Thank you to NetGalley and The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne University Publishing Limited for a digital ARC of this book. These are my notes and thoughts about the book.


Margaret Preston: Recipes for Food and Art ~ Lesley Harding

The Miegunyah Press
Melbourne University Publishing Limited

Margaret Preston was one of Australia's most celebrated and beloved artists. She was a lifelong student of art. Her maiden name was McPherson (also spelled Macpherson).
Photo of Margaret Rose McPherson painting flowers in vases in her Adelaide studio in 1909.
Photo of her at her home in Mosman in 1924.
She did much of her art at home and during her career of over 60 years she taught classes, published books, lectured and made public broadcasts on radio.
She was born in Port Adelaide, South Australia on April 29, 1875 to David and Prudence Cleverton (nee Lyle).
At age 12 she displayed her artistic expression by painting flowers on porcelain dinner plates after blacking them. She studied art under the guidance of William Lister, Madame Berthe Mouchette, Bernard Hall and HP Gill.
Margaret McPherson supported herself by teaching art and painting portraits, although her preferred genre was 'still life'.
This book has pictures of Margaret McPherson, her artwork and paintings, and recipes from her recipe and scrapbook. I want to try the Cheese Biscuits (page 55), Lemon Butter (page 25) and Fish Croquettes (page 121). I love the print of her oil on canvas painting titled 'Hibiscus' of 1925 (page 219 of 370).
In 1904, Margaret McPherson accompanied by student and companion, Bessie Davidson, moved to Munich and on to Paris where they studied and taught art and sold their paintings. They visited England, Ireland, Scotland, Holland, Morocco, Belgium and Spain before returning to Adelaide.
Along with former pupil, Gladys Reynell, Margaret McPherson returned to London and Paris and reconnected with various artists including Rupert Bunny. They taught art school in London and Southern Ireland. They enrolled part time in a school of crafts and art in London and learned about ceramics, and then worked in a pottery studio in Cornwall. They then worked for Gladys' brother, Rupert with a rehabilitation program for 'rank and file' soldiers at a military hospital near Devon, teaching them basket weaving, pottery and other handcrafts.
On December 31, 1919 Margaret Rose McPherson married William George Preston in Adelaide. They honeymooned in Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands and then lived in Mosman and moved to beautiful Berowra where they lived from 1932 to 1939. In 1939 they moved to Mosman.
Preston tried to stay in the public limelight by giving interviews to the popular press and writing articles about art and crafts and travelogues about the many places around the world where she and William traveled in the 1920's and 1930's before and after she was successfully treated for cancer.
Renown publisher and painter, "Ure Smith famously commented that Preston was 'the natural enemy of the dull'." He featured her art and articles about her in his many publications, even on the cover.
"Over the years she practised the arts of pottery, printmaking (woodblock printing, silkscreens, monotypes and stencils), basket weaving and textile design;"
Margaret Preston wrote series of instructional texts. She believed that housewives could engage in making their own art - pottery, printmaking, flower arranging, weave baskets, painting. She designed and made floor rugs for her home and as wedding gifts for special friends.
She held an exhibition containing 29 of her works and it was a "sell-out" by the end of the first day. She died in 1963.
The book ends with an extensive biography, image credits, a recipe index and a well detailed and designed index.
I was fascinated with Margaret's life story and enjoyed looking at pictures of her and her artwork. 5 artistic stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My apologies - I missed the window on this book. Thank you for the opportunity.

Margaret Preston was a celebrated Australian artist, and her paintings, mostly of flowers, were colorful and vibrant. No discussion of Australia’s art history would be complete without inclusion of Preston. Lesley Harding, a curator at the Heide Museum of Modern Art, writes in her introduction, “the idea for this book has been simmering since I saw Margaret Preston’s charming volume of handwritten recipes tucked away in a solander box full of her prints at the National Gallery of Australia.”

Anyone who appreciates the art of Margaret Preston, or who is interested in learning about her work, will appreciate this well-written book. However, since Preston was also a good cook, the book is also fun to cook from. Harding has updated the recipes for modern-day cooks; they are easy to follow and are uniquely Australian.

The book has pictures of Margaret Preston’s beautiful paintings, as well as photographs of her in different phases of her life. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of the dishes, due, most likely, to the fact that the main focus on the book is on the Margaret Preston’s life and art. Although there are not a huge amount of recipes, the ones that are included are worth making and are representative of old fashioned Australian recipes. There are recipes for jams and jellies, scones and biscuits, simple chicken and meat dishes, and simple desserts such as Orange Ice Cream and Coffee Ice Cream. The Chocolate tart is absolutely decadent and will never go out of style; you’ll want to gorge yourself while perusing the beautiful pictures in the book. Fish Croquettes are delicious and are a good way to use up extra cooked fish. Chicken Kedgie and a traditional Australian Potato Salad are in the queue, as well as Welsh Rare-Bit, which Preston writes is a “nostalgic snack, lunch or supper dish.”

Anyone interested in art, or who would like a pretty coffee table book will want to own this book. Cooks who like easy dishes and would like to prepare something Australian will also enjoy this nice cookbook.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I really loved this book. I was not very familiar with Margaret Preston before reading this book. This is a biography told through her art work and her recipes. The recipes showcase the time and place that Margaret painted in. The book is lavishly illustrated and includes recipes. After reading this book I look forword to reading more her. This book will appeal to anyone interested in Women in the Arts and Australian Art. Enjoy