Margaret Senior Exhibition, Auchmuty Library, 2023

Virtual Exhibition: Push the play button to explore the fully interactive virtual exhibition.

Introduction:

Margaret Senior OAM (1917-1995), was a celebrated natural history and children’s book illustrator. Born and raised in London,
Margaret began her early career designing sets and costumes for small London theatres. In 1939, she moved to Australia, to
the coast of Warringah, NSW, likely providing ample inspiration for her art practice and a love of nature. Through her art,
Margaret brought awareness to the necessity of preserving and sustaining our natural heritage, and was awarded the OAM
for her services to art and conservation.

Margaret’s iconic NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service posters, (first produced for the NSW Fauna Protection Panel,
1948-1967), promote the protection of Australia’s unique flora and fauna. Margaret also illustrated the diseases of plants in
1964, which are still used in publications produced by the NSW Department of Primary Industries today. In addition, she
illustrated many children's books in the 1950s and 60s, including Eve Pownall's “The Australia Book”, which won the Children’s
Book of the Year Award in 1952.

The Library holds a large archive of Margaret’s original artworks in Special Collections. The exhibition features a mere
selection of these artworks and publications with a focus on the much-loved NSW Parks and Wildlife posters, contextualised
alongside the original artworks.