May Smith
Encyclopedia
May Anne Smith was a painter, engraver, textile designer and textile printer.
May Smith was born in Simla
, India
, in 1906. At that time Simla
was the summer headquarters of British India's government. Smith's father was Sir Joseph Smith, a civil engineer involved in building a network of canals that would irrigate the Punjab province. Smith was the eldest of three children and returned to England in her early childhood in order undergo a series of hip operations. The convalescence from these operations included long periods of enforced inactivity and, with encouragement from her grandmother, Smith used these periods to begin to learn to paint. Later at school, when she was mobile for the first time, she received more formal training—firstly at a convent in Mussoorie
and then at Loreto College in Simla
.
In 1921, in the company of her mother and two brothers, May Smith came to New Zealand
, settling in Auckland
, where she became a pupil of the Diocesan School
. From 1924 to 1928 she attended Elam School of Art at the University of Auckland
before returning to England to attend the Royal College of Art
in London
. During her time at the college she associated with Jocelyn Mays (who was later to marry A. R. D. Fairburn
), James Boswell
, and the painter Hildegard
. She graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1931 with a diploma. In 1933 she visited Spain
and met the artist Frances Hodgkins
in Ibiza
. Hodgkins invited Smith to come to her holiday home and look at the paintings she had done. It was the first of many other meetings.
With the Depression in full swing, Smith found it difficult to obtain work as an engraver after her graduation. Her attempts at obtaining work in book illustration or commercial art were totally unsuccessful. Influenced by Hodgkins, Smith took up painting and started exhibiting her painting in small galleries but no great sales eventuated. "It was during the depression and no-one was interested in art or artists. I was mainly concerned with earning a living so I concentrated on textiles." She taught herself fabric designing and printing, using wood or linoleum cut blocks. She had some success selling her hand-printed fabric to boutique stores such as Peter Jones
and Heal and Sons but did no repeat business.
With the outbreak of World War II, Smith returned to New Zealand in 1939 and painting became her priority. At the 1940 Auckland Society of Arts Show, Smith exhibited some of the paintings that she'd brought back with her. With their original sense of design and structure, and their daring use of colour, they aroused both shock and admiration. However the shortage of fabrics caused her to return to fabric printing. She was a member of the Auckland Society of Arts and worked on commissioned fabric prints and murals.
In 1944 she married Philip Hardcastle, a trades union official, and moved to Gisborne
. where in 1950 she and her husband set up as commercial fabric printers, but this enterprise was short-lived. In 1952 the marriage broke up and Smith returned to Auckland. In order to support herself and her small daughter, Smith taught part-time at the Auckland Teachers Training College in the 1950s before teaching art full-time at the Epsom Girls Grammar School and illustrating for the school sournal.
She continued to exhibit her hand printed fabrics in group shows with the artist A. R. D. Fairburn
and her work sold in a number of Auckland and Wellington shops including the Helen Hitchings Gallery. Smith eventually became disillusioned with textile design, feeling that it wasn't possible to compete with mass-produced fabrics, but she continued to incorporate textile design into her work. She also introduced her students, among them Robin White
, to the possibilities of screenprinting.
She retired from the art department at Epsom Girls' Grammar School in 1965 and in 1967 moved permanently to the Coromandel
. In 1974 she married John Fowler and continued to paint and exhibit regularly in Thames
, Hamilton
, Coromandel, Auckland and Dunedin
up until the early 1980s. May Smith died in 1988.
May Smith was born in Simla
Shimla
Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, in 1906. At that time Simla
Shimla
Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...
was the summer headquarters of British India's government. Smith's father was Sir Joseph Smith, a civil engineer involved in building a network of canals that would irrigate the Punjab province. Smith was the eldest of three children and returned to England in her early childhood in order undergo a series of hip operations. The convalescence from these operations included long periods of enforced inactivity and, with encouragement from her grandmother, Smith used these periods to begin to learn to paint. Later at school, when she was mobile for the first time, she received more formal training—firstly at a convent in Mussoorie
Mussoorie
Mussoorie is a city and a municipal board in the Dehradun District of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is located about 35 km from the state capital of Dehradun and 290 km north from the national capital of New Delhi...
and then at Loreto College in Simla
Shimla
Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...
.
In 1921, in the company of her mother and two brothers, May Smith came to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, settling in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, where she became a pupil of the Diocesan School
Diocesan School for Girls (Auckland)
Diocesan School for Girls is a private girls' school in Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand. It is consistently a top-achieving school nationally. The school is Anglican-based and was established in 1903. It caters to international students and has accommodation for 35 boarders at Innes House...
