Viola Helen Macmillan Brown (16 November 1897 – 1981) was an artist 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.

Early life

Macmillan Brown was the younger of two daughters of

John Macmillan Brown John Macmillan Brown (5 May 1845 – 18 January 1935) was a Scottish-New Zealand academic, administrator and promoter of education for women. Brown was born in Irvine, the sixth child of Ann Brown and her husband, James Brown, a sea captain. J ...

, one of the founding professors of

Canterbury University College 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 ...

, and

Helen Connon Helen Connon ( 1860 – 22 February 1903) was an educational pioneer from Christchurch, New Zealand. She was the first woman in the British Empire to receive a university degree with honours. Early life Connon was born in Melbourne, in 1859 o ...

, the principal of

Christchurch Girls' High School Christchurch Girls' High School () in Christchurch, New Zealand, was established in 1877 and is the second oldest girls-only secondary school in the country, after Otago Girls' High School. History Christchurch Girls' High School was establishe ...

and first woman graduate with honours in the British Empire. She and her sister Millicent initially lived in a large

Fendalton Fendalton is a suburb of Christchurch, in the South Island of New Zealand. History Fendalton was originally known as Fendall Town, named after the original settler of the land, Walpole Chesshyre Fendall (1830–1913). Fendall emigrated fr ...

mansion. They were taught by a governess and also had lessons from their mother. However, when Macmillan Brown was five years old her mother died suddenly, and as a result, the girls were raised by their governess. Their father moved the family home to the hill suburb of Cashmere and, apart from her time spent overseas, Macmillan Brown lived there with him until his death.

Education

Around 1915, Macmillan Brown began studying at the

Canterbury College School of Art The Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury, located in the Ilam suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, was founded in 1882 as the Canterbury College School of Art. The school became a full department of the university in the ...

, and four years later moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

to study at the

Julian Ashton Art School The Julian Ashton Art School was established by Julian Ashton in 1890 as the "Academy Julian", (perhaps a reference to the Académie Julian in Paris) has been an influential art school in Australia. For a long time it was known as the Sydney Art ...

. Around 1922, Macmillan Brown went to England and studied art at 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 ...

and the

Heatherley School of Fine Art The Heatherley School of Fine Art is an independent art school in London. The school was named after Thomas Heatherley who took over as the school's principal from James Mathews Leigh (when it was named "Leigh's"). Founded in 1845, the school ...

in London. She also travelled to Italy and spent a year in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Career

Around 1927, Macmillan Brown was a founding member of a group of Canterbury artists known as

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 ...

. These were artists who wanted to move away from the traditions of the art world, and start a modernist movement. She exhibited and worked with The Group until 1936, when she left New Zealand. Her work was included in a 1947 retrospective exhibition by

. Macmillan Brown was a lifelong friend of the writer

Ngaio Marsh Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh ( ; 23 April 1895 – 18 February 1982) was a New Zealand mystery writer, writer. As a crime writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Marsh is known as one of the Detective fiction#Golden Age detective novel ...

(both grew up in the suburb of Cashmere). A sketch of Marsh by Macmillan Brown is held at the

Macmillan Brown Library The Macmillan Brown Library (also known by its Māori name ''Te Puna Rakahau o Macmillan Brown'') is a research library based in the New Zealand city of Christchurch. It is a library collection of national significance administered by the Univers ...

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 ...

, and an oil painting at the Ngaio Marsh House.

Personal life

After her father's death in 1935, Macmillan Brown left New Zealand and went to England to marry Antonio Notariello. Notariello was an Italian opera singer and although the pair had known each other for some years (Notariello had lived in Christchurch from 1923 to 1926), Macmillan Brown's father had not approved of a marriage between them. The couple married in

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

, England, in November 1936. They had two daughters, Antonietta and Felicity. Antonietta is a professor of piano at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

in London, and Felicity is a concert violinist. Notariello died in 1975.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macmillan Brown, Viola Helen 1897 births 1981 deaths 20th-century New Zealand painters Ilam School of Fine Arts alumni Artists from Christchurch Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art New Zealand women painters Julian Ashton Art School alumni People associated with The Group (New Zealand art) 20th-century New Zealand women painters