Margot Hutcheson
Encyclopedia
Margot Hutcheson is a notable British
painter, who has lived and worked in Australia
and Spain
. She was a partner of writer Peter Carey.
. She studied at St Martins School of Art (1970–1971).
In 1974, she left for Australia, where she lived with the writer Peter Carey in an alternative community in Yandina, Queensland
. She described her time there as "a simple life in the forest", where they grew their own vegetables; she painted and Carey wrote. She said, "This was despite constant raids by Joh
's police, road blocks, overhead flights at treetop level by Chinooks with men leering out the doorways, plus the fear of somehow transgressing the ridiculous laws they kept passing ... All of which amounted to harassment by The State."
She had her first exhibition of paintings in Australia in 1981, and held ten solo shows in all with paintings usually based on her life experiences.
By 1984, Hutcheson and Carey were resident in a bohemian area, Bellingen
, near Sydney. Carey worked with performance artist Mike Mullins on a rock musical and left Hutcheson for the theatre director Alison Summers, while "Mike went off to comfort Margot." In 1986, she moved to Toowong in Brisbane with her new partner and a baby.
In 1987, the Fitzgerald Inquiry
into the Queensland government began, and Hutcheson attended some of the hearings:
She painted a picture of the inquiry, Wasn’t the Fitzgerald Inquiry Fun?, seeing the presiding judge, Tony Fitzgerald
, as "an Angel on Judgement Day".
In 1990, Hutcheson left Australia for Spain, where she worked until 1996, then moved to London.
In 2008, she was part of a group show of landscapes, Another Point of View, at the Watters gallery. Her painting A Lovely View "seems to be based on a very ordinary and boring snapshot of a group of tourist at a favourite tourist pit stop. The series of four different sized canvases, arranged at staggered heights, presents an interrupted and unexpected view different to the usual approach employed by landscape artists."
In 2009, her painting Wasn’t the Fitzgerald Inquiry Fun? was part of an exhibition of The Fitzgerald Collection at Queensland College of Art
College Gallery.
, the University of New South Wales
, Artbank
and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
painter, who has lived and worked in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. She was a partner of writer Peter Carey.
Life and work
Margot Hutcheson was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. She studied at St Martins School of Art (1970–1971).
In 1974, she left for Australia, where she lived with the writer Peter Carey in an alternative community in Yandina, Queensland
Yandina, Queensland
Yandina is a Sunshine Coast hinterland town just off the Bruce Highway. Its name comes from 'yan', meaning "to go", and 'dinna', meaning "feet". At the 2006 census, Yandina had a population of 1,075....
. She described her time there as "a simple life in the forest", where they grew their own vegetables; she painted and Carey wrote. She said, "This was despite constant raids by Joh
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Sir Johannes "Joh" Bjelke-Petersen, KCMG , was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived Premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, a period that saw considerable economic development in the state...
's police, road blocks, overhead flights at treetop level by Chinooks with men leering out the doorways, plus the fear of somehow transgressing the ridiculous laws they kept passing ... All of which amounted to harassment by The State."
She had her first exhibition of paintings in Australia in 1981, and held ten solo shows in all with paintings usually based on her life experiences.
By 1984, Hutcheson and Carey were resident in a bohemian area, Bellingen
Bellingen, New South Wales
Bellingen is a small town on Waterfall Way on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. It is approximately halfway between the major Australian cities of Sydney and Brisbane...
, near Sydney. Carey worked with performance artist Mike Mullins on a rock musical and left Hutcheson for the theatre director Alison Summers, while "Mike went off to comfort Margot." In 1986, she moved to Toowong in Brisbane with her new partner and a baby.
In 1987, the Fitzgerald Inquiry
Fitzgerald Inquiry
The Fitzgerald Inquiry into Queensland Police corruption was a judicial inquiry presided over by Tony Fitzgerald QC. The inquiry resulted in the deposition of a premier, two by-elections, the jailing of three former ministers and a police commissioner who was jailed and lost his...
into the Queensland government began, and Hutcheson attended some of the hearings:
- I couldn't believe that the hypocrisy of these men was finally about to be exposed. It was personal by then. The Hearings seemed like a surreal circus from somewhere in Eastern Europe, lots of large, overweight, ruddy men in big black shoes. And nobody knew anything, 'No Hear, No See, and No Speak.' It was about cover ups, ugly sex, bribery and corruption and after the way I'd been hounded ten years before it felt vindication.
She painted a picture of the inquiry, Wasn’t the Fitzgerald Inquiry Fun?, seeing the presiding judge, Tony Fitzgerald
Tony Fitzgerald
Gerald Edward Fitzgerald, AC, QC is a former Australian judge, who presided over the Fitzgerald Inquiry.-Life and career:...
, as "an Angel on Judgement Day".
In 1990, Hutcheson left Australia for Spain, where she worked until 1996, then moved to London.
In 2008, she was part of a group show of landscapes, Another Point of View, at the Watters gallery. Her painting A Lovely View "seems to be based on a very ordinary and boring snapshot of a group of tourist at a favourite tourist pit stop. The series of four different sized canvases, arranged at staggered heights, presents an interrupted and unexpected view different to the usual approach employed by landscape artists."
In 2009, her painting Wasn’t the Fitzgerald Inquiry Fun? was part of an exhibition of The Fitzgerald Collection at Queensland College of Art
Queensland College of Art
The Queensland College of Art is a specialist arts and design college located in South Bank, Brisbane, and Southport, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It was founded in 1881 and is the oldest arts institution in Australia....
College Gallery.
Collections
Hutcheson has work in the collection of the National Gallery of VictoriaNational Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. Since December 2003, NGV has operated across two sites...
, the University of New South Wales
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, Artbank
Artbank
Artbank is an art rental program established in 1980 by the Australian Government. It supports contemporary Australian artists and encourages a wider appreciation of their work by buying artworks which it then rents to public and private sector clients. It was modeled on the Canadian Art Bank,...
and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane.