Ida Carey

Ida Harriet Carey (3 October 1891 – 23 August 1982) was a New Zealand artist and art teacher. She was born in Taonui, Manawatu, New Zealand, on 3 October 1891.[1]

Early life

Carey was born in Taonui in 1891, the daughter of Elizabeth Keeble and Richard Octavius Egerton Carey, a farmer.[1] The family moved to Tuhikaramea, near Hamilton, around 1910.[1]

Painting career

In 1921, the war artist Horace Moore-Jones saw Carey's work and encouraged her to study in Sydney under John Samuel Watkins, and Carey made several trips for tuition during the 1920s and 1930s.[1] In 1924, Carey was elected a member of the Royal Art Society of New South Wales, and her work featured regularly in their exhibitions.[1] In 1926, Bishop Cecil Cherrington commissioned Carey to paint a triptych in oils for the altar of his private chapel at St. Peter's Cathedral, Hamilton.[1] Carey's works were exhibited at the Canterbury Society of Arts' annual exhibitions in 1928 and 1932, and in 1937, Carey's painting titled Study, was included in the Royal British Colonial Exhibition, London.[1][2] In 1938, Carey was persuaded by her friend, fellow artist Frances Ellis, to travel to Sydney and study for six months under the tutelage of Italian painter Antonio Dattilo Rubbo.[3][1]

Carey was involved in a motor accident in 1963, and during her convalescence she was inspired to start a new art project - to find and paint every living Māori women who had a moko. [1] Carey spent the next decade travelling around the North Island finding subjects and painting their portraits, and many of the original paintings were deposited in local galleries and museums.[1] The work Amohia Tuhua, one of the first from the series, was joint winner of the 1968 Kelliher award for portraiture.[1] Carey completed over 100 portraits, including a portrait of Māori Queen Dame Te Atairangikaahu.[1][4]

Waikato Society of Arts

Carey and Adele Younghusband convened a public meeting in Hamilton in August 1934 which led to the establishment of the Waikato Society of Arts, born out of a desire to develop and encourage artists in the region, and to put on regular exhibitions.[5] Carey was involved with the society for almost 50 years, serving as president from 1945 to 1948 and 1952 to 1954, and became a life member in 1964.[1]

Teaching career

Carey was employed as an art teacher at Auckland Training College in 1930, and again at Hamilton High School from 1945 to 1949, before retiring from teaching in 1969.[1]

Death and legacy

A gallery at Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato is named after Cary - the Ida Carey Gallery.[6]

Playwright Campbell Smith wrote a play based on the life of Carey, titled Ada and I, which was performed in Hamilton in 2014.[7]

Ida Carey: A Contemporary Viewing, was a retrospective 2018 exhibition at Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato, featuring companion works by other New Zealand woman artists.[8]

References
  1. Mackay, Jamie. "Ida Harriet Carey". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  2. Crighton, Anna (2014). English, Colonial, Modern and Maori: The Changing Faces of the Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand, 1932-2002. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 39. ISBN 9781443871693.
  3. Kirker, Anne (1993). New Zealand women artists: A survey of 150 years. Craftsman House. pp. 79–81. ISBN 9789768097309.
  4. "Portrait Of Maori Queen Dame Te Atairangikaahu; Carey, Ida; Circa 1970; 1971/98/15 - Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato on NZMuseums". www.nzmuseums.co.nz. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  5. "Waikato Society of Arts - History of the WSA". www.wsa.org.nz. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  6. "Galleries - Waikato Museum". waikatomuseum.co.nz. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  7. Mather, Mike (5 June 2015). "Waikato artist celebrated on stage". Waikato Times. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  8. "Ida Carey: A Contemporary Viewing - Waikato Museum". waikatomuseum.co.nz. Retrieved 4 September 2018.

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