Phyllis Bethune Explained

Phyllis Bethune
Birth Name:	Phyllis Dagmar Drummond Sharpe
Birth Date:	27 February 1899
Birth Place:	Woodbury, New Zealand
Death Place:	Wānaka, New Zealand
Field:	Painting
Training:	Ilam School of Fine Arts

Phyllis Dagmar Drummond Bethune (née Sharpe; 27 February 1899 – 12 December 1982) was a New Zealand artist.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Work by Bethune is held in the collection of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery^[4] and she helped form several New Zealand art societies.

Education

Bethune was educated at the Canterbury College School of Art (now Ilam School of Fine Arts) under Cecil Kelly, Richard Wallwork, and A. F. Nicholl. Her contemporaries included Ngaio Marsh, James Cook, Evelyn Page, and Olivia Spencer Bower.^[5]

Career

Bethune was a landscape painter, primarily based in the South Canterbury region of New Zealand.

Bethune was involved in New Zealand art societies including as a committee member of the South Canterbury Art Society, the formation of an art society in Waimate, and founding the Wānaka Art Group.

Exhibitions

Bethune exhibited with:

• Auckland Society of Arts between 1949 and 1956^[6]
• Canterbury Society of Arts (under the name Bethune and Sharpe) in 1959^[7]
• South Canterbury Art Society between 1953 and 1964
• New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts (under the name Bethune and Sharpe)^[8]
• Otago Art Society (under the name Sharpe)^[9]
• Aigantighe Art Gallery in 1972

From 1936 to 1947 she was a member of The Group^{[10] [11]} and exhibited with them in 1935 (under the name Sharpe);^[12] 1936;^[13] 1938;^[14] 1940;^[15] 1943;^[16] 1947.^[17]

Personal life

She married John Bethune in October 1935 in Woodbury, Canterbury, New Zealand. She moved to Wānaka later in life, and died there in 1982.^[18]

Further reading

Artist files for Phyllis Drummond Bethune are held at:

• E. H. McCormick Research Library, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
• Hocken Collections Uare Taoka o Hākena

Also see:

• Concise Dictionary of New Zealand Artists McGahey, Kate (2000) Gilt Edge

Notes and References

1. Web site: Bethune, Phyllis Drummond. findnzartists.org.nz. en. 4 October 2017.
2. Web site: Sharpe, P. Drummond. findnzartists.org.nz. en. 4 October 2017.
3. Web site: Phyllis Drummond Bethune (1899-1982) Grave Site BillionGraves. BillionGraves. en. 4 October 2017.
4. Web site: Phyllis Drummond Bethune - Dunedin Public Art Gallery. collection.dunedin.art.museum. en. 4 October 2017.
5. Web site: Artists exhibited with South Canterbury Artists: A Retrospective View. findnzartists.org.nz. en. 4 October 2017.
6. Web site: Artists exhibited with Auckland Society of Arts. findnzartists.org.nz. en. 4 October 2017.
7. Web site: Artists exhibited with Canterbury Society of Arts. findnzartists.org.nz. en. 4 October 2017.
8. Web site: Artists exhibited with New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. findnzartists.org.nz. en. 4 October 2017.
9. Web site: Artists exhibited with Otago Art Society. findnzartists.org.nz. en. 4 October 2017.
10. Web site: Artists exhibited with The Group. findnzartists.org.nz. en. 4 October 2017.
11. Web site: The Group 1927 - 1977: an annotated bibliography - Heritage - Christchurch City Libraries. christchurchcitylibraries.com. en. 4 October 2017.
12. Web site: The Group 1935. christchurchartgallery.org.nz. 4 October 2017.
13. Web site: The Group 1936. christchurchartgallery.org.nz. 4 October 2017.
14. Web site: The Group 1938. christchurchartgallery.org.nz. 4 October 2017.
15. Web site: The Group 1940. christchurchartgallery.org.nz. 4 October 2017.
16. Web site: The Group 1943. christchurchartgallery.org.nz. 4 October 2017.
17. Web site: The Group 1947. christchurchartgallery.org.nz. 4 October 2017.
18. Web site: QLDC Cemeteries. cemeteries.qldc.govt.nz. 4 October 2017.