Dorothy Kate Richmond
Encyclopedia
Dorothy Kate Richmond was a New Zealand
painter
noted for her watercolor paintings of natural plants and animals and panoramic landscapes.
and Mary Smith, Dorothy Richmond was born on 12 September 1861 at Parnell, Auckland. She was the third of five children and her young childhood was unsettled. The family moved to Nelson in 1862 where her father had become the editor of the Nelson Examiner but moved to the Taranaki district after the sudden death of Dorothy's mother in 1865. Her father was often away from home and she and her siblings were farmed out to relatives before the family moved back to Nelson in around 1869.
Richmond attended Miss Bell's Young Ladies' College in Nelson and her interest in art was encouraged by her father who passed on his love of drawing and painting to her. She was taken with her two elder siblings to Europe by her father in 1873 and continued her drawing lessons. She attended Bedford College for women in London and also began attending the Slade School of Fine Art where she worked under Alphonse Legros. By June 1880 her work gained her a Slade Scholarship.
In the early 1880s she returned to New Zealand to keep house for her father before being appointed the art mistress at the newly opened Nelson College for Girls
in 1883.
Richmond exhibited with the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts from 1885 and then travelled to Europe and returning back and forth and continuing to study and paint seriously. By 1890 she had become an artist member of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts
and by 1896 was studying with James Nairn
.
She became financially independent after the death of her father in 1898 and she again travelled to Europe to paint. She met Frances Hodgkins
in 1901 and travelled with her in France and Italy before returning to New Zealand together in December 1903. [1] . Hodgkins described Richmond as "the dearest woman with the most beautiful face and expression. I am a lucky beggar to have her as a travelling companion." [2]
Richmond and Hodgkins remained close partners and rented a studio together in Bowen Street, Wellington where they also took on private pupils. Richmond keep the studio on after Hodgkins returned to Europe in 1906 and continued to develop her reputation as an art teacher. From around 1909 to 1924 she held classes at Fitzherbert Terrace School also known as the Samuel Marsden Collegiate School.
Richmond was a Council Member of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts
from 1904 and was honoured with a life membership in 1928. She never married and died in Wellington on 16 April 1935.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
noted for her watercolor paintings of natural plants and animals and panoramic landscapes.
Biography
The daughter of James Crowe RichmondJames Crowe Richmond
James Crowe Richmond was a New Zealand politician, engineer, and an early painter in watercolours of the New Zealand landscape.-Early life:...
and Mary Smith, Dorothy Richmond was born on 12 September 1861 at Parnell, Auckland. She was the third of five children and her young childhood was unsettled. The family moved to Nelson in 1862 where her father had become the editor of the Nelson Examiner but moved to the Taranaki district after the sudden death of Dorothy's mother in 1865. Her father was often away from home and she and her siblings were farmed out to relatives before the family moved back to Nelson in around 1869.
Richmond attended Miss Bell's Young Ladies' College in Nelson and her interest in art was encouraged by her father who passed on his love of drawing and painting to her. She was taken with her two elder siblings to Europe by her father in 1873 and continued her drawing lessons. She attended Bedford College for women in London and also began attending the Slade School of Fine Art where she worked under Alphonse Legros. By June 1880 her work gained her a Slade Scholarship.
In the early 1880s she returned to New Zealand to keep house for her father before being appointed the art mistress at the newly opened Nelson College for Girls
Nelson College for Girls
Nelson College for Girls is a single-sex state school in Nelson, New Zealand. Established in 1883, it has close ties with Nelson College and has a private Preparatory School....
in 1883.
Richmond exhibited with the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts from 1885 and then travelled to Europe and returning back and forth and continuing to study and paint seriously. By 1890 she had become an artist member of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts
New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts
The New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts galleries were opened as a free public gallery on Whitmore Street in 1892...
and by 1896 was studying with James Nairn
James Nairn
James MacLauchlan Nairn was a Glasgow-born painter who strongly influenced New Zealand painting in the late 19th century. He believed in en plein air or painting outdoors....
.
She became financially independent after the death of her father in 1898 and she again travelled to Europe to paint. She met Frances Hodgkins
Frances Hodgkins
Frances Mary Hodgkins was a painter chiefly of landscape and still life, and for a short period was a designer of textiles. She was born in New Zealand, but spent most of her working life in Britain...
in 1901 and travelled with her in France and Italy before returning to New Zealand together in December 1903. [1] . Hodgkins described Richmond as "the dearest woman with the most beautiful face and expression. I am a lucky beggar to have her as a travelling companion." [2]
Richmond and Hodgkins remained close partners and rented a studio together in Bowen Street, Wellington where they also took on private pupils. Richmond keep the studio on after Hodgkins returned to Europe in 1906 and continued to develop her reputation as an art teacher. From around 1909 to 1924 she held classes at Fitzherbert Terrace School also known as the Samuel Marsden Collegiate School.
Richmond was a Council Member of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts
New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts
The New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts galleries were opened as a free public gallery on Whitmore Street in 1892...
from 1904 and was honoured with a life membership in 1928. She never married and died in Wellington on 16 April 1935.