. From 1924 to 1928 she attended Elam School of Art at the University of Auckland
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
before returning to England to attend the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. During her time at the college she associated with Jocelyn Mays (who was later to marry A. R. D. Fairburn
A. R. D. Fairburn
Arthur Rex Dugard "Rex" Fairburn was a New Zealand poet who was born and died in Auckland.He attended Auckland Grammar School, where he first met R. A. K. Mason, and worked at various jobs, including relief work on the roads. Later he tutored in English and lectured on the history and theory of...
), James Boswell
James Boswell
James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck was a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland; he is best known for the biography he wrote of one of his contemporaries, the English literary figure Samuel Johnson....
, and the painter Hildegard
Hildegard
The female name Hildegard derived from the Old High German words hild and gard and means "protecting battle-maid" Variant spellings include Hildegarde. The Polish, Portuguese, Slovene and Spanish version is Hildegarda; the Italian version is Ildegarda. Hildegárd is a Hungarian version...
. She graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1931 with a diploma. In 1933 she visited Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and met the artist Frances Hodgkins
Frances Hodgkins
Frances Mary Hodgkins was a painter chiefly of landscape and still life, and for a short period was a designer of textiles. She was born in New Zealand, but spent most of her working life in Britain...
in Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
. Hodgkins invited Smith to come to her holiday home and look at the paintings she had done. It was the first of many other meetings.
With the Depression in full swing, Smith found it difficult to obtain work as an engraver after her graduation. Her attempts at obtaining work in book illustration or commercial art were totally unsuccessful. Influenced by Hodgkins, Smith took up painting and started exhibiting her painting in small galleries but no great sales eventuated. "It was during the depression and no-one was interested in art or artists. I was mainly concerned with earning a living so I concentrated on textiles." She taught herself fabric designing and printing, using wood or linoleum cut blocks. She had some success selling her hand-printed fabric to boutique stores such as Peter Jones
Peter Jones (department store)
Peter Jones is a large, established and exclusive department store in central London. It is owned by John Lewis Partnership and located in Sloane Square, Chelsea.-History :...
and Heal and Sons but did no repeat business.
With the outbreak of World War II, Smith returned to New Zealand in 1939 and painting became her priority. At the 1940 Auckland Society of Arts Show, Smith exhibited some of the paintings that she'd brought back with her. With their original sense of design and structure, and their daring use of colour, they aroused both shock and admiration. However the shortage of fabrics caused her to return to fabric printing. She was a member of the Auckland Society of Arts and worked on commissioned fabric prints and murals.
In 1944 she married Philip Hardcastle, a trades union official, and moved to Gisborne
Gisborne, New Zealand
-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
. where in 1950 she and her husband set up as commercial fabric printers, but this enterprise was short-lived. In 1952 the marriage broke up and Smith returned to Auckland. In order to support herself and her small daughter, Smith taught part-time at the Auckland Teachers Training College in the 1950s before teaching art full-time at the Epsom Girls Grammar School and illustrating for the school sournal.
She continued to exhibit her hand printed fabrics in group shows with the artist A. R. D. Fairburn
A. R. D. Fairburn
Arthur Rex Dugard "Rex" Fairburn was a New Zealand poet who was born and died in Auckland.He attended Auckland Grammar School, where he first met R. A. K. Mason, and worked at various jobs, including relief work on the roads. Later he tutored in English and lectured on the history and theory of...
and her work sold in a number of Auckland and Wellington shops including the Helen Hitchings Gallery. Smith eventually became disillusioned with textile design, feeling that it wasn't possible to compete with mass-produced fabrics, but she continued to incorporate textile design into her work. She also introduced her students, among them Robin White
Robin White
Robin White may refer to:* Robin White , BBC journalist and playwright* Robin White , professional tennis player* Robin White , barrister at Old Square Chambers, Bedford Row, London who practises in employment and discrimination law....
, to the possibilities of screenprinting.
She retired from the art department at Epsom Girls' Grammar School in 1965 and in 1967 moved permanently to the Coromandel
Coromandel, New Zealand
Coromandel is the name of a town and harbour on the western side of the Coromandel Peninsula, which is on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand...
. In 1974 she married John Fowler and continued to paint and exhibit regularly in Thames
Thames, New Zealand
Thames is a town at the southwestern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the Firth of Thames close to the mouth of the Waihou River. The town is the seat of the Thames-Coromandel District Council....
, Hamilton
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
, Coromandel, Auckland and Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
up until the early 1980s. May Smith died in 1988.