The Monthly, October 2007, No. 28

Until the cakes started to fly, the two artists were something of a mutual admiration society.

Thea Proctor was elegant, tasteful and generous, while Margaret Preston was flamboyant and stubbornly single-minded. One painted ladies on fans, the other preferred bottlebrush and banksia. But temperament and subject matter aside, they had much in common. Both were in their forties; each had spent many years abroad, soaking up techniques in the cultural capitals of Europe; both were well-known exponents of modernism, albeit in feminised forms.

Australia,...