Esther Hope Explained

Esther Studholme Hope
Birth Name:	Esther Studholme Barker
Birth Date:	8 August 1885
Birth Place:	Woodbury, New Zealand
Death Place:	Timaru, New Zealand
Spouse:	Henry Norman Hope
Module:	Embed: yes Relatives: Alfred Barker (grandfather) Michael Studholme (grandfather) John Studholme (great-uncle)
Field:	Painting
Training:	Slade School of Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts

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 on 26 May 1920 at Woodbury,^[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.

Career

Hope is known for her watercolour paintings, specifically gouaches of Mackenzie Country.

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. 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.

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. In New Zealand Hope exhibited with:

• Auckland Society of Arts^[8]
• Canterbury Society of Arts^[9] between 1930–1950
• South Canterbury Arts Society in 1910 (including receiving first prize), 1920, 1953–1964
• New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts^{[10] [11]} between 1933–1965
• Otago Art Society^[12]
• and at the New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition, Dunedin, 1925–1926^{[13] [14]}

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

Her work is held in the collection of the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu^[15] and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.^[16]

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Barker, Esther Studholme. findnzartists.org.nz. en. 25 October 2017.
2. Web site: Hope, Esther Studholme . findnzartists.org.nz. en. 25 October 2017.
3. Web site: Death search: registration number 1975/43455 . Births, deaths & marriages online . Department of Internal Affairs . 1 January 2020.
4. Web site: Fruits of labour . South Canterbury NZGenWeb Project . 31 December 2019.
5. Web site: South Canterbury Artists: A Retrospective View . Aigantighe Art Gallery. 1990. christchurchartgallery.org.nz . 25 October 2017.
6. Web site: Hope, Esther Studholme – Nineteenth Century New Zealand Artists: A Guide & Handbook. Platts. Una. 1980. nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. 25 October 2017.
7. Web site: Esther Studholme Hope: The National Centennial of New Zealand Art Catalogue. McLintock. A. H.. Alexander Hare McLintock. 1940. nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. 25 October 2017.
8. Web site: Artists exhibited with Auckland Society of Arts. findnzartists.org.nz. en. 25 October 2017.
9. Web site: Artists exhibited with Canterbury Society of Arts. findnzartists.org.nz. en. 25 October 2017.
10. Web site: Artists exhibited with New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. findnzartists.org.nz. en. 25 October 2017.
11. Book: Kay, Robin. Portrait of a Century: The History of the N.Z. Academy of Fine Arts, 1882–1982. Eden. Tony. Millwood Press. 1983. 0908582609.
12. Web site: Artists exhibited with Otago Art Society. findnzartists.org.nz. en. 25 October 2017.
13. Web site: Artists exhibited with New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition, Dunedin, 1925-6. findnzartists.org.nz. en. 25 October 2017.
14. Web site: Catalogue of the International Exhibition of the Fine Arts. christchurchartgallery.org.nz. 25 October 2017.
15. Web site: Collection – Esther Studholme Hope. christchurchartgallery.org.nz. 25 October 2017.
16. Web site: Esther Hope – Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. collections.tepapa.govt.nz. en. 25 October 2017.