Margot Leonie Luise Philips (5 April 1902 – 30 December 1988) was a New Zealand painter. Her artworks are held in the collections of

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 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 ...

Early life

Philips was born to a Jewish family in

Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...

, Germany, the youngest of five children. Philips' father died while she was young, and by the early 1920s she was living at home to support her mother. Her parents died shortly after

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 ...

, and Philips left Germany in 1935 to live in London, before travelling in 1958 to New Zealand to follow her brother Kurt Philips and his wife Trude, who opened Hamilton's first European-style restaurant, Vienna Cafe. The restaurant was known for its potato salad, eel, goulash and good coffee. The family faced discrimination when

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 ...

broke out, as they were classified as "

enemy alien In customary international law, an enemy alien is any alien native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secur ...

s" and required to report weekly to the police. Philips worked in the restaurant upon her arrival in New Zealand, and through waiting tables Philips became friends with Te Puea Herangi (Princess Te Puea).

Career

Philips took drawing classes at Hamilton's Technical School and the

Workers' Educational Association Workers' Educational Associations (WEA) are not-for-profit bodies that deliver further education to adults in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. WEA UK WEA UK, founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult edu ...

, and then took summer school art courses at Ardmore Teachers' Training College. She also took classes at

Auckland 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 ...

's summer school, where

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 ...

mentored and taught her. Philips' works focused mostly on her visualisation of the

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

landscape. Philips exhibited widely in New Zealand, including: * ''Contemporary New Zealand Painting and Sculpture 1962'' at the Auckland Art Gallery (1962). This group show toured other New Zealand centres during 1963. * ''Manawatu Prize for Contemporary Art 1967'', with Gretchen Albrecht,

Milan Mrkusich Milan Mrkusich (5 April 1925 – 13 June 2018) was a New Zealand artist and designer. He was considered a pioneer of abstract painting in New Zealand. Retrospective exhibitions of his work were organised by the Auckland Art Gallery in 1972 and 19 ...

, Stanley Palmer,

Michael Smither Michael Duncan Smither (born 29 October 1939) is a New Zealand painter and composer. Background Smither was born in New Plymouth and was educated at New Plymouth Boys' High School and Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland. While studying he worke ...

Gordon Walters Gordon Frederick Walters (24 September 1919 – 5 November 1995) was a Wellington-born artist and graphic designer who is significant to New Zealand culture due to his representation of New Zealand in his Modern Abstract artworks. Education G ...

Claire Jennings Clair or Claire may refer to: People and fictional characters * Claire (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Clair or Claire * Clair (surname), a list of people with the surname Clair or Claire Pla ...

, Mary Le Vaillant, Valda Main, Irene O'Neill,

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 ...

Julia van Helden Julia may refer to: People *Julia (given name), including a list of people with the name *Julia (surname), including a list of people with the name *Julia gens, a patrician family of Ancient Rome *Julia (clairvoyant) (fl. 1689), lady's maid of Qu ...

Hildegard Wieck Hildegard is a female name derived from the Old High German ''hild'' ('war' or 'battle') and ''gard'' ('enclosure' or 'yard'), and means 'battle enclosure'. Variant spellings include: Hildegarde; the Polish, Portuguese, Slovene and Spanish Hild ...

, and others at the Palmerston North Art Gallery (1967). * ''The Paintings of Margot Philips: A Waikato Art Museum Exhibition'' at the

Waikato Museum Waikato Museum () is a regional museum located in Hamilton, New Zealand. The museum manages ArtsPost, a shop and gallery space for New Zealand art and design. Both are managed by the Hamilton City Council. Outside the museum is ''The Tongue of ...

, a major retrospective of her works (1983). * ''Margot Philips – Her Own World'', a special exhibition at the opening of the

Waikato Museum of Art and History Waikato Museum () is a regional museum located in Hamilton, New Zealand. The museum manages ArtsPost, a shop and gallery space for New Zealand art and design. Both are managed by the Hamilton City Council. Outside the museum is ''The Tongue of ...

in October 1987. This exhibition was held in a gallery that was later named for her – the Margot Philips Gallery.

Death and legacy

Philips died on 30 December 1988, and a service was held at Hamilton Park Cemetery at Newstead. Playwright Campbell Smith wrote a play based on Philips' life, titled ''This Green Land: Margot Philips – Painter,'' which drew on his memories of his own friendship with Philips, plus an interview with Tim Walker (then curator of fine arts at

) from 1987. The play was first performed in 2002 at Hamilton's Fuel Festival, directed by Alec Forbes, and in July 2009 a production, also directed by Forbes and starring Maria Eaton and Renee Casserley, was staged at the Waikato Museum to honour the 75th anniversary of the Waikato Society of Arts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philips, Margot 1902 births 1988 deaths People from Duisburg New Zealand painters New Zealand women painters German emigrants to New Zealand Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom