Joan Ivory Dukes (née Packham; 19 August 1903 – 25 September 1993) was a New Zealand artist and illustrator.

Early life and family

Dukes was born Joan Ivory Packham in Croydon near London on 19 August 1903 as the eldest child of Claude and Emma Elizabeth Packham. She attended the

Croydon School of Art Croydon College is a large further and higher education college located in Croydon, within the London Borough of Croydon. Its origins can be traced to a School of Art that was established in 1868, which subsequently merged with Croydon Polytechnic ...

and received an Arts and Crafts movement-influenced training. After moving to New Zealand, she married (Russell) Lowell Dukes on 6 June 1936 at St John's Church,

Dannevirke Dannevirke ( "Earthworks (archaeology), work of the Danes", a reference to Danevirke; mi, Taniwaka, lit= or ''Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua'', the area where the town is), is a rural service town in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the North Island, New ...

, and they first lived in

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

. In 1948 or 1949, the couple moved to St Kilda in Dunedin, and then to Christchurch in 1952.

Artistic career

Teaching

After her study at the Croydon School of Art, Packham worked as an art teacher there and in 1933 in Surrey. In addition to teaching drawing, she also taught illustration and the history of costume. In New Zealand during World War II, Dukes gave private art lessons.

Illustration, exhibitions and costume design

A series of her illustrations received commendation in 1926 and 1927 in the Competition of Industrial Designs from the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

, and while she was teaching in the United Kingdom she took commissions as an illustrator and costume designer. After moving to New Zealand, she initially struggled to find a market for her work. In 1937, she received critical success for an exhibition with the Auckland Society of Arts, and then the same in 1938 with 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 ...

in Wellington. After World War II, Dukes started illustrating for the ''

New Zealand School Journal The ''New Zealand School Journal'' is a periodical children's educational publication in New Zealand. Founded in 1907 by the Department of Education, it is one of the world's longest-running publications for children. Since 2013 it has been pub ...

''. In the 1970s, she designed for ballet: in 1973, costumes for '' Coppélia'' for the

Christchurch Town Hall The Christchurch Town Hall, since 2007 formally known as the Christchurch Town Hall of the Performing Arts, opened in 1972, is Christchurch, New Zealand's premier performing arts centre. It is located in the central city on the banks of the A ...

opening festival; and then in 1976, sets for the Southern Ballet's ''Coppélia''. From 1948, Dukes exhibited at the

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 ...

. In 1950, she exhibited at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. In 1983, Dukes had a retrospective exhibition at the Canterbury Society of Arts. Dukes designed and made her own wedding dress, which is now held in the collection of Puke Ariki in New Plymouth.

Death and legacy

Dukes died in Christchurch on 25 September 1993, a few weeks after her 100th birthday. Sixteen of her art works were bequeathed to the Christchurch Art Gallery in 1994, most of them illustrations featuring interesting characters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dukes, Joan 1903 births 1993 deaths People from Croydon Alumni of Croydon College British emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand painters New Zealand women painters People associated with the Canterbury Society of Arts 20th-century New Zealand women artists People from New Plymouth Artists from Christchurch New Zealand centenarians Women centenarians