Margaret Thomas

Who was Margaret Thomas?

Margaret Thomas was an English-born Australian travel writer, poet and artist.

Thomas was born at Croydon, Surrey, England, daughter of Thomas Cook, shipowner. Her date of birth is often cited incorrectly as 1843 and she was herself inconsistent about both her age and date of birth. It has also been discovered that she was originally named Margaret Cook and only later changed her surname to her father's first name. She was brought to Australia by her parents in 1852 and later on studied sculpture under Charles Summers at Melbourne. She exhibited a medallion portrait at the first exhibition of the Victorian Society of Fine Arts held in 1857. Thomas lived in Richmond, Victoria and exhibited her work regularly.

Around 1867 Thomas went to Europe to continue her studies. She had a medallion shown at the Royal Academy exhibition of 1868; after studying for three years at Rome she obtained a studentship at the Royal Academy, London, and in 1872 won the silver medal for sculpture.

Between 1868 and 1880 Thomas exhibited her paintings at the Royal Academy.