The far-away hills 

South Canterbury's Heritage
 preserved by artists who painted in the Mackenzie. 

Nineteenth Century Artists 

Under construction - Additional information appreciated. Please let me know about artists that you would like to see featured on this website.  Thanks.

Twentieth Century Artists - South Canterbury, New Zealand

Ken Andrews

A former TBH pupil and a former journalist for the Timaru Herald and an artist who painted the Mackenzie landscape in oils and watercolours.  His studio was at Lake Tekapo were he lived for fifteen years.  He put out an incredible amount of work.  
K J Andrews Old Line Cottage, Lake Tekapo Oil on board 395 x 595
Ken Andrews Lake Tekapo Church In The Snow Watercolour 360 X 530 Signed lower left
Jacks Creek Bridge and old Road to Mt Cook, watercolour
Tekapo River & Mt. Cook, watercolour
Cook House - Morven Hills situated in the heart of the scenic Lindis Pass. 40cm x 30cm oil on board

Regional paintings preserved wonderfully some of the history of the area.

Douglas Badcock
En Plein Air artist - a French expression which means "in the open air"

The Southland Times 25 Nov. 2009
Queenstown's first fulltime time artist died last week, leaving a huge legacy to the art world. Douglas Badcock did not just paint thousands of New Zealand landscapes, he also passed his skills on to his three sons, who are each artists in their own right, and the genes are coming through in their children. Born in Balclutha in 1922, he was named after the Douglas motorcycle his father rode around Otago while doing his Presbyterian home missionary work. In Queenstown he met and then married Bonnie and they had four children � Brian (now living in Blenheim), Jenny (Invercargill), John (b. 1952) (Geraldine) and David (Cairns). After dabbling in painting in his spare time, Mr Badcock took the plunge and went fulltime and the children joined him on many of his painting trips, which John said showed them what their father saw in the beauty and freedom of the landscape. Mr Badcock had his first exhibition in Wellington in 1960, and all the works sold within two days. A review described him as "a realistic painter and absolutely sincere with a natural talent and a high technical standard ... A master of the New Zealand landscape, he paints New Zealand as he sees it". He began entering the Kelliher Art Awards, established for landscape painters, and a win in 1965 firmly put Mr Badcock in the top bracket. The demand for his works saw them grace not only many New Zealand homes, but they were also in the collections of the Queen - a gift during a visit to Queenstown - and also the King of Thailand. John said his father loved the Queenstown area and the range of colours the landscape offered, but about 10 years ago his father and mother moved to Clyde, where she died in 2001. Douglas Badcock never really stopped painting the landscapes, although his output slowed over the past year and he concentrated more on smaller watercolours. He also produced three books - My Kind of Country, My Kind of Painting, and A Painter in Fiji. In a Listener article in 2004, Mr Badcock said: "I paint seas, skies, mountains. I paint the world I know, as it appears to me. I have an image that is there and I have to record it. "When I'm painting I let the subject reveal itself. Picasso said `I don't seek, I find'. And finding is a revelation intellectually, emotionally, spiritually. The primary motivation is self-expression, but if there's no vision, if we don't see beauty in nature any more, then we're nowhere."

Winchester, Canterbury 1985 oil on board Height 29 cm.; Width 39 cm.  An old homestead

Violet I. Banks

From window. [1907?] : Watercolour, 41 x 133 mm. Shows view from Arthur Hope's station at Fairlie, that is Raincliff station, bought by Arthur Hope 1901 and sold ca 1908.

From Arthur Hope's, N Z [1907?] Watercolour, 90 x 163 mm  (Alexander Turnbull Library)

Homestead. [1907] Watercolour, 104 x 196 mm.Shows homestead of Arthur Hope at Fairlie, Raincliff station.

Drive with trees, Arthur Hope's station. 1907 Watercolour, 206 x 102 mm

View of foothills from Arthur Hope's station. 1907 Watercolour, 156 x 110 mm. Shows Raincliff station, property of Arthur Hope.

Tommy Hope. [1907] Watercolour, 41 x 133 mm. This is possibly son or grandson of Arthur Hope of Raincliff. None of the four sons listed in his obituary (Timaru Herald, 2 Apr 1935) is called Tommy, so Tommy possibly a nickname, or name of a grandson. Parents married 1882 and this child appears to be a small baby, so either youngest son (Arthur Howard Hope) or first-born of oldest son.

Mt Peel from Kapunatiki, Rangitata  (Hon W Rolleston). [1907?]
circa 1907 (Alexander Turnbull Library) watercolour 8.3 x 15.2 cm

Mt Peel circa 1907 (Alexander Turnbull Library) watercolour 16.2 x 26.6 cm View across farm landscape with Mount Four Peaks in the background and a row of trees on the right.

Road between Peel Forest and Holnicote  circa 1907 (Alexander Turnbull Library)watercolour 12.2 x 19.9 cm

From near Mrs Dennistoun's Peel Forest (Orari Riverbed). [1907] Watercolour, 167 x 301 mm

Mt Four Peaks, N Z. [1907] Watercolour, 162 x 266 mm. View across farm landscape with Mount Four Peaks in the background.

Road between Peel Forest & Holnicote. Watercolour, 122 x 189 mm Scene on the road in Peel Forest near Mount Peel Station. Holncote or Holnicote named after Acland Family seat in Devon England was the earlier name for the homestead at Peel Forest Estate. It is no longer in use.

Orari Gorge homestead, N. Z. [1906] Watercolour, 184 x 294 mm. A view of Charles Tripp's homestead at Orari Gorge, Canterbury, with a large round rock (concretion) ornamenting the front lawn by the drive, three children on the lawn amongst cabbage trees, a bridge or outbuildings to the left and hills behind. The front lawn is circled by a drive.

Banks, I Violet, fl 1890s-1914. [Banks, I. Violet] fl. 1906-1914 :Orari Gorge homestead, N. Z. [1906?]. Ref: C-078-028. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, N.Z.

Phyllis Drummond Sharpe Bethune, Christchurch (1898 -1983)

Phyllis Drummond BETHUNE nee SHARPE -  was a member of "The Group" 1936-1947.  Her paintings were held by the Hocken Library and others. Mrs Bethune was from Woodbury, Geraldine, later on Christchurch. Died in Wanaka in 1983. Painted in the 1930s - 1940s.

Timaru Herald 1983
Phyllis Drummond Bethune, a prominent former South Canterbury landscape artist, died in Cromwell last week. Mrs Bethune, who was in her 80's at the time of her death, had continued to painting up until last year, when ill health forced her to give up. Trained at the Christchurch Polytechnic School of Art, Mrs Bethune painted mainly landscapes in oils. She lived in Waimate and Geraldine, and the surrounding South Canterbury countryside was the subject of her painting until she moved to be closer to her daughter in Wanaka. After she moved, she began working on the lakes and autumn scenes of the area. Mrs Bethune was a member of the Canterbury and South Canterbury art societies, and a former president of the Waimate Art Society. She was a regular exhibitor at Otago and Canterbury society exhibitions. The Aigantighe Art Gallery [Timaru] holds one of her works "The Black Cap." Mrs Bethune is survived by a daughter. Phyllis also design the little St. Augustine Church war memorial in 1953.

