Constance Jenkins Macky (née Constance Lillian Jenkins; 1883–1961) was an Australian-born American artist and teacher. She was known for her portraits, landscape paintings, and still life paintings.

Biography

Constance Lillian Jenkins was born June 29, 1883, in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Australia. Her parents were Emma Wright and John S. Jenkins, her father was of Scottish descent. She was the youngest of six children, and began to study art seriously at age 15. Macky attended the National Gallery of Victoria Art School (formally National Gallery School of Painting), from 1900 to 1908 and then studied at the Académie Julian in Paris during 1909. In 1912, Jenkins married

Eric Spencer Macky Eric Spencer Macky, also known simply as Spencer Macky (1880–1958) was a New Zealand-born American painter, intaglio printmaker, and educator. He was known for his landscape paintings and scenes of San Francisco. Biography Eric Spencer Mack ...

in Berkeley,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. They had two sons, including Donald Spencer Macky (1913–2007) who was also an artist. In 1915, the Macky's both participated in the

Panama–Pacific International Exposition The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely s ...

, creating decorative panels for the Australian and New Zealand Buildings. Constance Jenkins Macky and her spouse founded the Spencer Macky Art School in San Francisco in 1916. The first location of the school was at Post Street, near Gough Street in a building that housed many other notable artists including

Leo Lentelli Leo Lentelli (20 October 1879 – 31 December 1961) was an Italian sculptor who immigrated to the United States. During his 52 years in the United States he created works throughout the country, notably in New York and San Francisco. He also taugh ...

, Clark Hobart, William Claussen, Louise Mahoney, Florence Lundberg, Sigmund Beel, and George Hyde. The school was popular and moved to a larger space at the "Artists Building" at 535 Sacramento Street in San Francisco. By 1917, the Spencer Macky Art School was merged with the California School of Fine Arts (CSFA; now known as the San Francisco Art Institute). After the merge she continued to teach classes at CSFA. She was a member of the

San Francisco Art Association The San Francisco Art Association (SFAA) was an organization that promoted California artists, held art exhibitions, published a periodical, and established the first art school west of Chicago. The SFAA – which, by 1961, completed a long sequence ...

, and the California Society of Women Artists.

Death and legacy

Macky died on November 17, 1961, in San Francisco. She is buried in the Sunset View Cemetery in El Cerrito,

. Macky's work is included in public collections including the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

, the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

, and others.

References

External links

Reminiscences of Eric Spencer and Constance Macky: oral history transcript / Eric S. Macky; tape recorded interview conducted in 1954. Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, California, 1957: and related material, 1954-1957.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macky, Constance Jenkins 1883 births 1961 deaths 20th-century American women artists 20th-century Australian women artists Artists from Melbourne San Francisco Art Institute faculty Académie Julian alumni Artists from San Francisco Australian people of Scottish descent Australian emigrants to the United States National Gallery of Victoria Art School alumni