Although she painted a variety of subjects, Margaret Olley's forte was still life. Clive James wrote that "she got further and further into what looked like a universe of still life where there were flowers among the pots and plates, but very few people...The still life commands a closer look, and the more strict the viewer's scrutiny — the nearer, that is, to matching hers — the more it becomes clear that the subject matter is dissolving into colour and movement. What begins as a registration flows towards the abstract." Occasionally, she included herself, as in  Dressing table (self portrait) (1982), but she almost disappears into the wallpaper. (It can be seen in the estate agent's 2013 details.)