Philippa Blair

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Philippa Blair
Born
Philippa Mary Blair

(1945-11-18)18 November 1945
Christchurch, New Zealand
Died5 January 2025(2025-01-05) (aged 79)
Auckland, New Zealand
Spouses
  • James Hutchison
    ​
    (divorced)​
  • John Porter
    ​
    (died 2018)​
Children2
Website www.philippablair.com

Philippa Mary Blair (18 November 1945 – 5 January 2025) was a New Zealand artist. Her works are held in the collections of the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, [1] Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa [2] and the University of Auckland. [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Blair was born in Christchurch on 18 November 1945, the daughter of Grace Evelyn Blair (née Mackenzie) and Ian Douglas Blair. [4] Her father was a microbiologist at Canterbury Agricultural College (now Lincoln University). [5] Her mother was a professional soprano and pianist, and had studied art at Canterbury Art School where she was a contemporary of Rita Angus. [5]

Blair studied at the University of Canterbury from 1965 to 1967, under Rudolf Gopas and Don Peebles. She graduated with a Diploma of Fine Arts (painting) in 1967. At age 22, Blair married and went to live at Wairoa, teaching art at the local college, before living in Australia for several years. It was at this point that she began to commit herself seriously to painting. [6]

In 1976, Blair completed a Diploma of Teaching in Secondary School Fine Art at Secondary Teachers' College in Auckland.

Career

Blair's early painting works produced while living in Australia include Open Window - Brisbane (1969) and Primary Reflection (Melbourne 1971). Initially, Blair's intuitive and expressionistic style was not readily accepted in New Zealand, but was accepted by Kees and Tina Hos who began exhibiting Blair's work at New Vision Gallery in Auckland from 1975. [6]

Blair worked primarily as a painter, and made semi-abstract work. Her works from the 1980s are reminiscent of works by Jackson Pollock and Len Lye, which Blair was familiar with and admired for their 'movement' and 'fugitive' qualities. [6] She worked as both a secondary school art teacher and university painting tutor from 1968 onwards.

Blair moved from New Zealand to the United States in 1995 with her husband John Porter, and they lived at Venice Beach and San Pedro, California before moving back to Auckland, New Zealand in 2015. [7]

Personal life and death

In 1967, Blair became engaged to James Drummond Hutchison. [8] They married and had two children including the art curator and writer Alice Hutchison, [9] but later divorced. [10]

Blair died in Auckland on 5 January 2025, at the age of 79. [11] She had been predeceased by her husband, John Porter, in 2018. [12]

Exhibitions

Blair exhibited as a solo artist and in group shows widely in New Zealand and the United States, including:

Residencies and awards

Blair received grants from the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council in 1980 and 1984. In 1984, she became the first New Zealander to participate in the artist-in-residence programme at the Canberra School of Art. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Hotere</span> New Zealand artist (1931–2013)

Hone Papita Raukura "Ralph" Hotere was a New Zealand artist. He was born in Mitimiti, Northland and is widely regarded as one of New Zealand's most important artists. In 1994 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Otago and in 2003 received an Icon Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand.

William Hammond was a New Zealand artist who was part of the Post-colonial Gothic movement at the end of the 1990s. He lived and worked in Lyttelton, New Zealand. The theme of his works centred around the environment and social justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auckland Art Gallery</span> Art museum in Auckland, New Zealand

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Smither</span> New Zealand painter and composer (born 1939)

Michael Duncan Smither is a New Zealand painter and composer.

Dame Louise Etiennette Sidonie Henderson was a French-New Zealand artist and painter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Sutton (artist)</span> New Zealand artist (1917–2000)

William Alexander Sutton was a New Zealand portrait and landscape artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Clairmont</span> New Zealand artist

Philip Anthony Clairmont (1949–1984) was a New Zealand painter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudolf Gopas</span> New Zealand artist and art teacher (1913–1983)

Rudolf Gopas was a New Zealand artist and art teacher. He was born in Šilutė, Germany. Gopas' works are held in the collections of the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Christchurch Art Gallery and the Hocken Library.

Leo Vernon Bensemann OBE was a New Zealand artist, printer, typographer, publisher and editor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Culbert</span> New Zealand artist (1935–2019)

William Franklin Culbert was a New Zealand artist, notable for his use of light in painting, photography, sculpture and installation work, as well as his use of found and recycled materials.

Warwick Henderson, is a New Zealand gallerist, art collector, art fair pioneer and author of "Behind the Canvas – An Insider's Guide to the New Zealand Art Market" and "The Fascinating History of Toys and Games around The World".

