Story: Painting

Frances Hodgkins, 'Maori woman and child' (1st of 3)

 Frances Hodgkins, 'Maori woman and child'

Frances Hodgkins painted this watercolour in 1900, at a time when she had committed to support herself as a professional painter. In these years she did not follow the examples of her father, William, or her older sister, Isabel, and focus on the landscape. Rather, she became interested in the human figure and showed a particular interest in Māori women. There is a certain sentimentality in Hodgkins's portrayal of the woman and child, but the delicate washes of colour prefigure her style later in her career.

Using this item

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Reference: 1936-0012-62
Watercolour by Frances Hodgkins

Permission of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Jock Phillips, 'Painting - Problems of isolation, 1900 to 1940', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/45878/frances-hodgkins-maori-woman-and-child (accessed 19 April 2024)

Story by Jock Phillips, published 22 Oct 2014