The Black Cap
Winter Afternoon, Woodbury 				oil		 Aigantighe Art Gallery [Timaru]
Frosty Morning on the foothills 			oil
Lake Pukaki 						oil
Mt Cook, from Pukaki 					oil on board 	36x49cms
Opuha River, Geraldine 				1943
Road from the Downs, Geraldine 			1943
Autumn Landscape 				1947	oil 
Spring Afternoon, Peel Forest 			1947
Summer afternoon in the Hunter Hills 		1959 	oil on canvas
Mt. Aspiring from Glendhu Bay - Lake Wanaka  		oil on canvas
Mount Gold Wanaka 				1973	oil  		Anderson Park Art Gallery, Invercargill
Lake Manapouri 					1975			Anderson Park Art Gallery, Invercargill

Mataura Ensign 11 April 1975
Before going to live in Wanaka about eight years ago, Mrs Bethune was one of the best known landscape painters in South Canterbury. She studied painting at the Christchurch School of Art in the early 1920's, when such fine painters as Archibald Nicoll, Richard Wallwork and Cecil Kelly were teaching at the school. Before she went to the school she remembers her father, Mr Drummond Sharpe, of Woodbury, saying to a lady neighbour: "I'm worried about Phyllis, she 's dead keen to got to art school." The women replied comfortingly: "Oh don't worry, she'll grow out of it!" Now in her 70's she has not yet 'grown out of it' and paints as well as ever, her work being in great demand.

Exhibitions. Mrs Bethune has exhibited work in all the main centres and her paintings have been hung many times in the Kelliher Art competition. Her pictures are also seen in the art galleries of Invercargill, Dunedin and Timaru. She has also held successful one-man exhibitions with Abernathy's of Dunedin, and at the Timaru Art Gallery. While living in Waimate during the 1950's, Mrs Bethune founded the Waimate Art Group, which is still a flourishing body , and she was president for many years. When she came to Wanaka she was asked to start an arts group here, and it has grown rapidly, with 90 members. painters, potters and craft workers all contribute valuable work and assistance. As well as begin widely known for her true-to-life landscapes, Mrs Bethune is very well known in the district for her generous tuition and assistance to local artists. Soon after he arrival in Wanaka she held weekly art classes for those with a flare for painting. Pictured below is Mrs Phyllis Bethune, proudly exhibiting one of her favourite landscapes, which she painted during a recent excursion to Manapouri.

Self-Confidence. "Quite often self-confidence is all that is required to bring out such talents," Mrs Bethune says.
As well as giving her pupils a sense of achievement, she derives great pleasure from observing the results and consequent improvement, many of her former pupils still bring their latest paintings to her for constructive criticism and candid evaluation.

Olivia Spencer Bower, Swannanoa (1905 -1982)

Olivia was born in England 13 April 1905, a twin, her brother is Marmaduke. She was the daughter of the NZ born artist Rosa Spencer Bower (nee Dixon) (1865-1960). The family came to Canterbury, New Zealand in 1919. She studied at the Canterbury College of Art in 1919 and received a diploma from the Canterbury College School of Art in 1929. In 1929 she travelled to London and enrolled at the Slade School of Art.  She travelled around the UK and Italy and returned to NZ in 1931.  A watercolourists and a noted portraitist. Exhibited with The Group in 1936. She returned to live in Canterbury in 1949 and focused on painting her garden. From the early 1970s portraits gained more prominence. The first female president of the CSA in 1980. Before her death she established a scholarship fund that finances an annual emerging artist. Died in Christchurch.

Esther Hope in Her Studio 1938
A Mackenzie Window 1938
Mackenzie Evening. 1938
River with Small Boat at Rest
The Untidy Verandah                    water colour on paper
Still Life Jug - watercolour on paper
Same background as above The jug 'Esther Hope's Jug' was featured in many of Esther Hope's paintings.
A View from the Grampians          watercolour         54.50cm x 38cm (above)
This watercolour was painted from the window of Esther Hope's cottage. The mountains in the background are The Grampians with Mt Cook in the background there sticking up like a sore thumb has the same background as the Still Life Jug painting.
Landscape Te Papa
Open Country 1972 Te Papa
Road to Mount Sefton (c.1934) Drawing-Watercolour on paper (38 x 54 cm)
Mount Cook Drawing Watercolour on paper (28 x 32 cm)
Branches & Wind, Lake Ohau watercolour

Mackenzie basin landscape, c. 1969 Oliver Spencer-Bower
Watercolour on paper with charcoal outlines of the mountains still visible. Aigantighe Gallery.
A copy of this painting and other paintings are on display at the DOC Visitors Center, Mt. Cook Village.

Clifford Aubrey Brunsden (1909-69)
He was born in Timaru Oct. 16 1909 and studied at a number of art schools in New Zealand including the Canterbury College School of Art, the Wellington Technical College School of Art and at Elam School of Fine Art. He travelled to England where he visited public art galleries, and on his return he won a private bursary enabling him to study art in Australia. He did post war studies at Wellington School of Art and in Britain, Europe and Australia. He returned to Timaru in 1955. He became the first director of The Aigantighe which opened in 1956 and retained that position until his death in September 1969 at age 60 and is buried at the Timaru cemetery along with his brothers. He lived at 49 Wai-iti Rd. The Aigantighe has his beautiful 1967 oil on board painting Kakahu Lime Kiln, a brownish kiln surrounded by green / brownish bush. In 2005 Timaru at Sunset by C Brunsden was sold on Trade me. During his life, Brunsden painted many scenes of Timaru and South Canterbury that have become records of the changing landscape. e.g. Shingle Beach, Timaru His parents were Eveline Mabel Brice and William Walter Brunsden. He had a brother Walter Sinclair Brunsden b. in 1904 and Claude Elgar Brunsden b. in 1908.

Duncan Darroch 1888-1967

Alister Edward Austen Deans b. 2 Dec. 1915 at "Riccarton House", Christchurch to Alexander and Nora (nee Knight).  L/Cpl, 20 Bn, M.E., P.O.W., 22 May 1941; Wounded. Father of seven sons including Paul, a painter, farmer and a backwoodsman. O.B.E., 1995. Author of Pictures by Austen Deans. He is a direct descendant of the Canterbury pioneers John and Jane Deans and is connected to the 18th century British novelist, Jane Austen. Austen died at age 95, in Christchurch 18 Oct. 2011 after a massive stroke. He was still painting the day before his stroke - he was a very good an plein air artist "As a painter he was someone indelibly connected to Canterbury.'' His funeral was held at St Marys Church in Geraldine on Saturday 22nd Oct. followed by a private burial at Mt Peel.

 A.A. Deans - an artist who preserved South Canterbury's striking landscape on canvas

"Seeing something in nature that intensifies my joy in being alive, I want to try to reproduce it in such a form that when I see it again I re-live my joy at that divine moment. By so painting I hope to share my own delight with other people."  Nov. 2010. A.D

