Fifty Years of Patronage: The Frances Hodgkins Fellowship and its Impact on Contemporary Art in New Zealand

Abstract

The Frances Hodgkins Fellowship was the first artist-in-residence programme established in New Zealand. Over the past fifty years, the Fellowship has been awarded to some of New Zealand’s most highly regarded artists and in many cases it has had a considerable impact on their practice. The Fellowship is one of a trio of residencies established at the University of Otago by “anonymous donors” in the mid-twentieth century that support writers, artists and composers. The involvement of celebrated editor, poet and patron Charles Brasch in the establishment of the Fellowships has long been rumoured. In the absence of definitive proof, I have utilised his writings, both public and private, alongside documents pertaining to the establishment of the Fellowship to argue that he was the primary force behind the awards. Brasch was an ardent proponent of modernist New Zealand art in the mid-twentieth century and the Fellowship was clearly shaped by those ideals. When it was established there was minimal state support for the visual arts. Public galleries rarely exhibited the work of contemporary artists and dealer galleries were only beginning to appear in the larger centres. In this context, the Fellowship provided a rare and valuable opportunity for artists to focus on their practice free from perennial financial concerns. There has been very little research into the impact of residencies, on artists or the communities into which they are brought, in New Zealand or abroad. This study explores the history of the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship and highlights the significant impact it has had on individual recipients and the wider community. In addition to archival research, interviews have been conducted with former Fellows and those involved with the selection and administration of the Fellowship. The first part of the thesis focuses on its origins, the cultural context out of which it emerged and possible international precedents. The second chronologically discusses the impact of major developments in the arts and society on the Fellowship as well as the achievements of each of the Fellows' tenures. Although the Fellowship was originally intended to support only painters and sculptors, artists working in other media have been appointed in response to broadening definitions of art during the period.