Film: Frances Hodgkins, Anything but a Still Life

Frances Hodgkins, Anything but a Still Life explores the life and art of celebrated New Zealand artist, Frances Hodgkins. This Members-only screening will be introduced by Mary Kisler MNZM, curator emerita at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and author of two books on Hodgkins.

Spending much of her life and career in Europe, Hodgkins was a modernist painter whose work continues to inspire contemporary New Zealand artists. Retracing Hodgkins’ footsteps, this debut film by Blandine Massiet du Biest takes you to the places where Hodgkins lived and worked, shedding light on the challenges she faced and her unwavering commitment to her craft. Featuring insights from experts like Mary Kisler and Linda Tyler, as well as creatives such as Kate Sylvester and Star Gossage, the film celebrates Hodgkins’ courage and determination as a pioneering woman in the arts, and her enduring legacy as a role model for women everywhere.

In 2019, marking the 150th anniversary of the artist’s birth, Auckland Art Gallery presented the major exhibition Frances Hodgkins: European Journeys. The exhibition was curated by Mary Kisler MNZM, who also wrote the exhibition catalogue as well as the more personal travel diary, Finding Frances Hodgkins. Mary will introduce this screening of Frances Hodgkins, Anything but a Still Life.

This event is part of Auckland Art Gallery Members programme. Go to www.aucklandartgallery.com/members to find out more.

Frances Hodgkins, Self Portrait: Still Life, circa 1935. Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1963. | Frances Hodgkins, circa 1914. Photo credit: Unknown. E H McCormick Papers, E H McCormick Research Library, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of Linda Gill, 2015.