Joan Grehan (5 January 1920 – 25 November 2007) was a New Zealand artist. Grehan was born Joan Greenwood Brodie in 1920 in

Whanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is ...

. Her parents were Archibald Douglas Brodie and Marjorie Gascoyne Greenwood, who married in 1916. Grehan attended

Whanganui Girls' College Whanganui Girls' College is located in Jones Street Whanganui near the Dublin Street Bridge. The school is one of the oldest single sex educational facilities in New Zealand, founded in 1891. Enrolment As of , Whanganui Girls' College has a ro ...

and studied fine art at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

, then later at the

Camberwell College of Arts Camberwell College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. The college offers further and higher education programmes, including postgraduate and PhD awards. ...

in London. While at Canterbury she studied under noted Christchurch artists Cecil F. Kelly and Archibald Nicholl. She lived and worked overseas for 30 years in Australia, Cyprus, Uganda, Lebanon, Italy and France before returning to New Zealand in 1983. Grehan moved to Australia with her first husband Don Oldfield, and then to other countries with her second husband Michel Grehan, a water engineer in the

British colonial service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

and later in the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation. From 1954 to 1958, Grehan worked as a portrait painter in Cyprus during the

British occupation The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts establishe ...

there, and from 1958 to 1963 she lived in

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

. In 1963 Grehan moved to

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

for two years, before spending ten years (1965 to 1975) in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Grehan studied ceramics under Alfredo Galicamo, specialising in modelling mythical beasts and figures. In 1975 she set up a ceramics studio near

Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne (, literally ''Beaulieu on Dordogne (river), Dordogne''; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Corrèze Departments of France, department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regions of France, region, central France. Beaulieu is ...

where she lived until 1983, when she moved to the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for ...

. Grehan moved to Whanganui in 1996 after the death of her second husband Michel. Grehan took on the role of vice-president of the Whanganui Art Society, and was a mentor to young artists. Much of Grehan's art was about women, and often featured symbols linked to nature, wisdom and sensuality. Grehan died suddenly from a stroke in 2007, at age 87. In 2014, the Joan Grehan Estate gifted 462 of her works to the Sarjeant collection. She is regarded as one of the most significant Whanganui artists since

Edith Collier Edith Marion Collier (28 March 1885 – 12 December 1964) was an early modern painter from New Zealand. Biography Brought up and educated in Whanganui, Collier received a thorough although conservative art education studying at the Technical S ...

. Grehan's works are held in the collections of

Sarjeant Gallery The Sarjeant Gallery at Pukenamu, Queen's Park Whanganui is a regional art museum with a collection of international and New Zealand art. It was closed for 10 years for redevelopment and re-opened on Saturday 9 November 2024. In 2024 it was anno ...

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki 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 ...

, and

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 ...

References

1920 births 2007 deaths New Zealand women painters Artists from Whanganui {{NewZealand-painter-stub