An art for Australia: 1920s

In decades of particular prominence for women artists, Preston brought the principles of modern decorative design to Australian modernism. She led a revival of colour woodblock printing with vibrant images of the modern metropolis and Australian flowers which have guaranteed her a perennial popularity. She was a forceful voice committed to issues of female relevance and democratising the arts.

Preston introduced a distinctly national subject matter into her still lifes by the late 1920s, creating works which have come to be seen as icons of Australian modernism. In a visual language derived from Aboriginal form and colour, she worked to bring her art into line with her perceptions of a changing modernity - encapsulating the decade’s preoccupation with geometrical and rhythmic construction.