Susanna White Wimperis (married name Susanna Joachim, 1842 – 3 February 1915) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

artist.

Early life

Wimperis was born in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, England, in 1842. She was fifth in a family of eight children born to Mary (née Morison) and Edmund Wimperis. Her father was a school drawing teacher and later a manager at a leadworks. Of her siblings,

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and ...

Frances Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the ...

(Fanny) and

Ann Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

(Jenny) also became artists. She and her sisters were members of the Naturalists Field Club, of which

Charles Kingsley Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the working ...

, of ''The Water Babies'' fame, was the leader.

Adult life

Wimperis specialised in botanical art, and exhibited with 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 ...

between 1868 and 1871. Wimperis emigrated to New Zealand in 1876 with her husband George Joachim and their two children,

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introd ...

and George. She continued to paint in New Zealand, expanding into landscapes and portraiture. She painted many scenes of the West Coast of the South Island, and of

Karitane The small town of Karitane is located within the limits of the city of Dunedin in New Zealand, 35 kilometres to the north of the city centre. Set in rolling country near the mouth of the Waikouaiti River, the town is a popular holiday retreat f ...

, near Dunedin. A large number of her works are held by the

Hocken Collections Hocken Collections (, formerly the Hocken Library) is a research library, historical archive, and art gallery based in Dunedin, New Zealand. Its library collection, which is of national significance, is administered by the University of Otago. Th ...

, Dunedin.

Legacy

In 2002, the Hocken Library (now known as Hocken Collections) staged an exhibition featuring the work of Wimperis and her two sisters, Fanny and Jenny, and her daughter Eleanor.

References

1842 births 1915 deaths Artists from Chester Artists from Dunedin 19th-century New Zealand artists English emigrants to New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand women artists {{NewZealand-artist-stub