A traditional artist, not abstract, noted for his water colour paintings of the mountains of New Zealand's South Island. Many of his commissioned work is of mountain ranges. He is descended from the pioneering Deans family of Riccarton. The name "Riccarton" comes from a village in Ayreshire, Scotland where the Deans came from. Austen was raised in the Malvern Hills district between Darfield and Sheffield, north of Christchurch on one of the farms that resulted from the division of the estate of Homebush Station. His father was killed in World War I.  His mother carried on the family farm until Austin and his brother were old enough to take over. Educated at Medbury, Christ's College, 1930 - 1933, and University of Canterbury School of Art, gaining Dip. Fine Arts(N.Z.) in 1939.  Studied at the Slade School in London. He got the job of painting the Greek campaign in the role of assistant war artist to Peter McIntyre. His mother, who had been widowed by Passchendaele [Alexander], was particularly keen her son be given the job. Austen was in the intelligence section of the First Echelon to Egypt. He was mainly involved with drawing maps and says he found plenty of opportunity to paint while in Maadi Camp just outside of Cairo. He saw action in the Middle East with the 20th Battalion, appointed Assistant NZ War Artist,  just two days before being wounded in the Battle of  Crete, captured, and sent to a P.O.W. hospital then a camp after which he spent four years as a prisoner of war. Supplies of painting material came through the Red Cross. He became well known, he painted in the army, first in Egypt and later in prisoner of war camps where his style and outlook underwent a complete change. At the end of the war, after liberating himself from an Austrian POW camp with the help of a fellow prisoner, a bunch of their mates, and an appropriated Volkswagen jeep abandoned by the Germans and journeyed to France, along with 20 Frenchmen in a commandeered truck. Deans was flown back to England, but had to wait six months to get back to New Zealand, while he gave evidence at the trial of a collaborator. When he arrived back in New Zealand, Austin went back to painting and working on the farm where he met Elizabeth Hutton. He married Liz in 1946. He became a member of The Group in Christchurch in 1946. He was offered a loan to continue his art studies, so they married and travelled to England and he studied art at the Sir John Cass College (1948-50) before returning home and bought 25 acres at Peel Forest and raised a family of seven boys. Austen had enough of a name to support them by selling paintings. Elizabeth set up a Welsh Mountain Pony stud and leased more land, while Austin painted his beloved mountains. In 1963 he won the Kelliher Art Prize in 1969 and 1970 was placed second. In 1995 he was awarded an OBE for his services to art. Austen Deans lives at Peel Forest so he is an artist who is very familiar with the South Canterbury area.  He once had a chalet up at Mount Cook. "I don't know why, but the back country has always fascinated me and in most cases, the higher the mountain, the more fascinating it is." His painting On the Road to Tekapo captures the view on the road to Tekapo of Mt. Cook with a cloud near the top, perfectly. He signs his work AA Deans and paints in watercolours and oils and has made a living from art since he left art school. He lived at Chawton, Geraldine and has a son Nicholas. Nick Deans became a artist, sculptures, and sold his work and paintings by his father at the Alpine Gallery, 74 South Audley, W1, England. In 1981 he travelled to Antarctica to paint. "I started painting because of wanting to learn to climb mountains, from my childhood home at Malvern I went out to study the ridges on Mt. Torlesse and made drawings of it to help myself see it a bit better in case I was able to climb to it. That's what started me off really because I found that I made quite a good job of it." he said. He began painting Canterbury landscapes at the age of twelve. The painting was what kept the family going, Deans maintains, but the farm, 5212 hectares, added the luxury items. Austen Deans was raised on the family farms, Morven Hills, near Sheffield, then Homebush, and educated at schools for the well-heeled Cantabrian, Medbury, then Christ's College, before achieving his diploma (1938) from the University of Canterbury School of Art. "We lived off the painting. The farm managed to produce enough money to take us all on skiing holidays in September, and it paid for a certain amount of petrol and things like that." he said in the Press 24/10/2007. In 1998 he and his brother David reached Copeland Pass when both were in their eighties. The prolific Austen Deans, whose luminous landscapes interpret the local countryside as well as any.

His wife Liz died suddenly in June 2004 and Austen has since married lifetime friend Margaret Alpers (nee Cregoe, previously Alpers). Margaret's grandfather, Fulbert Astley Archer (1859-1911), was the manager of Dalgety & Co. He married Amy Charlotte Radcliffe (1858-1937) of Derriford, Plymouth at the Fendalton church (later St Barnabas) in 1888. Fulbert Archer's father, of Timaru importers Miles Archer & Co. F. Archer died 28 Nov. 1904 in St Gothard, Paignton, Devonshire. His grandparents, Edward Archer lived at Trelaske, Cornwall. Burke's. Fulbert Astley Archer died in 1911, aged 52. His son, Stephen, a Lance Corporal in the Canterbury Mounted Rifles, was killed in action at Gallipoli on 22 June 1915, aged 23.  The Press. In 2007 and at the age of 92-year-old he was a guide at Peel Forest which he calls "an oasis at the end of the Canterbury Plains." In 2010 they spend a fair amount of time at Margaret's home in Christchurch, 46 Memorial Ave. Austen likes to get back to his home at Peel Forest as often as possible. He considered himself very lucky to have a great painting companion in local artist Ben Woollcombe. "There's still lots of paintings to be done around here."

Pictures by Austen Deans, by A.A. Deans. A.H.& A.W.Reed 1967. First edition, 330x252mm (13" x 9"), hard covered, 64pp of heavy quality paper, 20 hand tipped-in full page coloured plates, dj, art monograph. Autobiographical account of the authors life and art. A lot of the paintings/plates in this book are of the high country. 

Capturing Mountains - the Life and Art of Austen Deans, by Nathalie Brown, published by Wily Publications in Nov. 2010. His biography.  Deans is one of the region's living treasures. He wasn't a very ambitious climber � I just liked being in the mountains and I still do,�� Deans said. His interest in the "form and beauty of mountains began when he was about 12. I really started trying to look at what I had in front of me and to draw the likeness of it." His mother was Nora Knight b. 1891 d/o Henry Arthur and Beatrice Elizabeth (nee Dicken) Knight. The Austen connection.

Southern Alps 			watercolour 	650 x 1000mm 
Arrowsmith Range 		watercolour 	1010 x 650mm
Cloudy Peak, Rangitara Gorge 	oil on board 	900 x 610mm
Mt d'Archiac, Mt Cook NP   	oil/canvas 	85 x 80
Peel Forest
Lynn Creek 			watercolour 	350 x 530mm 	signed AA Deans 
Mt Peel from Ruapuna 		watercolour	56 x 38 cm 
Mt Peel from Ruapuna		Oil		135 x 80 cm 
Little Mt Peel & the Lookout 	Oil 		53 x 35 cm
Mountains and Fantails						1947
Totara								1947
Peel Forest Abstract						1947
The Drive, Morven						1947
The Red Hat							1947
New Zealand Native Bush		oil on board	27x47
Mt Potts			watercolour	660 X 350mm
South Canterbury Landscape 					1955
Orari Gorge 			oil on canvas	122x98.5cm	1956 Aigantighe
Bush clad hills, Peel Forest	oil 				1957 Aigantighe
Kea Hut and Mt Sefton						1962
Mt Peel, Winter			watercolour	40"X 27"	1963
Geraldine, South Canterbury 	watercolour 	540 x 350mm 	1964 
Barossa Station 		oil on board
Glacial Remains	
Skiing on Tasman Glacier	Oil on board	47 x 70 cm	1964
November Snow  			oil 				1968
Glacier 			Oil on board 	25 x 28 cm  	2008 sold $300
South Canterbury Landscape 	watercolour 	 46 x 29 	1966 (Poplars)
Mt Cook				oil				1966
Across the Rangitata 		Oil/board	48 x 74		1966 
Barley at Peel Forest 		Oil/canvas	86 x 121 
Orari Gorge, summer		Oil on hardboard 		1968
The Gates, Matukituki Ranges  	Oil/board	44 x 53  	1976
Glendhu Bay, Lake Wanaka 	Oil/board 	95 x 98 
Mt Peel, from Peel Forest Road 	Oil/board 	49 x 74.5  	1971
Mt Peel, from Peel Forest Road  Oil/board 	49 x 74.5 	1971
Bush & hills, Peel Forest 	Oil on board    51 x 100 cm     1975
The Orari River & Mt Peel 	Watercolour 	25.0 x 47.0	1984  in 2009 est. $2,500 - 3,500 
Geraldine Downs  				760 x 620mm	1988
Mt Somers from Mt Peel		watercolour 	 56 x 38 	1996 sold $1700
Little Mt Peel			Oil		 53 x 35 	1996 sold $1800
Cloudy Peak			watercolour	 33 x 66	2002 c.$4000
Road to Tekapo 			watercolour 			2003
Mt Dobson 			watercolour 			2003
Sheep near Fairlie		watercolour			2007
Snow at Peel Forest		watercolour			2007
Four Peaks, Dull Day

 
Water colour painting of Mt Dobson  by A.A. Deans on the left with a reflection of window at Mt John Homestead
The photo on the right  out of a car window. I took the photo on the right on a August morning in 2003 before I saw the painting. I didn't have any idea he had painted the view. Taken just out of Fairlie up the Clayton Rd on Ashwick Flat. See Rata's painting of same scene, Mt Dobson.

