Margaret Stoddart
| Margaret Stoddart | |
|---|---|
| Born | 3 October 1865 Diamond Harbour, New Zealand |
| Died | 10 December 1934 (aged 69) Hanmer Springs, New Zealand |
| Nationality | New Zealander |
| Education | University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts, Christchurch |
| Known for | botanical painting |
Margaret Olrog Stoddart (3 October 1865 – 10 December 1934) was a New Zealand artist.
Stoddart was born in Diamond Harbour, Canterbury, New Zealand in 1865, one of six children born to Mark Pringle Stoddart (1819-1885) and Anna Barbara (née Schjott). Her grandfather (Mark Stoddart's father) was Admiral Pringle Stoddart a famous British Royal Navy officer. Her uncle was the Scottish poet Thomas Tod Stoddart. The family moved back to Scotland in 1876, and Stoddart attended Edinburgh Ladies' College there. When she was 14 her family returned to New Zealand, moving to Fendalton in Christchurch.
When the Canterbury College School of Art (now known as the Ilam School of Fine Arts) opened in 1882, she enrolled, completing her studies in 1890. She was awarded the Second Grade Full Certificate. During this period she became a member of the Palette Club, an association of artists who were committed to working from nature.
Stoddart began establishing a reputation as one of the country's foremost flower painters, and in 1885 was elected to the council of the Canterbury Society of Arts. In 1886 and 1891 she visited friends in the Chatham Islands. Her travels were recorded in an album which was later presented to the Canterbury Museum.
Respected institutions began buying her work. In 1885 the Canterbury Society of Arts bought two of her flower paintings for its permanent collection. In 1890, 12 of her botanical paintings were acquired by the Canterbury Museum. She also exhibited at the Auckland Society of Arts in 1892. In 1894 she travelled to Melbourne, where with support from Ellis Rowan, the Australian flower painter, she held a successful exhibition.
Around 1898 Stoddart sailed for England. She stayed in London before moving to live at St Ives in Cornwall, at the time hosting a colony of artists. She spent over nine years painting in Europe, living not only in England, but also France and Italy. Shortly after her arrival, in 1898 or 1899, she went to Norway. She visited France and spent almost a year in Italy in 1905/06. She took lessons from Norman Garstin, Louis Grier and Charles Lasal amongst others and was strongly influenced by the Impressionist movement.
...
Wikipedia