Rhona Haszard
Encyclopedia
Rhona Haszard was a New Zealand
artist.
She was born in Thames, New Zealand
, one of five children of a devoted mother, Alice, and a father who worked for the Lands and Survey Department
, becoming a Commissioner of Crown Lands in 1910.
As a result of her father's job the family moved often and lived in Auckland
, Christchurch
, Hokitika and Invercargill
.
At the age of 18, she enrolled at the Canterbury College School of Art (now the School of Fine Arts
, Canterbury University), joining a set of women artists including Ngaio Marsh
, Evelyn Page (née Polson), Rata Lovell-Smith (née Bird) and Olivia Spencer Bower. She was taught amongst others by Archibald Nicoll, the newly appointed head of the school.
Haszard was very bohemian. She dressed eccentrically, spoke positively of de facto relationships and advocated vegetarianism
and unprocessed food.
In 1922 she married Ronald McKenzie, a teacher and fellow student. However in 1925 she abandoned this apparently happy marriage to run off with an ex-British Army officer Leslie Greener. After being confronted with society disapproval, the couple escaped to France
in 1926. They settled in Paris
and studied briefly at the Académie Julian
. Haszard continued to paint landscapes and exhibited in Paris at the Paris Salon
in 1927, London
with the Society of Women Artists
and Cairo
as well as sending work back to be exhibited in New Zealand.
The couple completed numerous painting trips to the Channel Islands
, Cyprus
and Greece
. In 1927 Greener was employed by Victoria College, Alexandria
, Egypt to teach art. In 1928 Haszard had a serious accident that left her with a back injury and she returned to London to seek medical treatment in 1929 and 1930. However she remained committed to painting and to the bohemian art and theatre circles. She returned to Alexandria
in 1930.
She was killed when she fell off a four-storey tower at Victoria College, Alexandria in 1931 the night after her last exhibition opened. She was 30.
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...
artist.
She was born in Thames, New Zealand
Thames, New Zealand
Thames is a town at the southwestern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the Firth of Thames close to the mouth of the Waihou River. The town is the seat of the Thames-Coromandel District Council....
, one of five children of a devoted mother, Alice, and a father who worked for the Lands and Survey Department
Department of Survey and Land Information
The Department of Survey and Land Information is a former department of the New Zealand Government. It was formed in April 1987 as a restructuring of the Department of Lands and Survey....
, becoming a Commissioner of Crown Lands in 1910.
As a result of her father's job the family moved often and lived in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, Hokitika and Invercargill
Invercargill
Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...
.
At the age of 18, she enrolled at the Canterbury College School of Art (now the School of Fine Arts
Ilam School of Fine Arts
The School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury was founded in 1882 as the Canterbury College School of Art. The school became a full department of the university in the 1950s, and was the first department to move to the suburban Ilam site in 1957, in the Okeover Homestead...
, Canterbury University), joining a set of women artists including Ngaio Marsh
Ngaio Marsh
Dame Ngaio Marsh DBE , born Edith Ngaio Marsh, was a New Zealand crime writer and theatre director. There is some uncertainty over her birth date as her father neglected to register her birth until 1900...
, Evelyn Page (née Polson), Rata Lovell-Smith (née Bird) and Olivia Spencer Bower. She was taught amongst others by Archibald Nicoll, the newly appointed head of the school.
Haszard was very bohemian. She dressed eccentrically, spoke positively of de facto relationships and advocated vegetarianism
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
and unprocessed food.
In 1922 she married Ronald McKenzie, a teacher and fellow student. However in 1925 she abandoned this apparently happy marriage to run off with an ex-British Army officer Leslie Greener. After being confronted with society disapproval, the couple escaped to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1926. They settled in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and studied briefly at the Académie Julian
Académie Julian
The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...
. Haszard continued to paint landscapes and exhibited in Paris at the Paris Salon
Paris Salon
The Salon , or rarely Paris Salon , beginning in 1725 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Between 1748–1890 it was the greatest annual or biannual art event in the Western world...
in 1927, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with the Society of Women Artists
Society of Women Artists
-History :The Society was founded in 1855 as the Society of Female Artists and held its first exhibition two years later. The Society has since held an annual exhibition in London of work by women artists....
and Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
as well as sending work back to be exhibited in New Zealand.
The couple completed numerous painting trips to the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. In 1927 Greener was employed by Victoria College, Alexandria
Victoria College, Alexandria
Victoria College, Alexandria, was founded in 1902 under the impetus of the recently ennobled Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer of the Barings Bank, that was heavily invested in Egyptian stability. For years the British Consul-General was ex officio on the board of Victoria College...
, Egypt to teach art. In 1928 Haszard had a serious accident that left her with a back injury and she returned to London to seek medical treatment in 1929 and 1930. However she remained committed to painting and to the bohemian art and theatre circles. She returned to Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
in 1930.
She was killed when she fell off a four-storey tower at Victoria College, Alexandria in 1931 the night after her last exhibition opened. She was 30.