Margaret Hadfield

Margaret was born and raised NSW country town of Coonabarabran in 1956. Her parents had emigrated to Australia in 1951 from the island of Terschelling, the Netherlands.

From a very early age she displayed artistic talent and sold her first painting at age 13. Margaret perfected her craft through self-development and was inspired by nature’s beauty. Light flows through her seascapes/landscapes; very large murals and portraiture.

Margaret ran the family tourist park Miniland from 1984-91. This was sold and due to family problems and divorce she moved to the Canberra/Queanbeyan district. In 2004 she co-founded the Artists Shed, Queanbeyan, a co-operative artist-run, studios, gallery and Art School. Also, that year a visit to Gallipoli changed Margaret’s artistic vision and she began to explore history through the landscape. She was the winner of the Gallipoli Art Prize 2006 and 6 of her military themed works have been exhibited by the Australian Government in the Netherlands, Turkey and France. The Gallipoli Series consists currently of around 20 paintings.

In 2011 opened Margaret Hadfield Gallery/Studio in a small suburban shopping centre of Curtin, ACT, and teaches seven regular adult classes a week.

Margaret paints in all mediums and her major works have featured in numerous art awards including Paddington Art Prize, Portia Geach Art Prize and the Gallipoli Art Prize.  Margaret's painting of the RAN International Fleet Revue in Sydney (2013) was purchased and hangs in the National Maritime Museum and a work from the same event is hung on board the warship HMAS Perth.

In 2014 Margaret was special guest of the RAN when her painting of the submarine AE1 was used by the media and official ceremonies in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. Margaret’s artwork and her relationship with the RAN continues to evolve.