Grace Joel

Grace Jane Joel (28 May 1865–6 March 1924) was a New Zealand artist best known for her ability as a portraitist and figure painter.

Early life

Grace Joel was born in Dunedin, New Zealand on 28 May 1865, the sixth of nine children. Her English-born parents, Maurice Joel and Kate Woolf, were prominent and cultivated members of Dunedin's Jewish community, who worked as importers of wine and spirits.[1] Grace Joel was determined to pursue an art career from an early age.[2] After attending Otago Girls' High School from 1875 to 1882, she became an elected member of the Otago Art Society in 1886. From 1888-1889 she studied at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School in Melbourne, returning there in 1891 to continue studies with tutors like Frederick McCubbin and Lindsay Bernard Hall.[3][4]

Career

Joel returned to Dunedin in 1894, ready to establish herself as a professional artist. She became involved in the Otago Art Society and the Easel Club, where she associated with Italian artist G. P. Nerli (among others).[5] She distinguished herself in the local art scene by focusing on figures and portraits, often drawing on a rich palette of colour.

Eager to further establish her artistic reputation, Joel left New Zealand for Europe in 1899. She settled in London but also worked in France and the Netherlands, exhibiting regularly at the Royal Academy of Arts in London and the Société des artistes français in Paris with a measure of success.[1] Although she returned to New Zealand briefly in 1906, Joel spent the remainder of her life living and working in Europe.[3]

Joel died of cancer at Kensington, London on 6 March 1924. She bequeathed £500 to endow a scholarship for students of painting at the National Gallery School in Melbourne, for painting from the nude.[6]

Works in collections
Title Year Medium Gallery no. Gallery Location
Roses circa 1895 Oil on canvas 2006-0007-2 Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Wellington, New Zealand
Little Nell circa 1895 Oil on canvas 2010-0009-1 Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Wellington, New Zealand
Study of a young girl, half length circa 1895-1900 Charcoal on paper L2010/08 Auckland Art Gallery Auckland, New Zealand
Portrait of G. P. Nerli mid 1890s Oil on canvas on plywood 8568 Art Gallery of New South Wales Sydney, Australia
A Young Girl in Blue Holding Primroses circa 1895 Pastel on canvas 27-1979 Dunedin Public Art Gallery Dunedin, New Zealand
A Rose 'midst Poppies 1895 Oil on canvas 69/530 Christchurch Art Gallery Christchurch, New Zealand
In Time of Prayer Unknown Oil on canvas 79/285 Christchurch Art Gallery Christchurch, New Zealand
Girl with scarf circa 1896 Oil on canvas 2010/7 Auckland Art Gallery Auckland, New Zealand
Memories: Portrait of Kate Morrison circa 1897 Oil on canvas 236-1969 Dunedin Public Art Gallery Dunedin, New Zealand
Portrait of Vivien Oakden circa 1898 Oil on canvas 76/17 a5342 Hocken Pictorial Collections, University of Otago Dunedin, New Zealand
(Rt Hon) Richard John Seddon 1906 (?) Oil on canvas G-632 National Library of New Zealand New Zealand
Mother and child circa 1910 Oil on canvas 1983-0069-1 Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Wellington, New Zealand
Mother and child Unknown Oil on canvas 1957/18/2 Auckland Art Gallery Auckland, New Zealand
Reclining Nude Unknown Oil on canvas 7-1985 Dunedin Public Art Gallery Dunedin, New Zealand
The sweeper Unknown Oil on canvas 1-1xxx Dunedin Public Art Gallery Dunedin, New Zealand
Portrait Study of a Child Unknown Charcoal on paper 244-1982 Dunedin Public Art Gallery Dunedin, New Zealand
Portrait of Arthur Streeton Unknown Oil on canvas on hardboard 5722 Art Gallery of New South Wales Sydney, Australia
Girl in a pink dress circa 1920 Oil on canvas 1983-0069-2 Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Wellington, New Zealand
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References
  1. Collins, R. D. J. "Grace Jane Joel". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  2. McCahon, Colin (1962). "Six New Zealand Expatriates (exhibition catalogue)" (PDF). The Auckland Art Gallery. p. 14. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  3. McAloon, William (2009), "Grace Joel" in Art at Te Papa, Te Papa Press, p. 108, ISBN 978-1-877385-38-4
  4. Kirker, Anne; Young, Eric (June 1975). "New Zealand's Women Painters" (PDF). Auckland Art Gallery. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  5. Collins, R.D.J. (1976). "Dunedin in the Eighteen-Nineties". Art New Zealand. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  6. "The Grace Joel Scholarship". Sydney Morning Herald. 1936. Retrieved 17 December 2013.

Further reading
  • Joel Schiff Grace Joel; An Impressionist Portrait Otago University Press 2014. ISBN 978-1-877578-86-1

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