Christine Hellyar is a New Zealand artist who makes sculptures and installations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maureen Lander</span> New Zealand weaver, multimedia installation artist and academic

Maureen Robin Lander is a New Zealand weaver, multimedia installation artist and academic. Lander is of Ngāpuhi and Pākehā descent and is a well-respected and significant artist who since 1986 has exhibited, photographed, written and taught Māori art. She continues to produce and exhibit work as well as attend residencies and symposia both nationally and internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. S. Parker</span> New Zealand painter

John Shotton Parker, known professionally as J. S. Parker, was a New Zealand painter.

Jean Alice Horsley was a New Zealand artist. Her work is held in the permanent collection of the Auckland City Art Gallery.

Elizabeth Jamaux CurnownéeLe Cren, commonly known as Betty Curnow, was a New Zealand artist and the subject of the iconic Portrait of Betty Curnow by Rita Angus.

Donald Clendon Peebles was a New Zealand artist. He is regarded as a pioneer of abstract art in New Zealand, and his works are held in the collections of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and Christchurch Art Gallery.

Heather Straka is a New Zealand artist, based in Auckland, who primarily works with the media of painting and photography. Straka is well known as a painter that utilises a lot of detail. She often depicts cultures that are not her own, which has caused controversy at times. Her work engages with themes of economic and social upheaval in interwar China, the role of women in Arabic society and Māori in relation to colonisation in New Zealand. Eventually, the figure became important in Straka's practice and she began to use photographs as the starting point for some of her works and "Increasingly too the body feminine has become her milieu".

Raymond Wallace Thorburn was a New Zealand artist, art educator and museum director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quentin Macfarlane</span> New Zealand painter (1935–2019)

Quentin Manners Macfarlane was a New Zealand artist known for his abstract marine paintings.

References

  1. ↑ "Philippa Blair". Auckland Art Gallery. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  2. ↑ "Philippa Blair". collections.tepapa.govt.nz. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  3. ↑ "Art Collection > "Tree of Knowledge"". artcollection.auckland.ac.nz. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  4. ↑ "Births". The Press . Vol. 81, no. 24727. 19 November 1945. p. 1. Retrieved 8 January 2025– via PapersPast.
  5. 1 2 "Philippa Blair – gouache works". Fe29. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Kirker, Anne, 1947- (1993). New Zealand women artists : a survey of 150 years. Tortola, BVI: Craftsman House. pp. 141–144. ISBN   9768097302. OCLC   28491897.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. 1 2 "The Fast Arrow of painter Philippa Blair". Stuff. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  8. ↑ "Engagements". The Press . Vol. 106, no. 31326. 23 March 1967. p. 2. Retrieved 8 January 2025– via PapersPast.
  9. ↑ "Manhattan transfer". Stuff . 31 October 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  10. ↑ "Hutchison, James Drummond v Hutchison, Philippa Mary". Archives New Zealand. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  11. ↑ "Philippa Blair obituary". The New Zealand Herald . 8 January 2025. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  12. ↑ "John Porter obituary". The New Zealand Herald . 8 December 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  13. ↑ "Art New Zealand". www.art-newzealand.com. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  14. ↑ Long Beach Museum of Art (1990). Three from New Zealand: Philippa Blair, Christine Hellyar, Ralph Hotere. Auckland, N.Z.: RKS Art. OCLC   154297672.
  15. ↑ Blair, Philippa; Smith, Rodney Kirk; Darrow, Kate; Centre for Contemporary Art (Hamilton, N.Z.) (1992). Philippa Blair, survey 1987-1992: 7th-31st July 1992. Hamilton [N.Z.: Centre for Contemporary Art. OCLC   154171461.
  16. ↑ Blair, Philippa; Symonds, Henry; Stanley Spencer Gallery; Janne Land Gallery (1999). Philippa Blair: Traverse : recent paintings, drawings, lithographs. Wickford, RI: Spencer Gallery. OCLC   154606705.
  17. ↑ Fusco, Cassandra (2002). "Tansmotion: Drawings and Paintings by Philippa Blair". Craft Arts International. 54: 110–111 – via Ebsco.
  18. ↑ Blair, Philippa; Laird, Tessa; Double Vision Gallery (2001). Transmotion: drawings & paintings. Los Angeles: Double Vision Gallery. OCLC   155646214.
  19. ↑ Walter Wickiser Gallery (2003). Between heaven and earth: February 1-February 27, 2003 : Lawrence Abrahamsen, Philippa Blair, Fran Bull, Don Lewallen. OCLC   52336886.
  20. ↑ Blair, Philippa; O'Loughlin, Anna; Henderson, Warwick; Warwick Henderson Gallery (2004). Philippa Blair: a 10 year survey : opening Tuesday 1st of June at 5.30 pm - 20th June 2004. Auckland, N.Z.: Warwick Henderson Gallery. OCLC   226965925.
  21. ↑ "Ten Christchurch art exhibitions you must see in March". Stuff. 4 March 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.