Esther Studholme Hope (née Barker, 8 August 1885 – 16 July 1975) was a New Zealand artist.

Background

Hope was born in Woodbury, New Zealand, on 8 August 1885. ^{[1] [2] [3]} Her father was the farmer John Matthias Barker (1856–1933), the son of Dr Alfred Barker (1819–1873). Her grandfather, while trained as a doctor, was prominent as a photographer in colonial Christchurch. Her mother was Emily Studholme (1863–1938), the daughter of the pioneering runholder Michael Studholme (1833–1886). ^[4]

Barker married Henry Norman Hope in 1919, ^[5] and died on 16 July 1975. ^[3]

Education

Hope's early education was at Miss Bowen's School in Christchurch. Her first art teachers included Captain Edwyn Temple and Margaret Stoddart. ^[6] After travelling to England, Hope's art education included attending the Slade School of Fine Art in London, receiving tuition from Henry Tonks, John Peter Russell, and Ambrose McEvoy. ^[7] While in London she also studied at the Chelsea College of Arts under Ernest Borough Johnson and Frank Spenlove-Spenlove. ^[6]

Career

Hope is known for her watercolour paintings, specifically gouaches of Mackenzie Country. ^[6]

After completing her art education, Hope travelled around several European countries to paint. While in Brittany, World War I began and she was unable to return to England. Following her return she drove trucks between London docks and the city, before travelling to Malta to become a Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD). She returned to New Zealand in 1919 and began exhibiting her work there from 1920. ^[5] After it had been decided to build a church at Lake Tekapo, Hope prepared some sketches for a church building in 1933 and these were given to an architect in Christchurch. The Church of the Good Shepherd opened in 1935. ^[8]

Internationally she exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, the Salon in Paris, the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour, and the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour. ^{[7] [5]} In New Zealand Hope exhibited with:

• Auckland Society of Arts ^[9]
• Canterbury Society of Arts ^[10] between 1930–1950 ^[5]
• South Canterbury Arts Society in 1910 (including receiving first prize), 1920, 1953–1964 ^[5]
• New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts ^{[11] [12]} between 1933–1965 ^[5]
• Otago Art Society ^[13]
• and at the New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition, Dunedin, 1925–1926 ^{[14] [15]}

She was represented by the several New Zealand galleries including: Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, and Aigantighe Art Gallery in Timaru. ^[6]

Her work is held in the collection of the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu ^[16] and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. ^[17]

References

Further reading

Artist files for Esther Studholme Hope are held at:

• E. H. McCormick Research Library, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
• Hocken Collections Uare Taoka o Hākena
• Te Aka Matua Research Library, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Also see:

• Concise Dictionary of New Zealand Artists, McGahey, Kate (2000) Gilt Edge
• Landscape Paintings of New Zealand Johnstone, Christopher (2013) Random House