1920, Brisbane – 1999, Brisbane

Paula Marie Rosenstengel came from a well-known family of furniture makers and her father, Edmund Rosenstengel, supported her artistic ambition. Rosenstengel attended All Hallows’ School in Brisbane, where she was encouraged by her art teacher and William Bustard, her tutor. After graduating, Rosenstengel assisted her father in his business by designing commissioned furniture pieces. In 1947, Rosenstengel’s father paid for her to travel to England, where she further developed her painting. She later returned to Brisbane, where she entered the family business once more, putting aside her art until 1957, when the business closed. When her father died in 1962, Rosenstengel abandoned painting and taught herself weaving with the help of Nellie Lambert and Elisabeth Nagel of Sturt Workshops in Mittagong.