Katherine McLean Holmes

The Cliffs, Nelson, painted by Holmes in 1878

Katherine McLean Holmes (1849 – 16 January 1925) was a New Zealand painter whose work is held in the permanent collection of the National Library of New Zealand.

Early life

Holmes was born in Geelong, Australia, the third daughter of New Zealander Matthew Holmes of Otago.[1][2] Her sister Annie Julia White was also an artist, and her brother Allan Holmes was a cricketer and lawyer.

Career

She exhibited at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts every year from 1883 to 1908.[3] She worked with W. M. Hodgkins and exhibited with the Otago Art Society from 1878 and served on its council during 1886–87.[1][2]

She moved to Hawkestone Street in Wellington in 1892 where she socialised with Rudyard Kipling, and the Duke and Duchess of York.[1]

In 1893, she organised a bazaar in order to raise $100 to fund structural repairs to the New Zealand National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum.[4]

Legacy

The collection of her paintings at the National Library of New Zealand comprises individual and group portraits.[5] Her painting of a timber mill featured in the 2021 book The People and The Land.[6]

Death

She died in Wellington on 16 January 1925 aged 76.[1][7]

On her death in 1925, she left a painting of the Henry VII Chapel by Gertrude Keeling to Dunedin Public Art Gallery.[1]

References

1. "Search Results – Dunedin Public Art Gallery". collection.dunedin.art.museum. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
2. "HOLMES, Katherine McLean 1849–1925? | NZETC". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
3. "Holmes, Katherine McLean". findnzartists.org.nz. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
4. Robin Key and Tony Eden. "PORTRAITOF A CENTURY HISTORY OF THE N.Z. ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS 1882—1982" (PDF). p. 28. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
5. Holmes, Katherine McLean (1 January 1879). "Katherine Holmes illustrated album". Katherine Holmes illustrated album | Items | National Library of New Zealand | National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
6. Bassett, J., Olssen, E., Binney, J. (2021). The People and The Land / Te Tangata me Te Whenua: An Illustrated History of New Zealand, 1820–1920. New Zealand: Bridget Williams Books. p272
7. Platts, Una (1980). Nineteenth Century New Zealand Artists: A Guide and Handbook. Avon Fine Prints. Archived from the original on 26 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2022.