Self Portrait
Maker
Ida Harriet Carey
Production date
Unknown
Description
Painted while Carey was still at the height of her production this self-portrait demonstrates her energetic method of painting. With wide brush strokes and a neutral background this painting is typical of Carey’s approach to portraiture. As one of the grand ladies of the Waikato art set in the early 1930s, Ida Carey alongside other Waikato artists developed a regional style that was particularly focussed on local subjects.
Ida Harriet Carey (1891–1982) began her career as an artist in the 1920s. While visiting Sydney to attend classes with Italian artist and teacher Anthony Dattilo Rubbo, Carey met Frances Ellis who became a close friend and peer. Carey became noted for her portraits, in which she skilfully used colour, line and tone with great confidence. After a serious car accident her interest in spirituality grew and manifested itself in her paintings of women with the Kauae Moko (Maori women’s chin tattoo). Carey was a founding member of the Waikato Society of Arts and resided on many local and national art committees including the McDougall, the Rotorua Museum and the Waikato Museum. She spent her last years in Travellyn Rest Home, leaving a stockpile of over 1,300 paintings.
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Object detail
410 x 312mm (image)
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