Esther Studholme Hope (née Barker, 8 August 1885 – 16 July 1975) was a New Zealand artist.

Background

Hope was born in

Woodbury Woodbury may refer to: Geography Antarctica *Woodbury Glacier, a glacier on Graham Land, British Antarctic Territory Australia * Woodbury, Tasmania, a locality in Australia England * Woodbury, Bournemouth, an area in Dorset *Woodbury, East Devo ...

, New Zealand, on 8 August 1885. Her father was the farmer John Matthias Barker (1856–1933), the son of Dr Alfred Barker (1819–1873). Her grandfather, while trained as a doctor, was prominent as a photographer in colonial

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. Her mother was Emily Studholme (1863–1938), the daughter of the pioneering runholder Michael Studholme (1833–1886). Barker married Henry Norman Hope in 1919, and died on 16 July 1975.

Education

Hope's early education was at Miss Bowen's School in

. Her first art teachers included Captain Edwyn Temple and

Margaret Stoddart Margaret Olrog Stoddart (3 October 1865 – 10 December 1934) was a New Zealand artist. Early life and education Stoddart was born in Diamond Harbour, Canterbury, New Zealand in 1865, one of six children born to Mark Pringle Stoddart (181 ...

. After travelling to England, Hope's art education included attending the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

in London, receiving tuition from

Henry Tonks Henry Tonks, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, FRCS (9 April 1862 – 8 January 1937) was a British surgeon and later draughtsman and painter of figure subjects, chiefly interiors, and a Caricature, caricaturist. He became an influentia ...

John Peter Russell John Peter Russell (16 June 185830 April 1930) was an Australian impressionist painter. Born and raised in Sydney, Russell moved to Europe in his late teenage years to attend art school. There, he befriended fellow pupil Vincent van Gogh and ...

, and Ambrose McEvoy. While in London she also studied at the Chelsea College of Arts under Ernest Borough Johnson and Frank Spenlove-Spenlove.

Career

Hope is known for her watercolour paintings, specifically

gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouache h ...

s of

Mackenzie Country The Mackenzie Basin (), popularly and traditionally known as the Mackenzie Country, is an elliptical intermontane river basin, basin located in the Mackenzie District, Mackenzie and Waitaki Districts, near the centre of the South Island of Ne ...

. After completing her art education, Hope travelled around several European countries to paint. While in Brittany,

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

began and she was unable to return to England. Following her return she drove trucks between London docks and the city, before travelling to Malta to become a

Voluntary Aid Detachment The Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) was a voluntary unit of civilians providing nursing care for military personnel in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The most important periods of operation for these units we ...

(VAD). She returned to New Zealand in 1919 and began exhibiting her work there from 1920. After it had been decided to build a church at Lake Tekapo, Hope prepared some sketches for a church building in 1933 and these were given to an architect in Christchurch. The Church of the Good Shepherd opened in 1935. Internationally she exhibited at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

, the Salon in Paris, the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour, and the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour. In New Zealand Hope exhibited with: * Auckland Society of Arts *

Canterbury Society of Arts Centre of Contemporary Art (CoCA, formerly the Canterbury Society of Arts) is a curated art gallery in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand. The gallery is administered by the Canterbury Society of Arts (CSA) Charitable Trust. Quarte ...

between 1930–1950 * South Canterbury Arts Society in 1910 (including receiving first prize), 1920, 1953–1964 * New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts between 1933–1965 * Otago Art Society * and at the New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition, Dunedin, 1925–1926 She was represented by the several New Zealand galleries including:

Robert McDougall Art Gallery The Robert McDougall Art Gallery is a heritage building in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was designed by Edward Armstrong and it opened in 1932. It is a Category I heritage building listed with Heritage New Zealand and is located within the Chri ...

, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, and Aigantighe Art Gallery in Timaru. Her work is held in the collection of the

Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, commonly known as the Christchurch Art Gallery, is the public art gallery of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It has its own substantial art collection and also presents a programme of New ...

and 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 ...

Background

Education

Career

References

Further reading