Margaret Olley became one of Australia's best-known painters of still-lifes and interior subjects during the second half of the twentieth century. She established her reputation both locally and nationally in the 1960s, with her vibrant still-life paintings at Brisbane's Johnstone Gallery. She produced her first interiors for her 1970 exhibition, including 12 large works inspired by her family home, Fardon, at 15 Morry Street, Hill End.

The drawing room depicted is comfortable and unpretentious: the chintzes were worn and mended, and the furniture came from family collections and Olley's years in the antique business. Here, Olley displayed New Guinea artefacts, as well as her own paintings and those of her friends. It was a well-loved room and may be interpreted as an extension of Olley's own personality and tastes. Interior IV is possibly the most significant of the interiors that Olley painted in the 1970s.