Road to Tekapo
A.A. Deans captured the scene perfectly with the cloud hanging over the range just what we saw when heading to Tekapo from Fairlie in August 2003.
[There is a reflection on the road that should not be there due to sunlight coming in the window.]

Austen Dean's said the most memorable year of his life was 1939: "I had finished my studies at the School of Art and I was getting to my feet and realising that art really was my passion and that I wanted to paint and to be an artist full-time."

Beatrix Dobie 1887-1945

Beatrix Charlotte Dobbie b. in Whangarei to Herbert Boucher Dobbie manager of railways in Whangarei and a citrus orchardists.  In 1911 travelled to London with her friend Esther Hope to study painting.  She changed her surname spelling to Dobie.  She volunteered for Red Cross service in 1914 and was stationed in Malta like Esther. They both returned to New Zealand after the war.  Miss Dobie exhibited regularly at the Canterbury Society of Arts, 1919-1926 and during those years painted in the Mackenzie.  She illustrated the book Tutira - The Story of a New Zealand Sheep Station, the 2nd edition, reprinted with a new preface, map and index in 1926 for H. Guthrie-Smith.  In 1926 she married R. Vernon, an engineer with the French army in Tunisia. Widowed in the 1940s and Beatrix Vernon died a few years later.  Her post-impressionist oil paintings feature Rotorua, Northland, Mackenzie Country, Malta and North Africa. She became known as an animal painter and in 1922 Beatrix the exhibited The Boundary Dog in Christchurch.
The Musterer - oil on canvas (15"x19")

    

Joyce Drury

Miniaturist. Using oils on treated silk canvas, in a studio at her home in Redcliffs, Christchurch. Many of her miniatures have found their way into private collections around the world. Versatile subjects in oils. Favourite subjects range from New Zealand landscapes, hunting scenes and Clydesdale horses working in the fields, plodding along picturesque country roads, or at rest in the paddock. Joyce is a lady in her 70s and has been painting since she was 14 years old. Joyce says her paintings take as long to dry as they do to paint. CHCH.

Audrey Durant
        Formerly headmistress at Ashburton High School, now a landscape painters. NZ Herald 13/08/80, Timaru Herald 06/08/82
        Four Peaks  60x81cm
        The Old Cob Cottage Burkes Pass 45cm x20cm Canvas on Board. Acrylic.
        Mt. Tasman from Cook River Flats. 1968 w/c
        Towards McKenzie Country oil
Back cover dj From the Beginning : Chronicles of a County : Geraldine

Randall Froude Resident at Kimbell, South Canterbury since 1994. Trained at trained at Elam NZ in the late 1940s. TH
       Country Lane, South Canterbury 2012 245mm x 320mm Watercolour
      Ribbonwood 40"x20" oil on canvas c.2000

William Greene  1872- Dec. 1925
        Born in Australia in 1872, William Greene arrived in New Zealand in 1874. A painter and teacher, he studied in Melbourne and London. Lived in Timaru.
        Mt Cook. Oil on board, 26 x 37 cm
        Horse and Cart Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 cm
        Donkey Oil, 30 x 45.5 cm

Aston Greathead 

Born in Napier. Aston Wyatt Greathead died 18 July 2012, aged 91years.
Father: William John Edwin Greathead, b. 23 Jun 1889, Masterton, Wairarapa, d. 21 Jan 1979, Christchurch
Mother: Jane Wyatt, b. 27 Aug 1886, Worchester, Worcestershire, Eng., d. 18 May 1940, Timaru
Married 20 Aug 1918 Whittington, Worcestershire, England
He grew up in Timaru and became a sign writer.  Served in the Middle East and Italy during WW2. Had no formerly lessons in painting.  He likes to paint with oil acrylics as it is easier to work with than straight oils but prefers water colours.  Ashton often uses only four colours and the colour of the canvas. Can paint relatively fast this way, a traditional painter.  He was a fulltime artist with a studio in Blenheim. Went to Waimataitai Primary School, in Timaru and from that early age seemed only interested in art. He drew over the covers of all his textbooks and down the margins of the pages, which made these sought after by all other children at the annual book sales. Rather than going to secondary school he worked at Timaru's S. W Lewis and Sons and learnt signwriting. He joined joined the army in World War II and served in North Africa and Italy. Sometimes on leave he had the opportunity to sketch and paint, which he frequently did for fellow soldiers wishing to send home pictures. When the war ended he returned to New Zealand and set up a signwriting business in Christchurch, but in 1957 he moved to Kaikoura with his wife Ett (Ethel Taberner) and three daughters. In 1966 he won the prestigious Dawson Hallmark watercolour award, sponsored by Sir Henry Kelliher. Mr Greathead was happiest when he was painting on location and a lot of his early commissions came from back country farms, but much of his work has gone overseas. For a long time The Hermitage at Mt Cook has given pride of place on its walls to his paintings. They still hang today in the dining room and lounge bar. In the 1980s Mr Greathead donated 1000 limited edition prints of the original Keas At Dusk to the Cancer Society, which helped raise $200,000 towards the cause. In September 2008 an auction was held to raise money to upgrade in the children's section at the Temuka Cemetery and Mr Greathead donated two original paintings. He was very fond of birds and kept bantams and finches which he would draw and paint. Mr Greathead retired to Blenheim where he died on July 18 2012.

    
The painting on the left, an Aston Greathead painting, hangs in the Hermitage, Mt Cook on the beautiful stone wall directly behind the fireplace, around the corner from the main entrance.

Road to the Hermitage Mt Cook 	Oil on board  		370 x 530 Signed lower right
Lake Tekapo 15x21 		acrylic/cardboard 			1967 
Tasman Glacier 13x18 		acrylic 				1985 
The Old Road, Mt Cook, Lake Pukaki acrylic  		32 x 45 
Mt Sefton from Mt Cook Station Tasman Valley acrylic  	60 x 46cm
Mt Sefton 			Oil on board		26 x 40 cm  
Lake Pukaki  			Oil on board 
Mt Cook 			Oil/board 		39x55 
Mt Cook and Tasman Valley 	Oil/board 		49.5 x 75cm 
Mt Cook L. Pukaki Rd to Hermitage Oil on board 		27 x 40 cm
Near Fairlie			acrylic on canvas board 27cm x 39.5cm	1971
Tasman Glacier, Mt Cook NP 	Oil/board  		22.5 x 52cm 
Malte Brun, Tasman Glacier  	Oil/canvas 		36 x 46cm  	1985 
Lake Pukaki, Mt Cook 		Oil/canvas 		44 x 117cm 
Lake Tekapo			Acrylic/cardboard  	39 x 54cm   	1967
Tasman Glacier 			Acrylic 		33 x 46cm  	1985 
The Road to Lake Tekapo 	Oil on board 		47.5 x 71cm
Mt Cook Midday, Hooker Valley 	Oil on board 		44 x 57 cm
Winter, Near Fairlie 		Oil on board		26.5 x 39.5 cm

