Elva Lilian Bett (née Brown, 30 March 1918 – 6 December 2016) was a New Zealand artist, art historian and art gallery director. Her work is held in the

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

Biography

Bett was born Elva Lilian Brown in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, New Zealand, on 30 March 1918, the daughter of Lily May Marion Brown and Herbert Patrick Flowerdew Brown. In 1940, she became engaged to John James Bett, and the couple later married. An artist in her own right, Bett focused on painting and printmaking and considered herself a purist: "When all is said and done, I think there is a content in painting which goes beyond just the pictorial or the gimmicky or the adventuresome or the experimental". Bett was an artist member New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts and an honourable member New Zealand Print Council. In the 1960s, Bett was based in Wellington where she was a director at the Centre Gallery. In 1964 she curated an exhibition of women's art at the National Art Gallery, entitled ''A Room of One's Own: Women in New Zealand Art''. In 1968, Bett and her business partner Catherine Duncan opened the Bett-Duncan Gallery on Cuba Street, where they exhibited works of promising and established artists, and Bett held art classes. Early exhibitions included pottery by

Doreen Blumhardt Dame Vera Doreen Blumhardt (7 March 1914 – 17 October 2009) was a New Zealand potter, ceramicist and arts educator. Early life Vera Dorren Blumhardt was born on 7 March 1914 in Huanui in the North of New Zealand. Her parents were German- ...

and prints by

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and

Hamish Keith Hamish Henry Cordy Keith (born 15 August 1936) is a New Zealand writer, art curator, arts consultant and social commentator. Introduction Keith has been writing about and working with the arts in New Zealand for almost half a century. He has ...

. In 1976, Duncan left the gallery which subsequently became the Elva Bett Gallery. The gallery exhibited art by emerging artists such as

Tony Fomison Tony Fomison (12 July 1939 – 7 February 1990) was a notable artist in New Zealand. He was an important post-war visual artist in the country and influenced New Zealand art by incorporating elements of narrative and myth into contemporary a ...

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, and Allen Maddox. In the 1980s, Betts focus shifted from gallery work to writing and she went on to publish two books including ''Drawing and Painting: a complete study course for New Zealanders'' (1984). In the

1988 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1988 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

, Bett was awarded the

Queen's Service Medal The Queen's Service Medal is a medal awarded by the government of New Zealand to recognise and reward volunteer service to the community and also public service in elected or appointed public office. It was established in 1975 and is related to ...

for community service. She died in

Paraparaumu Paraparaumu () is a town in the south-western North Island of New Zealand. It lies on the Kapiti Coast, north of the nation's capital city, Wellington. Like other towns in the area, it has a partner settlement at the coast called Paraparaumu Bea ...

on 6 December 2016.

Publications

* ''Drawing and Painting: A Complete Study Course for New Zealanders''. Wellington: Reed, 1984. * ''New Zealand Art: A Modern Perspective''. Auckland: Reed Methuen, 1986.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bett, Elva 1918 births 2016 deaths Writers from Dunedin New Zealand non-fiction writers New Zealand art dealers Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal New Zealand women artists Artists from Dunedin