Joan Dukes

Joan Dukes (1903–1993) (née Packham) was a New Zealand artist and illustrator.

Life

Joan Ivory Dukes was born in Croydon near London in 1903 as the eldest child of Claude and Emma Elizabeth Packham. She attended the Croydon School of Art and received an Arts and Crafts movement-influenced training.[1]

She married New Zealand born (Russell) Lowell Dukes in 6 May 1936 and they first lived in New Plymouth in New Zealand.[2] In 1948 or 1949 Dukes and her husband moved to St. Kilda in Dunedin and then to Christchurch in 1952.[1][2]

Artistic career

Teaching

After her study at the Croyden School of Art Dukes worked as an art teacher there and in 1933 in Surrey. In addition to teaching drawing she also taught illustration and the history of costume. In New Zealand during World War Two Dukes gave private art lessons.[1]

Illustration, exhibitions and costume design

A series of her illustrations received commendation in 1926 and 1927 in the Competition of Industrial Designs from the Royal Society of Arts, and while she was teaching in the UK she took commissions as an illustrator and costume designer.[1]

After she came to New Zealand at first she struggled to find a market for her work. In 1937 she received critical success for an exhibition with the Auckland Society of Arts and then the same in 1938 with the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington.[1]

After World War Two Dukes started illustrating for the New Zealand School Journal. In the 1970s there are records of her designing for ballet - in 1973 costumes for Coppélia for the Town Hall Opening Festival and then in 1976 sets for the Southern Ballets' Coppélia.[2]

From 1948 Dukes started exhibiting at the Canterbury Society of Arts. In 1950 she exhibited at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. In 1983 Dukes had a retrospective exhibition at the Canterbury Society of Arts.[3]

Dukes designed and made her own wedding dress and this is in the collection of the New Plymouth museum Puke Ariki.[4]

Death

Dukes died at 100 years old in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1994.[5] Sixteen of her art works were bequeathed to the Christchurch Art Gallery in 1994, most of them illustrations featuring interesting characters.[6]

References
  1. Hall, Ken (7 July 2016). "Spring by Joan Dukes". The Press. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  2. "Joan Dukes". Puke Ariki Museum Libraries Tourist Information Taranaki New Zealand. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  3. "Dukes, Joan". Find NZ Artists. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  4. "Gown, wedding". Puke Ariki Museum Libraries Tourist Information Taranaki New Zealand. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  5. "The Lover". Christchurch Art Gallery. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  6. "Collection | Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū". christchurchartgallery.org.nz. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.