Betty Isaacs (2 September 1894 – 4 January 1971), (born Betty Lewis), was an Australian born, New Zealand sculptor, artist and textile designer.

Early life and education

Betty Isaacs was born on 2 September 1894 in

Hobart, Tasmania Hobart ( ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent (Tasmania), River Derwent, it is the southernmo ...

. The Lewis family faced hardships early in her life, including the death of her father when she was two. Her New Zealand born mother moved the family back to

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, where she later remarried. After her mother's death during Isaacs teenage years, she took on the responsibility of caring for her younger siblings. A spinal injury in her youth led her to seek medical treatment in

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, where she underwent a successful operation and later moved to live and work.

Career

Isaacs worked as a

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in New York, where she met her husband, Julius Isaacs, in 1921. He encouraged her to pursue her artistic ambitions. She studied at the Elverhøj Art Colony in New York,

Kunstgewerbeschule A Kunstgewerbeschule (English: ''School of Arts and Crafts'' or S''chool of Applied Arts'') was a type of vocational arts school that existed in German-speaking countries from the mid-19th century. The term Werkkunstschule was also used for the ...

(School of Arts and Crafts) in

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, and later studied and taught at the

Cooper Union School of Art The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-s ...

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, New York. Her design work included textiles and wallpapers characterized by bright colours and intricate patterns, often inspired by

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and natural scenes. After years in commercial design, Isaacs shifted her focus to

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

and discovered her passion for sculpture. She became a self-taught sculptor, creating expressive works in clay, stone, and wood, often depicting animals and human figures. She was a prolific creator and designed numerous textile and rug designs, drawings, sculptures and ceramics over her lifetime. Isaacs held her first solo exhibition in 1953 at the Hacker Gallery in New York and her work is held in many private collections worldwide.

Death and legacy

Betty Isaacs died on 4 January 1971 in New York City. Betty and Julius Isaacs were patrons of the arts and developed a significant personal art collection. Upon their deaths, their collection was bequeathed to the

National Art Gallery of New Zealand National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, consisting of over 200 items, primarily featuring Betty's sculptures and designs, as well as paintings by Julius and notable New Zealand artists.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaacs, Betty Created via preloaddraft New Zealand women artists 1894 births 1971 deaths Australian women artists People from Hobart Wallpaper manufacturers