Violet Emily Whiteman (née Sells; 24 December 1873 – 21 January 1952) was an English-born New Zealand artist. Her work is in the permanent collection of the
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 ...
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 ...
, New Zealand. Her paintings depict farm animals and pets, including foxes, dogs and horses.
Whiteman was born in
Guildford, Surrey
Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...
, England, in 1873. She studied art at Herkomer School in
Bushey
Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It had a population of 25,328 in the 2011 census, rising to 28,416 in the 2021 census, an increase of 12.19%. This makes Bushey the second most populated town ...
; she also studied anatomy at the London Veterinary College and took lessons from animal painters
William Frank Calderon
William Frank Calderon aka W. Frank Calderon (London 1865 – 21 April 1943), was a British painter of portraits, landscapes, figure subjects and sporting pictures. He was the third son of the painter and Keeper of the Royal Academy in Lond ...
and
Stanhope Forbes
Stanhope Alexander Forbes (18 November 1857 – 2 March 1947) was an Irish artist and a founding member of the influential Newlyn school of painters. He was often called 'the father of the Newlyn School'.
In 1926 she moved to New Zealand and settled near Whanganui and lived on a farm. She exhibited with the Wanganui Arts Society. She also accepted private commissions to paint clients' pets and prized animals, such as the racehorse Beau Le Havre.
Whiteman died in Whanganui on 21 January 1952, and her body was buried in Aramoho Cemetery.