Mary Ann Wills Explained

Mary Ann Wills
Birth Name:Mary Ann Wykes
Birth Date:1859?
Death Date:1942
Death Place:Waipukurau
Resting Place:Ormondville
Occupation:artist
Years Active:1885–1936
Spouse:Thomas John Wills
Children:3

Mary Ann Wills (née Wykes) (1859?–1942) was a New Zealand artist.

Biography

Wills, born Mary Wykes, married Thomas John Wills, a minister in the Anglican Church, in 1886.[1] Rev. Wills was a leader in the temperance movement and died at aged 46, while minister at the Ormondville vicarage.[2] [3]

Throughout her life, she lived in several locations across both the North and South Islands of New Zealand, including North Canterbury, Westland, Napier, Ormondville, Tokaanu, Taupō, and Ōtaki.

Wills primarily painted landscapes of various locations across New Zealand. She painted over 300 watercolours and oils from 1880-1930s, such as landscapes of Ormondville and Waihi, Taupō, many of which are housed in the National Library of New Zealand.[4] She is said to have known C. F. Goldie who visited her when he returned from a trip to Paris.

She had three sons.[5] Her sons included Webster Harold "Harold" Wills (headmaster of Ōtaki Native College) and her youngest son, Edgar J. Wills.[6]

She died in Waipukurau and was buried in Ormondville, where her late husband had been vicar.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Wills, Mary Ann, 1859?–1942 . 5 January 2023 . natlib.govt.nz.
  2. News: 28 January 1902 . DEATH OF THE REV. T. J. WILLS. . XXXIX . 5 . . 11874 . 5 January 2023.
  3. News: DEATHS . XIII . 2 . Bush Advocate . 2184 . 5 January 2023.
  4. Web site: Wills, Mary Ann, 1859?–1942: [Collection of watercolours, oil paintings, and albums by Mary Wills, primarily of landscapes. 1885–1936] ]. 5 January 2023 . natlib.govt.nz.
  5. News: 27 January 1902 . OBITUARY – REV. T. J. WILLS . XXXVII . 3 . Hawke's Bay Herald . 12063 . 5 January 2023.
  6. News: 23 February 1920 . Marriage . LXII . 4 . Colonist . 15308 . 5 January 2023.