, she always tried to draw the "perfect line." Mary believed a good line drawing needed a lot of focus and was a rare achievement.

Exploring New Materials

In the 1970s, Mary found handmade Nepalese paper in a shop. This was a big moment for her art! She discovered she could draw on the back of the paper. This created soft, see-through colors and delicate shades.

In 1988, she had an exhibition of her paper artworks. These works used ink, gouache (a type of paint), and collage (sticking different materials together). Many of these artworks were based on scenes from her travels. They showed how much she experimented with different art materials. Her work from this show also showed influences from art styles like Cubism and Fauvism.

Awards and Exhibitions

Mary Macqueen received many awards for her art.

Awards

• Victorian College of the Arts Drawing prize, 1957
• May Day prize for drawing, 1958
• Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery Portland prize, 1965
• Spring festival of Drawing (work acquired), 1973
• Ronald award, Latrobe Valley Arts Centre, 1973
• Maitland prize for prints, 1974
• F. E. Richardson prize (for watercolours), Geelong, 1976.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

Mary had many solo art shows, perhaps around 26 to 30. Here are some of them:

• 1945 Kozminsky Galleries Melbourne
• 1948, 1950 Georges Gallery, Melbourne
• 1967, 1969, 1971, 1974 Crossley Gallery, Melbourne
• 1973, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1988 Powell Street Gallery, Melbourne
• 1976, 1978, 1980 Stuart Gerstmann Gallery, Melbourne
• 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982 Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane
• 1981, 1983, 1986 Tynte Gallery, Adelaide
• 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993 Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne

Selected Group Exhibitions

Mary also showed her art in many group exhibitions with other artists:

• 1943 – 1957 Victorian Artists Society
• 1956 The Arts Festival, Olympic Games, Melbourne
• 1960 – 1964 Contemporary Art Society Annual Exhibitions
• 1963 Australian Print Survey, Traveling exhibition to all State Galleries
• 1966 Australian Prints Today, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D. C
• 1971 Contemporary Australian Prints, Auckland City Art Gallery
• 1975 Recent Drawings, National Gallery of Victoria
• 1977 Selection of 41 Modern Prints from Australia, Japan Print Association, Tokyo
• 1981 Spring Festival of Drawing, Mornington Peninsula Arts Centre
• 1982 The College Show, V.A.B. Regional Development program, traveling exhibition
• 1983 Australian Perspecta, Art Gallery of New South Wales
• 1984 The Australians, C.D.S. Gallery, New York
• 1985 Half in the Sky, Australian Women Artists, Art Gallery South Australia

Where Her Art Is Kept

Mary Macqueen's artworks are held in many important Australian art galleries. These include the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of New South Wales, and Queensland Art Gallery. Many regional galleries also have her work. Her art is also part of the Cruthers Collection of Women's Art.