Jean Fairburn
Date of birth
1912
Date of death
14 Apr 2010
Place of birth
Place of death
Nationality
Biography
SEE curators notes for record 1074, for bio notes from exhibition plus notes on style, influences etc.
text below by Joan Fear for the April/May Newsletter 2010
Jean Fairburn died on the 13th April in the Marne Street Hospital in Dunedin. Jean was a life-long member of WSA (Waikato Society of Arts) and was regular contributor to the Society exhibitions, her vivid oils and oil pastels of her garden and the Waikato countryside having great strength.
Many people will remember cups of tea in her beautiful garden. Under the huge trees were swathes of bluebells, marvellous azaleas and wisteria in spring. IN winter, tea by the fire with Geoff's homemade bread, the paintings from Nan Manchester, Michael Smither, Heather Lomas, Maurizio Sarsini and others plus the music which Jean loved, especially in the key of E major.
The Waikato Museum staged an exhibition of Jean's paintings (at the same time as Frances Hodgkins) for which the gallery walls were painted blue, which did things for the whites and golds and oranges of her paintings.
Jean will also be remembered as a person who was always interested in others, who made friends and enjoyed sharing her knowledge of painting.
She was the winner of the Booth and Chapman Art Award in 1961. She was a member of the Maori Women's Welfare League and the Buddhist Society. As a lover of nature, Jean's paintings were subjects close to her heart but were not in any way sentimental. The inside-outside paintings of domestic objects by a window might be said to have reflected the 'her indoors' attitude of women of the time but with an enjoyment of the domestic scene which inspired them. The Waikato Museum is presently staging one of Jean's paintings and a small tribute to her i the Trust Waikato Gallery.
text below by Joan Fear for the April/May Newsletter 2010
Jean Fairburn died on the 13th April in the Marne Street Hospital in Dunedin. Jean was a life-long member of WSA (Waikato Society of Arts) and was regular contributor to the Society exhibitions, her vivid oils and oil pastels of her garden and the Waikato countryside having great strength.
Many people will remember cups of tea in her beautiful garden. Under the huge trees were swathes of bluebells, marvellous azaleas and wisteria in spring. IN winter, tea by the fire with Geoff's homemade bread, the paintings from Nan Manchester, Michael Smither, Heather Lomas, Maurizio Sarsini and others plus the music which Jean loved, especially in the key of E major.
The Waikato Museum staged an exhibition of Jean's paintings (at the same time as Frances Hodgkins) for which the gallery walls were painted blue, which did things for the whites and golds and oranges of her paintings.
Jean will also be remembered as a person who was always interested in others, who made friends and enjoyed sharing her knowledge of painting.
She was the winner of the Booth and Chapman Art Award in 1961. She was a member of the Maori Women's Welfare League and the Buddhist Society. As a lover of nature, Jean's paintings were subjects close to her heart but were not in any way sentimental. The inside-outside paintings of domestic objects by a window might be said to have reflected the 'her indoors' attitude of women of the time but with an enjoyment of the domestic scene which inspired them. The Waikato Museum is presently staging one of Jean's paintings and a small tribute to her i the Trust Waikato Gallery.