Near Fairlie 1971

Walter Basil Honour 1897-1988

1933
In the High Alps (oil)
Lake Tekapo (oil)
Winter, Lake Tekapo (oil) 1934
Snow at Tekapo (oil)
Geraldine Landscape (oil)

Esther S. Hope 1885 -1975 

Esther Studholme Barker was born at Woodbury, near Geraldine, South Canterbury 8 August 1885 to an artist Emily Barker. In 1907 she started having lessons from Christchurch artist Margaret Stoddart.  In 1911 Esther travelled to London with her friend and artist Beatrix Dobie and entered the Chelsea and Slade College of Art in London to improve her skills and exhibit in London and Paris. During WW1 she was on Malta as a VAD nurse. After the war she came back to South Canterbury c.1919 and married Norman Hope in 1920 (his father owned Raincliff) but retained her Barker artist name. Norman Hope had purchased The Grampians in 1914. She lived on 'Grampians Station' and often travelled around the Mackenzie painting. Esther exhibited regularly at the Canterbury Society of Arts. In the 1930s she was asked to submit what she thought was a suitable concept for the Church of the Good Shepherd at Tekapo and an architect drew the plans. Her original sketches have been saved. Esther made two plasticine models [each was about 15 centimetres in length and constructed with modelling clay over match boxes, they always used to be sitting in the middle of the sideboard in her studio.] of the Lake Tekapo Church of the Good Shepherd. These models, which differed slightly, were forwarded for approval by a committee and one of them was adopted as the final design. The church was designed and built based on these models in 1935 by architect R.S.D Harman of Christchurch. One of the models is presumably passed onto the architect. Where are the models now? Not at the Timaru museum.  The Hope collection was donated to the museum in 1954 by Arthur Hope's family. The models were seen last at the Mrs Hope's  home in Sarah St., Timaru in the 1960s. Six of Esther's watercolour paintings are at the Aigantighe Art Gallery in Timaru but there are hundreds scattered around around South Canterbury. 

John Matthias Barker (1856 - 1933)
Born in Christchurch, NZ on 22 Sep 1856 to Alfred Charles Barker and Emma Bacon. John Matthias married Emily Studholme in 1882 and had eight children. He passed away on July 1933.
1884 Michael Studholme Barker
1885 Esther Studholme Barker
1887 Paul Studholme Barker
1889 John Studholme Barker
1890 Ronald Studholme Barker
1893 Harold Studholme Barker
1895 Doris Studholme Barker
1900 Clive Studholme Barker

Landscape 460 x 590 Gouache - a method of painting with opaque watercolors mixed with a preparation of gum
Cottage at the Grampians - Gouache 290x380
The Walk to Ball Hut, Looking Towards Mt Chudleigh  watercolour, 56 cm x 38 cm
Ohau River 1941 Te Papa
Mackenzie Country 1950s Christchurch Art Gallery
Mountains and Stream (Mt Buffwash)  Watercolour, 57 cm x 39 cm
Mt Cook, watercolour, signed, 380x560
Mount Sefton, no date. Gouache on paper. Aigantighe Gallery
Lake Alexandrina, watercolour, signed, 54 x 74 cm
Lake Alexandrina watercolour 315 x 490mm
Lake McGregor wc 1966
Camp at Lake McGregor wc 1966
Mackenzie country view wc 1966
Lake Tekapo from Mt. Hay 1968 w.c
Lakeside scrub 1968 w/c
Mt. Sefton 1968 w/c
Storm over Five Sisters Range 1968 w/c
Coastal Fishing, watercolour, signed, 27 x 38 cm
Woodland Flowers, watercolour on board, signed, 35 x 27 cm
Southern Alps, watercolour, signed, 37 x 50 cm
Caroline Bay, gouache, signed, 30 x 40 cm
Southern Alps 55x74 Gouache/paper
The Grampians, Mackenzie Country 23.5x34cm watercolour,/paper
Path through the Native Bush 30x44cm Gouache/paper
Man on Punt near Bridge 29.5x48cm watercolour,/paper
Farmer tending his Sheep 27x37cm watercolour,/paper
Valley in Autumn 35x54cm watercolour,/paper
View of Mackenzie County, NZ 53.x73 cm. Drawing-Watercolour on paper  1966

Mount Sefton, no date. Gouache on paper. Aigantighe Gallery. A copy is on display at the DOC Mt Visitors center.

Lake Alexandrina, watercolour. The Aigantighe has a similar 1963 painting.
 

Woodall, Kate. Esther Hope : a well kept secret, 1885-1975 / Christchurch: CSA Gallery. Catalogue of the exhibition of the same name, held at the CSA Gallery, 9 Nov. - 5 Dec. 1993. Includes bibliographical references.

'The Cass Gorge, water colour by E.S. Hope, about 1952 is on page 400 in Oliver A. Gillespie's South Canterbury A Record of Settlement 

The dust jacket painting on Evelyn Hosken's book Life on a Five Pound Note published in 1964 of the island in Lake Pukaki was painted by Mrs Esther S. Hope.  

Her sketch of the 'Rhodes Cottage at The Levels' was is featured on Oliver A. Gillespie's South Canterbury A Record of Settlement; The South Canterbury Centennial History Committee published 1958.  She was also responsible for drawing the brands inside the dust jacket flap.

Pen and pencil drawings by Esther Studholme Hope that reflect early life of the Mackenzie County are found in Jenny Rayne's Mackenzie Muster "A Century of Favourites" published in 1984. This is a cookbook with gems of poetry and art.  The second book Mackenzie Roundup "More of Our Favourites" published in 1992 includes sketches by Colin Wheeler of Oamaru and all proceeds are invested in the Mackenzie District Education Trust. 

           

J.A. Johnstone, Christchurch

James A. Johnstone, born in Edinburgh. He won Diploma Design and Applied Art, distinction in modelling, prize stained glass work. Has exhibited in main centres in NZ. Was on the Staff of the School of Art. Represented in 1947 Exhibition Royal Scottish Academy.

Road, S. Canterbury
A Geraldine Street
Country behind Geraldine
Afternoon, Allandale 1953
Springtime, Allandale 1953
Opihi River above Hanging Rock 1953

A.H. McLintock 1903-1968

Alexander Hare McLintock bio

John Magurk

Mount Cook - watercolour 33 x 23 cm

'Mount Cook Holiday' - a book with every page either full colour reproduction of his watercolours of the area, or his black and white drawings and text. Published by  A. H. & A. W. Reed [1972] in Wellington, 1st edition h/b, dj, 32 pages. 25cm.

A.G. Manson 1917-1983. Art master and painter, lived in Timaru.

Born in Christchurch in 1917, he attended Southbridge District High School. Ainsle George Manson was known as a painter and teacher. He studied for a Diploma of Fine Arts from the Canterbury College School of Art but the war interrupted this and he joined the army before serving as an official war artist during World War II and served in the Pacific and in Italy. After he was demobilised he returned to Canterbury College and completed his diploma in 1946. He taught at Christchurch Boys' High School for 6 months. In 1947 he was appointed as head of the art department at the Timaru Technical College and taught there for 27 years. He was president of the South Canterbury Arts Club in Timaru in 1951. Mr Manson director of Aigantighe Gallery from 1971 until his retirement in 1982. He died in 1983.  The Aigantighe has a beautiful impressionist painting of his in green tones an oil on board painting "Afternoon Light, Peel Forest", he cut off the tops of the trees to make you focus on the undulating grass with patches of shade and light, beautiful work.

