Dame Vera Doreen Blumhardt (7 March 1914 – 17 October 2009) 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 ...

potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US * Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska * Potters, New Je ...

ceramicist Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. Whi ...

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-born David Blumhardt and Wilhelmina Elisabeth Magdalene Hartdegen who ran a small farm near Whangarei. Blumhardt attended Whangarei High School and studied the violin. She had a keen interest in drawing and watercolours and went on to study at the Canterbury College of Art in Christchurch. From 1937, she attended a teacher training programme at Christchurch Teachers' Training College and studied German and education at Canterbury University College.

Career

in 1940, Blumhardt began her teaching career at Nelson Central School. After acting as interim head of the art department at the Christchurch Teachers' Training College, Blumhardt took up the newly created position of National Art and Craft Adviser to implement an arts and craft programme for primary schools in New Zealand. In this role, she developed a national teacher training course and travelled to Europe to develop as an arts educator, attending at the UNESCO arts and crafts education conference in Paris and staying at the Brighton College of Art. In 1951, Blumhardt was appointed the head of the Art Department of

Wellington College of Education Wellington College of Education (formerly Wellington Teachers' Training College) was established in 1888 with the purpose of educating teachers in New Zealand. It became the Faculty of Education of Victoria University of Wellington, formed from th ...

, a position she held for over 20 years. In the 1950s, in addition to her works in watercolour, printing and weaving, Blumhardt developed an interest in ceramics, experimenting with different methods and becoming a prominent member of the New Zealand Society of Potters. After she retired, Blumhardt focused on her pottery career, holding her first solo exhibition at the Dowse Gallery. In 1957, she participated in New Zealand's first national pottery exhibition along with fifteen other potters. Blumhardt's works are included in many overseas galleries and institutions, including the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

in London and the Museo Gaccia in Switzerland as well as in her home nation of

. A retrospective of her works was displayed at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts in 1991. In the 1970s, Blumhardt took up writing; she collaborated with

Brian Brake John Brian Brake (27 June 1927 – 4 August 1988) was a photographer from New Zealand. Biography Born in Wellington, New Zealand, Brake was the adopted son of John Samuel Brake and his wife Jennie Brake (née Chiplin). He was raised initially at ...

on ''New Zealand Potters: Their Work and Words'' (1976) and ''Craft New Zealand, the Art of the Craftsman'' (1981), the latter won the Watties Book of the Year award. Blumhardt also founded and ran the '' New Zealand Potter'' magazine together with Helen Mason. Blumhardt travelled extensively and collected pottery from countries including Japan and Mexico. She was instrumental to international potters including Takeichi Kawai and

Bernard Leach Bernard Howell Leach (5 January 1887 – 6 May 1979), was a British studio potter and art teacher. He is regarded as the "Father of British studio pottery". Biography Early years (Japan) Leach was born in Hong Kong. His mother Eleanor (née ...

exhibiting in New Zealand. In later years, Blumhardt completed a series of large commissions, including the Richard Byrd Memorial in Wellington in 1992, the tiles of which depict the

Aurora Australis An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of br ...

. In 2003, Blumhardt founded the Blumhardt Foundation to foster, support, collect, and display the best examples of decorative arts and design in New Zealand. Every year, the Foundation,

The Dowse Art Museum The Dowse Art Museum is a municipal art gallery in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. Opening in 1971 in the Lower Hutt CBD, The Dowse occupies a stand-alone building adjacent to other municipal facilities. The building was completely remodelled in 2 ...

, and

Creative New Zealand The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government, investing in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes and developing markets ...

offer a Cultural Internship, providing opportunities for artists to nurture curatorial interest and expertise in the areas of decorative arts and design.

Honours

In the

1981 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1981 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 ...

, Blumhardt was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to art, especially pottery. In the same year, she was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in London. Ten years later she was awarded an honorary doctorate in literature by Victoria University of Wellington. In 2003, Blumhardt received a

Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

for services to pottery and art education. She was made a

Member of the Order of New Zealand The Order of New Zealand is the highest honour in the New Zealand royal honours system, created "to recognise outstanding service to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity". It was instituted by royal warrant on 6 F ...

in the

2007 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2007 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hono ...

. In 2009, two months before her death, Blumhardt accepted the redesigned title of

Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

following the restoration of titular honours by the New Zealand government.Special Honours List, 1 August 2009
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet; retrieved 1 June 2013.

Death

Dame Vera Doreen Blumhardt died on 17 October 2009, aged 95.Dates of birth and death of Dame Doreen Blumhardt
tributes.co.nz; accessed 16 July 2015.

Publications

* Blumhardt D, (1976): ''New Zealand potters : their work and words'', Wellington, Reed * Blumhardt D., Brake B. (1981): ''Craft New Zealand : the art of the craftsman'', New York, Universe * Blumhardt D. (1991): ''Education through art'', Wellington, Wellington College of Education * McLeod M., Brake B.; Bumhardt D. (1991): ''Doreen Blumhardt: teacher & potter'', Wellington, Daphne Brasell Associates Press

References

External links

Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Obit for Dame Doreen BlumhardtNew Zealand Herald obituary for Dame Doreen BlumhardtBlumhardt profile at ''Te Papa''Blumhardt Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blumhardt, Doreen 1914 births 2009 deaths New Zealand potters New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit Members of the Order of New Zealand New Zealand people of German descent People from Wellington City Women potters 20th-century ceramists New Zealand women ceramicists