The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) has launched a public search for four missing artworks by pioneering Australian modernist Margaret Preston (1875–1963), as preparations continue for a major retrospective exhibition opening in 2026.
The announcement arrives as welcome design news for the art world, inviting people across Australia and abroad to help reconnect these important works with the public. After more than two years of research across collections, auction records and private holdings, the NGV is asking for public assistance to locate the paintings, which were last seen at auction or in private hands.
A project of national significance
Margaret Preston remains a central figure in Australian art history, shaping visual culture through her bold use of colour, form and natural subject matter. Her practice, which evolved from academic painting in the early 1900s to a distinctly modernist style by the late 1920s, continues to influence contemporary studio approaches today.
The upcoming Margaret Preston exhibition at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia in Melbourne will bring together nearly 250 works, offering a full exploration of her career — from early still lifes created while living abroad, to highly distinctive works informed by Australian landscapes and the environment.
The exhibition will also place Preston’s work beyond a purely historical lens, presenting it in conversation with contemporary First Nations artists. This approach reflects a broader theme in recent exhibition-making: respect, dialogue and the exploration of artistic legacy in the modern world.
The four missing paintings
The NGV is seeking information on the whereabouts of the following works:
Still life: lobsters (1901)
One of Preston’s earliest known paintings, created in Adelaide at age 26. Last recorded in a private collection.
Still life with mandarins (c. 1908)
Painted during a formative time in Preston’s life, shortly after her studies in Paris, this work reflects her developing still-life practice. Last seen at auction in 2006.
Still life (1915)
Completed during Preston’s time in Ireland and exhibited in London, this work reveals early Post-Impressionist and Japanese influences. Last sold in 1995.
Gloxinia (1928)
A sculptural, modern composition from Preston’s late 1920s period, foregrounding her interest in geometry, light and the natural world. Last surfaced at auction in 2014.
A show with contemporary relevance
NGV Director Tony Ellwood AM describes the exhibition as a rare moment to revisit Preston’s work at scale, more than two decades after the last major retrospective. The show aims to delight audiences while encouraging deeper consideration of how artistic ideas travel across time, place and culture.
Running from 4 September 2026 to 31 January 2027, the exhibition will be one of the NGV’s most significant projects of the decade — a reminder of how art from the past continues to inform present-day creative practice.
