Mary Morton Masters
Mary Morton Masters | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mary E. Morton 1867 |
| Died | 8 August 1917 |
| Style | School of Fontainebleau |
| Spouse | Charles Herbert Masters |
Mary Morton Masters (née Morton, 1867-1917) was a New Zealand artist, who specialised in painting animals.
Biography
Mary E. Morton was born 1867 in Northern Ireland to Captain Berkeley Morton and Elizabeth Mary Grist.[1][2] She moved with her family to New Zealand in 1878 on the Lady Jocelyn.[1] They moved to Katikati, and her mother taught at the school there.[1] Her father left Katikati in 1893 for Auckland.[1][3]
It is thought that in the years between 1893 and 1905, Mary Morton had formal art training in London.[3] In 1905, Mary Morton married Charles Herbert Masters in Auckland.[1][3] They lived in Ahipara on Masters' farm.[1]
Morton Masters painted animals, and was commissioned to paint livestock, particularly horses.[1] She was described as painting in the style of the Fontainebleau School.[3] She exhibited in the Auckland Society of Arts from 1884 to 1904 as Mary E. Morton and, after her marriage, she exhibited with the society from 1905-1917 as Mary Morton Masters.[1][4][5]
In 1907 and 1912, Morton Masters won all the prizes for animal painting at the New Zealand International Exhibition.[3] During her lifetime, her artworks, Comrades and Toilers, were reproduced in New Zealand Graphic in 1899 and 1908.[1][6][7][8]
She died in childbirth on 8 August 1917.[1] Unfortunately, her paintings were kept in a separate farm building that was lost to a fire after her death.[1] Some of her surviving artworks are in the Auckland Art Gallery and Te Ahu Museum, Kaitaia.[2][3]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Platts, Una (1980). Nineteenth Century New Zealand Artists: A Guide & Handbook (PDF). Christchurch, New Zealand: Avon Fine Art Prints. p. 175.
- ^ a b "Mary Morton". Auckland Art Gallery. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Human History: Mary Morton Masters (PDF). Te Ahu Museum. 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2023.
- ^ "Art in New Zealand". New Zealand Graphic. Vol. XLIX, no. 22. 28 May 1913. p. 4.
- ^ "Masters, Mary Morton". findnzartists.org.nz. Archived from the original on 4 November 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
- ^ ""COMRADES," BY MARY MORTON MASTERS. (20 x 16)". New Zealand Graphic. Vol. XXXVIII, no. 17. 27 April 1907. p. 10.
- ^ "Comrades, by Mary Morton Masters". DigitalNZ. 27 April 1907. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
- ^ "Toilers (21 x 29 - oil) Mary E. Morton-Masters". DigitalNZ. 20 May 1908. Retrieved 2 March 2025.