Grace Joel
# Grace Joel

Grace Jane Joel (28 May 1865–6 March 1924) was a New Zealand artist best known for her ability as a portraitist and figure painter.

## Early life

Grace Joel was born in Dunedin, New Zealand on 28 May 1865, the sixth of nine children. Her English-born parents, Maurice Joel and Kate Woolf, were prominent and cultivated members of Dunedin's Jewish community, who worked as importers of wine and spirits. Grace Joel was determined to pursue an art career from an early age. After attending Otago Girls' High School from 1875 to 1882, she became an elected member of the Otago Art Society in 1886. From 1888 to 1889 she studied at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School in Melbourne, returning there in 1891 to continue studies with tutors like Frederick McCubbin and Lindsay Bernard Hall.

## Career

Joel returned to Dunedin in 1894, ready to establish herself as a professional artist. She became involved in the Otago Art Society and the Easel Club, where she associated with Italian artist G. P. Nerli (among others). She distinguished herself in the local art scene by focusing on figures and portraits, often drawing on a rich palette of colour.

Eager to further establish her artistic reputation, Joel left New Zealand for Europe in 1899. She settled in London but also worked in France and the Netherlands, exhibiting regularly at the Royal Academy of Arts in London and the Société des artistes français in Paris with a measure of success. Although she returned to New Zealand briefly in 1906, Joel spent the remainder of her life living and working in Europe.

Joel died of cancer at Kensington, London on 6 March 1924. She bequeathed £500 to endow a scholarship for students of painting at the National Gallery School in Melbourne, for painting from the nude.

Joel Place, in the Canberra suburb of Conder, is named in her honour.

## Works in collections

| Title | Year | Medium | Gallery no. | Gallery | Location |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Roses | circa 1895 | Oil on canvas | 2006-0007-2 | Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa | Wellington, New Zealand |
| Little Nell | circa 1895 | Oil on canvas | 2010-0009-1 | Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa | Wellington, New Zealand |
| Study of a young girl, half length | circa 1895-1900 | Charcoal on paper | L2010/08 | Auckland Art Gallery | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Portrait of G. P. Nerli | mid 1890s | Oil on canvas on plywood | 8568 | Art Gallery of New South Wales | Sydney, Australia |
| A Young Girl in Blue Holding Primroses | circa 1895 | Pastel on canvas | 27-1979 | Dunedin Public Art Gallery | Dunedin, New Zealand |
| A Rose 'midst Poppies | 1895 | Oil on canvas | 69/530 | Christchurch Art Gallery | Christchurch, New Zealand |
| In Time of Prayer | Unknown | Oil on canvas | 79/285 | Christchurch Art Gallery | Christchurch, New Zealand |
| Girl with scarf | circa 1896 | Oil on canvas | 2010/7 | Auckland Art Gallery | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Memories: Portrait of Kate Morrison | circa 1897 | Oil on canvas | 236-1969 | Dunedin Public Art Gallery | Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Portrait of Vivien Oakden | circa 1898 | Oil on canvas | 76/17 a5342 | Hocken Pictorial Collections, University of Otago | Dunedin, New Zealand |
| (Rt Hon) Richard John Seddon | 1906 (?) | Oil on canvas | G-632 | National Library of New Zealand | New Zealand |
| Mother and child | circa 1910 | Oil on canvas | 1983-0069-1 | Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa | Wellington, New Zealand |
| Mother and child | Unknown | Oil on canvas | 1957/18/2 | Auckland Art Gallery | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Reclining Nude | Unknown | Oil on canvas | 7-1985 | Dunedin Public Art Gallery | Dunedin, New Zealand |
| The sweeper | Unknown | Oil on canvas | 1-1xxx | Dunedin Public Art Gallery | Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Portrait Study of a Child | Unknown | Charcoal on paper | 244-1982 | Dunedin Public Art Gallery | Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Portrait of Arthur Streeton | Unknown | Oil on canvas on hardboard | 5722 | Art Gallery of New South Wales | Sydney, Australia |
| Girl in a pink dress | circa 1920 | Oil on canvas | 1983-0069-2 | Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa | Wellington, New Zealand |
| The yellow sun-bonnet | Unknown | | | Olveston Historic Home | Dunedin, New Zealand |
