Jean Alice Horsley (15 February 1913 – 21 August 1997) was a New Zealand artist.
Her work is held in the permanent collection of the
Auckland City Art Gallery
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions.
Set be ...
.
Career
Horsley attended the
Elam School of Fine Art at the
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
, and in 1934 traveled to the United Kingdom to study at London's
Chelsea School of Art
Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England.
It offers further and higher education courses in fine art, graphic design, interior design, produ ...
.
She returned to New Zealand due to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and trained as a physical therapist.
She continued her interest in sketching and painting, taking lessons from
Colin McCahon
Colin John McCahon (; 1August 191927May 1987) was a New Zealand artist whose work over 45 years consisted of various styles, including landscape, figuration, abstraction, and the overlay of painted text. Along with Toss Woollaston and Rita Angus ...
and through summer schools.
Following the end of the war, Horsley traveled to Japan, South Africa, and the USA. She moved to London in 1961 for seven years, and then to New York, where she stayed for fifteen years. During this time she continued to paint and exhibit.
In 1981, Horsley returned to New Zealand and settled in
Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
.
Horsley's paintings are abstract in style,
often working in oils or watercolor. She was influenced heavily by the work of the
abstract expressionists
Abstract expressionism in the United States emerged as a distinct art movement in the aftermath of World War II and gained mainstream acceptance in the 1950s, a shift from the American social realism of the 1930s influenced by the Great Depressi ...
,
especially artists whose work she was exposed to while in New York, including
Philip Guston
Philip Guston (born Phillip Goldstein, June 27, 1913 – June 7, 1980) was a Canadian American painter, printmaker, muralist and draftsman. "Guston worked in a number of artistic modes, from Renaissance-inspired figuration to formally accomplis ...
,
Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko ( ; Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz until 1940; September 25, 1903February 25, 1970) was an American abstract art, abstract painter. He is best known for his color field paintings that depicted irregular and painterly rectangular reg ...
,
Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning ( , ; April 24, 1904 – March 19, 1997) was a Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist. Born in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, he moved to the United States in 1926, becoming a US citizen in 1962. In 1943, he married pa ...
,
Robert Motherwell
Robert Motherwell (January 24, 1915 – July 16, 1991) was an American Abstract Expressionism, abstract expressionist Painting, painter, printmaker, and editor of ''The Dada Painters and Poets: an Anthology''. He was one of the youngest of th ...
, and
Helen Frankenthaler
Helen Frankenthaler (December 12, 1928 – December 27, 2011) was an American abstract expressionist painter. She was a major contributor to the history of postwar American painting. Having exhibited her work for over six decades (early 1950s u ...
.
Notable works by Horsley include: ''Maori Mere.''
In the
1996 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1996 were appointments by most of the sixteen 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 c ...
, Horsley was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
, for services to art.
Exhibitions
Horsley exhibited regularly with the Auckland Society of the Arts between 1935 and 1938, and was included alongside M. Rainier and
Freda Simmonds
Alfreda "Freda" Simmonds (1912–1983) was a painter from New Zealand.
Career
Simmonds studied at the University of Auckland. At the end of World War II, Simmonds moved to Kaitaia, in the north of New Zealand, and developed an interest in pai ...
in the 1957 exhibition ''Three Women Painters''. She also held a shared exhibition with
Louise Henderson
Dame Louise Etiennette Sidonie Henderson (née Sauze, 21 April 1902 – 27 June 1994) was a French-New Zealand artist and painter.
Life
Louise Etiennette Sidonie Sauze was born on 21 April 1902 at Boulogne-Billancourt, Boulogne sur Seine, P ...
at the New Vision Gallery in 1966.
She exhibited with the
Rutland Group, an organisation formed by students from the Elam School of Fine Art and
The Group
The Group may refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Group'' (Australian TV series), 1971 situation comedy produced by Cash Harmon Television for ATN7
* ''The Group'' (Canadian TV series), 1968–70 music variety on CBC Television
* ''The Group ...
, an informal art association from
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 ...
, New Zealand, formed to provide a freer alternative to the
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 ...
. She contributed works to multiple exhibitions by
The Group
The Group may refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Group'' (Australian TV series), 1971 situation comedy produced by Cash Harmon Television for ATN7
* ''The Group'' (Canadian TV series), 1968–70 music variety on CBC Television
* ''The Group ...
including in: 1955; 1957; and 1960.
During her time in England, Horsley exhibited alongside fellow expatriates
Ralph Hotere
Hone Papita Raukura "Ralph" Hotere (11 August 1931 – 24 February 2013) was a New Zealand artist. He was born in Mitimiti, Northland Region, Northland and is widely regarded as one of New Zealand's most important artists. In 1994 he was award ...
,
Bill Culbert
William Franklin Culbert (23 January 1935 – 28 March 2019) was a New Zealand artist, notable for his use of light in painting, photography, sculpture and installation work, as well as his use of found and recycled materials.
He was born in ...
, and Ted Bulmore.
In 1997 a retrospective exhibit of Horsley's work entitled, ''Seize the Day: A Tribute to Jean Horsley'', was held at the
Auckland City Art Gallery
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions.
Set be ...
.
References
Further reading
Artist files for Horsley are held at:
Angela Morton Collection, Takapuna LibraryE. H. McCormick Research Library, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o TāmakiRobert and Barbara Stewart Library and Archives, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o WaiwhetuFine Arts Library, University of AucklandHocken Collections Uare Taoka o HākenaTe Aka Matua Research Library, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaAlso see:
Concise Dictionary of New Zealand ArtistsMcGahey, Kate (2000) Gilt Edge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horsley, Jean
1913 births
1997 deaths
New Zealand painters
New Zealand women artists
Alumni of Chelsea College of Arts
Elam Art School alumni
New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People associated with the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
People associated with the Rutland Group
University of Auckland alumni
People associated with the Auckland Society of Arts
People associated with The Group (New Zealand art)