Shirley O'Connor

Specialises in etchings and water colours of local areas: Mt. Cook, Tekapo and the New Zealand alpine flowers. Between From June 1992 to 2000 Shirley exhibited her art at the historic St. Patrick's Church (b. 1872) in Burkes Pass.  Now 2002 Shirley resides at Tekapo. Shirley moved to Blenhiem.

Love of art heals wounds of tragedy by John Keast
Subject: O'Connor, Shirley (Burkes Pass)
The Press, 13 Feb 1997; p.17 30cm

Sketches of South Canterbury by Shirley O'Connor published by Homecrafts, Tekapo, 1980. Thirty historical sketches with commentaries by James Maxwell. Printed Timaru Herald Print. No date. 32 pages of very interesting regional buildings etc. Paperback. Card covers. B/W illustrations in the same style as the front cover for each place; 21x 29 cm

Introduction The Good Shepherd The Corner Shop, Geraldine Talbot Street, Geraldine The Country Cinema (Geraldine) The Arcade (Sophia St. to Stafford St.) The new public library (Timaru) The Civic Centre (Timaru) Fraser Park Aigantighe Art Gallery The Church of the Sacred Heart Timaru Courthouse Corner Stafford St and Church St The Lighthouse (Timaru) Willow Walk (Timaru)

Stafford Street looking south (Timaru) Girls High School, Timaru Hadlow Game Park The Gloucester gates and Burns Statue Aorangi Stadium The old woolshed, Arowhenua Station The model Maori Pa, Temuka The Cuddy, Waimate Waimate War Memorial Gates The lychgate of St. Augustine's 'The Fairlie Flyer' St. John's Presbyterian Church Mackenzie county Offices Gladstone Grand Hotel Acknowledgements

The Story of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Tekapo, New Zealand; written by Peter Hurricks; drawings by Shirley O'Connor. 1985  

Discovering the Mackenzie Country and Mt Cook County; Tekapo by Maxwell, James, 1918 - : Homecrafts, Nov. 1973 56pp. Soft covered, printed by the
Timaru Herald Co. 16 chapters e.g. geography, a short historical picture of the Mackenzie Basin Country, from the man after whom the region was named, climatology, flora and imported fauna, travel & accommodation, the working collie dog, birds, animals etc. illustrated w/drawings and a map. Bibliography and Includes sketches by Shirley O'Connor.

E.C. Perry

2nd president of the South Canterbury Arts Club in Timaru in the 1950s. An English amateur watercolourist.

Gypsy Poulston

Gypsy said "My aims are to return to the simple truth of Medieval sculpture. Having taught cubism (in my years as an art teacher), painting has moved towards form and on to sculpture. I find it possible to convey ideas in abstract forms e.g. Flight series which developed from stained glass window designs - dealing with ascent in the spiritual sense." Gypsy and her parents moved to Timaru in 1940 and she attended TGHS, evening art classes, summer art schools and started exhibiting locally. She married Edward Poulston at St. Mary's in 1946. In 1960 she started teaching art at Craighead and remained there until she retired in 1973. Gypsy was a member of The Canterbury & South Canterbury Art Society. She was born Gypsy was born on 25th May 1923 in Amberley, North Canterbury, where her father, Warden Browne was postmaster and moved around the South Island with work.

Gypsy Poulston designed the stained glass windows at:
                                                Craighead Chapel 1973
                                                St. John's Anglican Church, Highfield, Timaru (1976)
                                                Wilson St. Baptist Church, Timaru
                                                Woodlands Road Methodist Church 1978
                                                St. John's Church, Waikouaiti, Otago

Gypsy Poulston a 1997 window at St. John's Waikouaiti, the oldest church that is still in use in Otago and Southland. Photo taken by A.S. back in April. 2012 late morning. The descending dove is a common motif on grave memorials, representing the Holy Spirit. Messenger of God.

Paintings -water colour:
           A street scene Bank St - Sophia St looking towards the Chambers Church hanging at Timaru Public Library just to the left of the check out counter.
          "Magnolias"- a 1968 watercolour and pastel is at the Aigantighe. 
          "Far City", original watercolour, 1989, signed. Trade-me Sept. 2011. Original price $300. 18" x 14"  4" mount and frame. A quite stunning highly stylised work, very striking. Original label verso.
           Bush Scene, watercolour, signed lower left, 32 x 25 cm
           Waterfront, watercolour inscribed on rear 22 x 29 cms
           City and boats, watercolour, 1966
           Fishermen's Wharf, crayon, 1966
           Swamp Forest, Northland, oil, 1966
Sculpture design at Picton Lodge.
Murals at State Advances Building Christchurch and Hotels.
She also did the 1987mural at the Timaru Hospital front entrance.

Gum trees at Pleasant Point by Gypsy Poulston sold on Trade-me in Feb. 2008. 495mm x 386mm  w/c 1956 

Albert J. Rae (1885-1971)

Albert James Rae : an exhibition of paintings, prints and drawings : Aigantighe Art Gallery, Timaru, August-September 1987. Author : Collins, R. D. J. 

Henry Lowen-Smith

Henry Lowen-Smith has been painting Canterbury, South Canterbury for about 50 years, an artist member of the Otago Art Society also a exhibiting and member of the Ashburton Art Society since its inception, painted with Austen Deans and Doug Badcock over the years on occasions. His art teacher gained free entry for him to the Canterbury School of Fine Art at 14 years of age, but Henry decided not to attend which he have never regretted in not being influenced by tutors at the University. He undertook an apprenticeship in cabinet making and joinery instead which he found more useful as the years have past by.  He has two Kelliher Awards, 3rd Prize Edinburgh Art Award at Otago plus other awards, listed at the Auckland Art Gallery and Te Papa under his previous name that he painted under, Harry Smith, guest artist at Tokoroa, Whakatane, Oamaru, Roxburgh and Waimate. Exhibited in leading galleries through out New Zealand, paintings in corporate, private and public collections world wide. After living in Ashburton for 70 years he relocated to Geraldine where he has his own studio and gallery at 59 Main North Road and paints under the name Henry Lowen-Smith, there were too many ordinary Smiths so he used my family names as he needed an identity of my own.  

Rata Lovell-Smith (1894 - 1969) mainly painted in Canterbury

Rata Alice Lovell-Smith nee Bird was born in Christchurch. With her husband Colin Stuart Lovell-Smith (1894-1960), was preoccupied with the Canterbury area and its distinct identity. Associated with the Canterbury School of Art and later ?The Group?.  She taught at the Canterbury School of Art from 1924 to 1945. Rata Lovell-Smith subscribed to the doctrine of New Zealand regionalism. She was trained at the C.U.C School of Art. Bledisloe Medallist (1939) for her work Bush Scene. audio

   
Two Thumb Range, South Canterbury (Oil on board) 44 x 34 cm

 
Mt Dobson - Rata Lovell-Smith

Mackenzie Country (oil)
The Wai-iti Stream, Woodbury (oil)
Campsite Lake Pukaki (oil on canvas)
Benmore Range from Pukaki, 1953Oil on board 53 x 43cm $6,000 - 8,000 (2009)
Spring in the foothills 1935 oil on canvas Te Papa
Bridge Mt Cook Road 1933 Christchurch Art Gallery

