Jane Stowe (née Greenwood; 18 April 1838 – 5 November 1931) was a New Zealand artist.

Biography

Stowe was born on 18 April 1838, the third daughter of

John Danforth Greenwood Sarah Greenwood (née Field; 13 December 1889) was a New Zealand artist, letter-writer and teacher. Biography She was born in Lambeth, Surrey, England, in about 1809. Her letters and drawings of her experiences depict pioneer life in Nelson, ...

and Sarah Greenwood (née Field), and baptised on 25 May 1838 at

St Mark's Church, Kennington St Mark's Church, Kennington, is an Anglican church on Kennington Park Road in Kennington, London, United Kingdom, near Oval tube station. The church is a Commissioners' church, receiving a grant from the Church Building Commission towards its ...

, London, England. The family migrated to New Zealand on the ''Phoebe'', departing

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...

on 16 November 1842 and arriving in Nelson on 29 March the following year. John Danforth Greenwood was ship's surgeon on the voyage and, as such, gained free passage for his family. Finding that their balloted section in Nelson was swampy, they soon settled at Motueka. On 31 May 1871, she married Leonard Stowe, son of William Stowe, at

Christ Church Cathedral, Nelson Christ Church Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in upper Trafalgar Street, Nelson, New Zealand with seating for 350 people. It is 58 metres in length and 27 metres wide. The tower is 35 metres high. History The original church was erected in ...

. They had two sons and two daughters. They lived at Tiakiwai House in Wellington for many years. Stowe was exhibited with the Fine Arts Association, Wellington, from 1883 to 1884, the

New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts The New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts (also referred to as the Wellington Art Society) was founded in Wellington in July 1882 as The Fine Arts Association of New Zealand. Founding artists included painters William Beetham (first president of the Ass ...

from 1889 to 1931, and the

Melbourne Centennial Exhibition The Melbourne Centennial Exhibition was organised to celebrate a century of European settlement in Australia. The Exhibition Building, constructed in 1880 for the Melbourne International Exhibition, was extended and reused. The Centennial Exhib ...

in 1888. In 1885, she was award third place in hand-painted screen bellows, and first place in hand-painted doors at the

New Zealand Exhibition The New Zealand Exhibition held in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1865 was a world's fair visited by 31250 people. It was the first world's fair held in New Zealand. It opened on 12 January and ran until 6 May 1865. Organisation Following the Bazaar ...

. In the 1887 Wellington Art Exhibition, she won a prize for hand-painted door panels. She continued painting and exhibited up until her death, and was recorded in 1928, at 91 years of age, selling ''Afternoon, Wellington Harbour'' at the Academy of Fine Arts exhibition. Several of Stowe's watercolours are in the

Alexander Turnbull Library The National Library of New Zealand ( mi, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) is New Zealand's legal deposit library charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (''Nat ...

. Stowe died in Wellington on 5 November 1931, at the age of 93, and was buried in the

Bolton Street Cemetery Bolton Street Memorial Park, formerly known as Bolton Street Cemetery, is the oldest cemetery in Wellington, New Zealand. Dating back to 1840, many notable people are buried here. Situated in the suburb of Thorndon, New Zealand, Thorndon, the Well ...

. She had been predeceased by her husband, Leonard Stowe, in 1920. Her daughter Emily Muriel Lysaght, also an artist, was the mother of Averil Lysaght and Muriel Mary Lysaght.

References

External links

Stowe, Jane, 1838?–1931: Mokoia home garden ()

Tiakiwai House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stowe, Jane 1838 births 1931 deaths British emigrants to New Zealand People from Motueka New Zealand artists New Zealand women artists Greenwood family of New Zealand Burials at Bolton Street Cemetery