Esther Studholme Hope (née Barker, 8 August 1885 – 16 July 1975) was a New Zealand artist.

Background

Hope was born in Woodbury, New Zealand, on 8 August 1885. Her father was the farmer John Matthias Barker (1856–1933), the son of Dr Alfred Barker (1819–1873). Her grandfather, while trained as a doctor, was prominent as a photographer in colonial

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. Her mother was Emily Studholme (1863–1938), the daughter of the pioneering runholder

Michael Studholme John Studholme (1829–1903) was a 19th-century British pioneer of New Zealand, farmer and politician in the Canterbury region of New Zealand.Mosley, vol.3 p. 2803 Early life John Studholme was born in 1829 the son of John Studholme, a landowne ...

(1833–1886). Barker married Henry Norman Hope on 26 May 1920 at Woodbury, and died on 16 July 1975.

Education

Hope's early education was at Miss Bowen's School in

. Her first art teachers included Captain Edwyn Temple and Margaret Stoddart. After travelling to England, Hope's art education included attending the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

in London, receiving tuition from

Henry Tonks Henry Tonks, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, FRCS (9 April 1862 – 8 January 1937) was a British surgeon and later draughtsman and painter of figure subjects, chiefly interiors, and a Caricature, caricaturist. He became an influentia ...

, John Peter Russell, and

Ambrose McEvoy Arthur Ambrose McEvoy (12 August 1877 – 4 January 1927) was an English artist. His early works are landscapes and interiors with figures, in a style influenced by James McNeill Whistler. Later he gained success as a portrait painter, mainly o ...

. While in London she also studied at the

Chelsea College of Arts Chelsea College of Arts is a Colleges of the University of the Arts London, constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. It offers further education, further and higher educ ...

under Ernest Borough Johnson and Frank Spenlove-Spenlove.

Career

Hope is known for her watercolour paintings, specifically

gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouach ...

s of

Mackenzie Country The Mackenzie Basin (), popularly and traditionally known as the Mackenzie Country, is an elliptical intermontane basin located in the Mackenzie and Waitaki Districts, near the centre of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest su ...

. After completing her art education, Hope travelled around several European countries to paint. While in Brittany,

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

began and she was unable to return to England. Following her return she drove trucks between London docks and the city, before travelling to Malta to become a

Voluntary Aid Detachment The Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) was a voluntary unit of civilians providing nursing care for military personnel in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The most important periods of operation for these units we ...

(VAD). She returned to New Zealand in 1919 and began exhibiting her work there from 1920. After it had been decided to build a church at

Lake Tekapo Lake Tekapo () is the second-largest of three roughly parallel lakes running north–south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island of New Zealand (the others are Lake Pukaki and Lake Ōhau). It covers an area of and ...

, Hope prepared some sketches for a church building in 1933 and these were given to an architect in Christchurch. The Church of the Good Shepherd opened in 1935. Internationally she exhibited at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

, the Salon in Paris, the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour, and the

Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW) is a Scottish art society established in 1878. The current patron is Charles III. It is a registered charity based in Glasgow and holds an annual exhibition. The first preliminary meeting ...

. In New Zealand Hope exhibited with: * Auckland Society of Arts *

Canterbury Society of Arts Centre of Contemporary Art (CoCA, formerly the Canterbury Society of Arts) is a curated art gallery in the centre of Christchurch, New Zealand. The gallery is governed by the Canterbury Society of Arts Charitable Trust. History The Canterbu ...

between 1930–1950 * South Canterbury Arts Society in 1910 (including receiving first prize), 1920, 1953–1964 * New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts between 1933–1965 * Otago Art Society * and at the

New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition The New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition was a world's fair held in Dunedin, New Zealand, from 17 November 1925 until 1 May 1926, celebrating New Zealand and the South Seas. It was the third such exhibition held in Dunedin, with ...

, Dunedin, 1925–1926 She was represented by the several New Zealand galleries including:

Robert McDougall Art Gallery The Robert McDougall Art Gallery is a heritage building in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was designed by Edward Armstrong and it opened in 1932. It is a Category I heritage building listed with Heritage New Zealand and is located within the Chr ...

Dunedin Public Art Gallery The Dunedin Public Art Gallery holds the main public art collection of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located in The Octagon in the heart of the city, it is close to the city's public library, Dunedin Town Hall, and other facilities such as ...

, and Aigantighe Art Gallery in

Timaru Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to peo ...

. Her work is held in the collection of the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu and the

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa ( Māori for ' the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum of New Zealand ...

Background

Education

Career

References

Further reading