Margaret Olrog Stoddart b. Diamond Harbour, Canterbury (1865 - 1936) watercolourist- as a plein-air painter
                   Miss Stoddart studied in Europe in 1897. Returned to NZ in 1906. Taught at the Canterbury School of Arts Painted the Mackenzie. Signs MO Stoddart. Is best known for her watercolours of flowers, many of them in her favourite blues and whites, and for her watercolours of river beds. Margaret Stoddart (daughter of Anna and Mark Stoddart) lived and painted Godley House. Family motto, "After darkness, light". The house partially collapsed after the June 13th 2011 aftershock. Several of her most significant paintings were of the house in its garden and harbour setting. The Stoddart family lived in Godley House until 1913 when both houses were sold to the Lyttelton Borough Council. The council then named it after the Godley, the Canterbury Association Agent and is known as the "founder" of the Canterbury settlement. Godley House was built in 1880 as a family home by Harvey Hawkins - ship chandler, ironmonger and speculator, and one of Lyttelton's leading citizens. Diamond Harbour was originally named Stoddard�s Bay after Mark Stoddart.

 photo
                   Mountain Lilies - Christchurch Art Gallery, not on display  1931, a very clever work.
                   Mt. Sefton 1931
                   Golden Willows 1931
                   Glacier Lilies, Kea Point, Mt. Cook. 1931
                   In the Mackenzie 1930 Canterbury Art Gallery, not on display
                   View of Mount Cook 1930 Te Papa
                   Ball Hutt 1931 Te Papa watercolour and charcoal
                   Mt Sefton 1932 Christchurch Art Gallery, not on display
                   Near the Hermitage, Mt Cook 1927 watercolour
                   Streambed, Mackenzie Country
                   In the Hooker Valley - University of Canterbury Library
                   Mountain Stream - University of Canterbury Library
                   Stocking Glacier from Hooker Valley 1936 Te Papa, not on display watercolour and charcoal
                   Untitled (Otira Gorge)  watercolor 46 x 43 cm

Colin Vernon Wheeler born in Dunedin in 1919

Lived for a period in Christchurch before settling in Oamaru and established a reputation in the 1960s for his paintings of New Zealand farm scenes. He painted "Blue Cliffs woolshed and drafting race" 1970 that is used for the dust jack for "Blue Cliffs" by A.E. Woodhouse.  His career has span sixty years. He trained first at the Canterbury School of Art and then at the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts in London. Mackenzie Roundup "More of Our Favourites" the second book by Jenny Rayne published in 1992 includes sketches by Colin and all proceeds are invested in the Mackenzie District Education Trust. The Forrester Gallery, in a fine historic limestone building, in Oamaru includes works by Colin Wheeler. In 1996 Colin was the subject of a major retrospective exhibition, An Otago Odyssey: Six Decades at the Gallery. Colin Wheeler moved to Oamaru in 1951 to become Art Master at Waitaki Boys' High School. He resigned from teaching in 1969 in order to write and paint full time. He has painted murals, written and illustrated a book on South Island sheep stations and staged numerous exhibitions. Oamaru has an abundant of Victorian architecture and limestone buildings. Wheeler has devoted time to painting the scenes around town in at least 60 paintings, Small Town Seen in 2000. His favourite subject matter includes buildings, the landscape and related activities and his well-known books chronicling the old sheep stations of New Zealand reflect this interest. 

Colin Wheeler painted a hugely popular series. The first three books were commissioned by the publisher A.H. and A.W. Reed. The research for these became both a labour of love and an odyssey with both he and his wife traveling for up to twelve months at a time, staying at the old homesteads that he portrayed.

1. Historic Sheep Stations of the South Island, 1968
2. Historic Sheep Stations of the South Island. Second series.1971
3. Historic Sheep Stations of the North Island, 1973
4. Historic Sheep Stations of New Zealand 96 p., 16p. of plates: Maps on lining papers. Includes material from Historic sheep stations of the South Island, 2 v., published 1968-1971, and Historic sheep stations of the North Island, published 1973, with some new material. Illustrations of 67 stations, with brief descriptions and historical notes. Includes index.
5. Historic Sheep Stations of New Zealand 275 p. : ill. maps. Published in 1989 by  Beckett, Auckland.

Historic Sheep Stations of the South Island. Publisher: A. H. & A. W. Reed, 1968, Hardback. DJ. 72pg,  96pg. Large pictorial, sketches and illustrations of the farms and the peoples lifestyle. All illustrations by author, 20 stations described including history with b&w drawings and a magnificent print in full colour tipped in per station, plan at rear showing stations' locations. Each station has its own special aura and personality, compounded from the characters of the men -- owners and station hands -- who have worked there; from the stock, the access, the prevailing weather; and, above all, from the noble mountains that dominate the scene.

Historic Sheep Stations of the North Island (ISBN:0589007513) Wheeler, Colin A H and A W Reed, Wellington, 1973. 104pp, illustrated by the author with full-page colour illustralions, line drawings, sketches, location maps. Twenty properties were visited in 1971 and 1972 and to each is devoted 'one full-colour painting with special atmosphere portrayed in a series of delightful biro sketches, a mode of expression that is the author's particular strength.' A companion volume to the author's previous work on the South Island's sheep stations.

Historic Sheep Stations of the South Island. Second series. 1971 Hardback. DJ.
*The South Canterbury stations

Mount Linton Glenaray Cecil Peak Galloway West Wanaka Lake Hawea Morven Hills Kuriheka Hakataramea* Blue Cliffs*

Glentanner* Lilybank* Mount Algidus Coldstream Mount White Lake Haupiri Saint James Upcot Langley Dale Port Ligar

Godley Peaks Oil on board.
Stallion House
Four Peaks Oil on board
Cattle Muster on Lake Hawea oil on board
Merinos
Landscape near Benmore  1966
Road to Mt Cook oil 1966
Mackenzie Country 1970

Kingdom in the Hills 1930s Canterbury ? David McLeod
Hardback with dustjacket. 223 pages with many b&w photographs. Life in the magnificent high country of Canterbury in the South Island. His domain consists of two historic sheep runs, Grassmere Station and adjoining Cora Lynn ? over 60,000 acres of mountain basins, tussock hillsides and river flats in the gorge country of the Upper Waimakariri. This beautiful realm became his when in 1930 he bought the two runs in partnership with C. L. Orbell. In this book the author vividly records what it was like to take up a property at the beginning of a great economic collapse ? 1930s.  Chapter title drawings by Colin Wheeler. NZ glossary for sheep dogs, seep, plants and trees and general!

Jessie Wigley

On 15 June 1910 at Timaru, Rodolph Wigley married Jessie Christie Grant, daughter of Alexander and Ellen Grant, runholders in the Mackenzie Country.  In 1913 Jessie designed the company's lily motif after the giant mountain buttercup (incorrectly called the Mount Cook 'lily'.)  Mrs Wigley was well known in the art circles for her watercolours of South Canterbury.  Alexander Grant b. 1830 in Stirling, Scotland, purchased 'Grays Hills' in April 1881 and increased the size of the station to 60,000 acres.  He and his wife retired to Timaru and had a home built, the Aigantighe, on two acres.  James Grant, their son, presented the home, gardens and art collection to the citizens of Timaru  in 1955.
Oliver Gillespie's South Canterbury A Record of Settlement; 1958 there is a b/w photo of Old Stone Bridge, Washdyke by J.C. Wigley about 1954, page 273 water-colour painting  

