Jean Horsley

Jean Alice Horsley OBE (15 February 1913 – 21 August 1997)[2] was a New Zealand artist.[1] Her work is held in the permanent collection of the Auckland City Art Gallery.[3]

Jean Horsley

OBE
Born
Jean Alice Horsley

(1913-02-15)15 February 1913
Auckland, New Zealand[1]
Died21 August 1997(1997-08-21) (aged 84)
Auckland, New Zealand[1]
EducationElam School of Fine Art
Chelsea School of Art
Known forPainting
Notable workMaori Mere
StyleAbstract expressionism

Career

Horsley attended the Elam School of Fine Art at the University of Auckland, and in 1934 traveled to the United Kingdom to study at London's Chelsea School of Art.[4]

She returned to New Zealand due to World War II and trained as a physical therapist.[4] She continued her interest in sketching and painting, taking lessons from Colin McCahon and through summer schools.[4]

Following the end of the war, Horsley traveled to Japan, South Africa, and the USA. She moved to London in 1961 for seven years, and then to New York, where she stayed for fifteen years. During this time she continued to paint and exhibit.[4]

In 1981, Horsley returned to New Zealand and settled in Auckland.[4]

Horsley's paintings are abstract in style,[3] often working in oils or watercolor. She was influenced heavily by the work of the abstract expressionists,[4] especially artists whose work she was exposed to while in New York, including Philip Guston, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell,[5] and Helen Frankenthaler.[6]

Notable works by Horsley include: Maori Mere.[4]

In the 1996 New Year Honours, Horsley was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to art.[7]

Exhibitions

Horsley exhibited regularly with the Auckland Society of the Arts between 1935 and 1938,[8] and was included alongside M. Rainier and Freda Simmonds in the 1957 exhibition Three Women Painters. She also held a shared exhibition with Louise Henderson at the New Vision Gallery in 1966.[6]

She exhibited with the Rutland Group,[9] an organization formed by students from the Elam School of Fine Art and The Group,[10][11] an informal art association from Christchurch, New Zealand, formed to provide a freer alternative to the Canterbury Society of Arts. She contributed works to multiple exhibitions by The Group including in: 1955;[12] 1957;[13] and 1960.[14]

During her time in England, Horsley exhibited alongside fellow expatriates Ralph Hotere, Bill Culbert, and Ted Bulmore.[6]

In 1997 a retrospective exhibit of Horsley's work entitled, Seize the Day: A Tribute to Jean Horsley, was held at the Auckland City Art Gallery.[15]

References
  1. "Horsley, Jean". findnzartists.org.nz. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  2. "Death search: registration number 1997/52147". Births, deaths and marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  3. "Jean Horsley". Auckland Art Gallery. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  4. "Maori Mere". www.fletchercollection.co.nz. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  5. "Representation And Reaction". www.fletchercollection.co.nz. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  6. "Ferner Galleries | Jean Horsley". www.fernergalleries.co.nz. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  7. "New Year Honours List 1996". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  8. "Artists exhibited with Auckland Society of Arts". findnzartists.org.nz. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  9. "Artists exhibited with Rutland Group". findnzartists.org.nz. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  10. "The Group 1927 – 1977: an annotated bibliography – Heritage – Christchurch City Libraries". christchurchcitylibraries.com. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  11. "Artists exhibited with The Group". findnzartists.org.nz. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  12. "The Group 1955". christchurchartgallery.org.nz. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  13. "The Group 1957". christchurchartgallery.org.nz. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  14. "The Group 1960". christchurchartgallery.org.nz. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  15. "Seize the day: a tribute to Jean Horsley". Retrieved 5 November 2017.

Further reading

Artist files for Horsley are held at:

Also see:

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