Aigantighe was built in 1908 to the design of architect James Turnbull (1864-1947) for the retirement home of Alexander and Helen Grant (1854-1955) of Gray's Hill Station in the Mackenzie. After the death of Helen Grant in 1955, her son gifted the property to Timaru as an art gallery in accordance with the wishes of his mother and his sister, Jessie Wigley, the artist. Helen, born in Scotland, lived there until her death at age 101. Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 10.00am - 4.00pm; Saturday-Sunday, 12.00 - 4.00pm. Free admission. A portrait of Helen Grant was given to the Aigantighe in 1998 by Hester Wigley, Helen Grant's granddaughter, painted by Archibald Nicoll, b. Lincoln, Canterbury, NZ. He studied at the Canterbury College School of Art in Christchurch and in 1911 studied art in London and Edinburgh. In 1918 Nicoll began teaching art at the Wellington Technical College and he also started a portrait studio. Nicoll painted over 100 society portraits including this one. Some  painters with Scottish connections represented at the art gallery:
William Brown (1863-1936)
Wm Menzies Gibb (1859-1931)
Helen Paxton-Brown (1876 - 1956)
Jessie Wigley (1880-1968)
Wm Macleod (1892- 1963)
Alexander McBride (1859 - 19550
Hannah MacGoun (1831-1911)
Dr A.H. McLintock (1903-1968)
Sir Wm Russell Flint(1880 - 1969)
Tom Esplin (1915-2005)
Wm Ferrier (1855- 1920)
Thomas Hunt (1854 - 1929)

Aigantighe (pronounced egg and tie) Timaru's public art gallery, established in 1956 has a rich collection of New Zealand works.  South Canterbury historic and contemporary art holdings includes works by Ainslie Manson, Duncan Darroch, Esther Hope, Rick Lucas, Sandie Davies, Mike Armstrong, Mike Deavoll, Polly Rowe, Trudy Mulligan, Peter McIntyre, Eddie Poulston, Margriet Windhausen, Trevor Askin, Wayne Seyb, Jessie Wigley, Angela Gunn (1961-95), Christeena MacDonald, Anne Chapman, Pat Foster, Austen Deans and Jacqueline Fahey profile. The Art Gallery has three works by Colin McCahon, who was born in Timaru in 1919 and died 1987 and there are plans for extensions which will include a McCahon room. He studied at Dunedin School of Art from 1937-1939, but was mostly self-taught. Friends  bio  Gouache on paper

Autumn Poplars by Angela Gunn.1990. Acrylic on canvas.

Cora Wilding, 1888- 1982 -
Cora Hilda Blanche Wilding d/o Frederick and Julia Wilding - Christchurch

Merinos, Mackenzie Country
Autumn, Tekapo River
Mt Cook, from Tekapo
Autumn, Lake Tekapo

The natural scenery of South Canterbury is bold and beautiful.

W. Toss Woollaston 1910-1998 was a regular visitor to the Aigantighe and the museum has two of his paintings. A landscape painter with a modern approach featuring bold areas of calligraphic brushwork and strong colouring so landscape forms merge. He exhibited in Christchurch in 1936 when he lived in Nelson. First exhibited in Christchurch with The Group in 1936. He says he came from the backwoods into an academic orbit and was suffocating there when a Group show and revived! Retired again to the country but exhibited regularly. bio  Sage Tea; an autobiography by Toss Woollaston. Soft cover, 268 pages. Reprinted in 2001. Published by Te Papa Press.

South Canterbury artists : a retrospective view, 3 February-11 March 1990. Aigantighe Art Gallery in association with South Canterbury Arts Society, ?1990 69 p. : ill. ; 30 cm. Includes biographical notes on artists. Includes catalogue of works.

Throughout South Canterbury arts and craft shops are found.  Try Peel Forest, Kimbell, Tekapo, Geraldine , Temuka and the Arcade in Timaru. There were many artists, in the past and today, which painted or paint in watercolours or oils as a hobby for home and family.

Hint: When ordering a second hand book ask if it comes with the dust jacket and endpapers. Sometimes the DJ and maps are removed for framing. Many books on local history have dust jackets with a photograph of a fine watercolour or oil painting.

Hint: The Antiques Roadshow Phenomenon is not an unknown phenomenon.
On the Antiques Roadshow there was an episode where they removed the nails holding a painting into its frame and found another, older painting or lithograph print behind it. People would reuse cardboard from older works to brace newer ones. As a backing board for the oil painting it probably protected the print from the ravages of time and the print is probably worth more than the painting.

"The high country still echoes with the mythologies of the high country pastoral pioneers, a lifestyle that has been captured by artists Colin Wheeler and Peter McIntyre, and writers from Samuel Butler to James K. Baxter. It is part of this nation's heritage, a history of nor'westers, woolsheds, cribs and camp ovens which is still a vital part of the South Island story." SB 2004

The Kelliher: This volume gathers together the 67 Kelliher Award winning paintings, the work of 39 of New Zealand's most popular artists from 1956 to1977. Including Peter McIntyre, Douglas Badcock, Colin Wheeler, Austin Deans and Owen Lee.

As our country changes so naturally does the music, literature and arts created to celebrate it. In the early days we relied on ideas from Britain and America and slowly it became much more about our own identity. Photographers, painters, and singers all look to their landscape and the people in it for inspiration. Environmental awareness had bought a new fragility to the arts. We used to perceive the world as something we could not change. Now we are intensely aware of just how fragile it is and what we have done to it, said Professor Colin Gibson, at Timaru, 22 July 2007.

Through Fifty Year: South Canterbury Art Society by R. D. J. Collins. Hardback. Publisher: Hocken Library. 54 pages.

The Concise Dictionary of New Zealand Artists, by Kate McGahey.
Fine Art Auction CHCH
Ben's Art
South Canterbury NZGenWeb Project

The Press 31 Oct. 2008
Christchurch art institution Fishers Galleries (formerly Fishers Fine Arts) is closing its gallery after 138 years in business. Managing director John Fisher at first refused to comment yesterday, except to say, "You got the result you wanted and I hope Christchurch is pleased with it". The letter says the gallery in Victoria Street, central Christchurch, will close on Christmas Eve because it is no longer viable. The company would move into virtual space. We believe that with a dedicated online presence and an established stable of artists combined with two bi-annual site-specific exhibitions that we can continue to promote our artists and keep you up to date with the latest developments in the New Zealand art market," it says. "I will be retiring as the managing director but will remain semi-active within the art consultancy side of the business and handle any major re-sale and secondary market artworks." Fisher is the fifth generation of Canterbury Fishers in the art business. The firm's first gallery was established in 1870 in High Street, Christchurch, and sold paintings and provided a framing and restoration service. Geraldine artist John Badcock, whose paintings were displayed and sold by Fishers, said the closure was sad as Fishers was the Ballantynes of the art world in Canterbury. "The Fishers name has always been a full-on name in Christchurch, whether it be good or bad, but that can go with any business in town," he said. "It's a sad loss for any city to lose an old historic name like that. "It's a knock for landscape, middle-range art in Christchurch. They obviously had a fair ambition with the gallery, but it didn't work. It just didn't seem to get enough people through it." Denise Bryce, of the Bryce Gallery in Riccarton, said it hurt to see an art gallery closing. The arts scene was changing as the economy contracted, she said, with galleries closing in Auckland and Wellington.

Artist Grahame Sydney draws upon the Mackenzie basin for so many of his paintings. "It's a reminder that we haven't always been here," he says.
"I love the sheer isolation of it, I sometimes think we forget about the sheer value of our landscape as it is."  April 2009

 Grahame Sydney said the Mackenzie Basin held "a powerful grip on the imaginations, emotions and memories" August 2010

It is often more economical to buy one large painting instead of three small paintings

The back of a picture will often tell you more than the front, sometimes. Look for gallery labels.