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Godley House, Diamond Harbour by Margaret Stoddart
Collection
This article first appeared as 'Stoddart's summer' in The Press on 15 February 2013.
The Christchurch Art Gallery's watercolour Godley House, Diamond Harbour by Margaret Stoddart carries new significance, representing as it does one of Banks Peninsula's lost treasures. Godley House was one of the Peninsula's architectural gems before it was demolished in 2012 due to damage suffered as a result of the earthquakes. Stoddart was a highly respected artist in her day and has remained one of Canterbury's most accomplished watercolourists. Her ties with Diamond Harbour were strong. Her father, Mark Stoddart, settled in the area in 1852 and Margaret was born there in 1865. In the mid 1890s the Stoddart family acquired Godley House from the Lyttelton merchant Harvey Hawkins who had originally built the house in 1880.
Godley House, Diamond Harbour was painted 100 years ago this year and is one of a number of Diamond Harbour scenes completed by Stoddart at this time. It is immediately apparent in this work that the Stoddart family loved gardening. Flowering herbaceous borders envelop the house and dominate the scene. Stoddart's ability with the notoriously difficult watercolour medium is superb, wet washes of colour are skilfully applied and vibrantly over-painted red and white flowers give the work its intensity. Godley House, Diamond Harbour combines the artist's love of both flower and landscape painting and represents her assured mature style developed after studying in Europe during the early 1900s.
1913 was also the year that the Stoddart family sold their Diamond Harbour estate to the Lyttelton Borough Council for residential development and Margaret's Diamond Harbour paintings from this year were most likely completed as a personal record for herself before the family left the area. In 1912 the Borough Council arranged a picnic to Diamond Harbour inviting the public to visit and view the estate for themselves. According to Edward Chudleigh the sight of the blooming flowers was too much for some and many were unable to contain themselves and rushed the Stoddart's gardens helping themselves to all they could carry. Diamond Harbour continues to provide the perfect daytrip for Christchurch residents, whether it's to tackle the climb up Mt Herbert or just to enjoy the ferry ride across Lyttelton Harbour and relax at the domain, it makes for a great day out.
The Christchurch Art Gallery holds a large collection of watercolours by Stoddart totalling forty works spanning her career. Godley House, Diamond Harbour is one of many works in the collection purchased with funds from the Olive Stirrat Bequest and fits perfectly into Stirrat's desire that her bequest be used to acquire significant historical works for the benefit of Canterbury residents.
Margaret Stoddart Godley House, Diamond Harbour (c.1913) watercolour. Collection Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, purchased with assistance from the Olive Stirrat Bequest, 1990.
Related reading: Margaret Stoddart: Nature's Artist
Collection
Margaret Stoddart Godley House, Diamond Harbour
On her return from Europe in 1907, Margaret Stoddart lived in Godley House with her mother and sister and remained there until the family’s Diamond Harbour estate was sold off in 1913. The family were keen gardeners, as can be seen by the charming cottage garden. This is one of a number of paintings Stoddart did in Diamond Harbour and shows the style she had developed during her time in Europe. The expressive opaque watercolour treatment is combined with fine fluid washes applied in a quick and direct manner, out of doors before the subject. Stoddart was born in Diamond Harbour, Christchurch, but in 1876 the family sailed for Britain and she received her early education in Edinburgh. The family returned to New Zealand in 1879 and in 1882 Stoddart enrolled at the Canterbury College School of Art. She was a founding member of the Palette Club whose members were concerned with painting out of doors. She travelled to Europe in 1898.
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New Brighton by Margaret Stoddart
This article first appeared as 'Stoddart: an artist for all seasons' in The Press on 17 November 2015.
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An Otira stream (also known as Mountain Rata) by Margaret Stoddart
This article first appeared as 'Otira colour captured in all its summer glory' in The Press on 28 February 2014.
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Margaret Stoddart: born Diamond Harbour 3 October, 1865.
While the Gallery remains closed to the public the permanent collection continues to grow with several generous gifts and bequests being received recently.
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Diamond that shines
The ruins of Diamond Harbour's Godley House may have finally been removed but the stunning sparkling views out across Lyttelton Harbour remain.
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Happy birthday Margaret
Margaret Stoddart was born on this day in 1865 at Diamond Harbour. Here she is in 1909:
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Godley House
The Press announced today that another iconic Banks Peninsula building is to be demolished, Godley House at Diamond Harbour.
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The Watercolour Collection
The Gallery's Watercolour Collection had modest beginnings, but over the past 70 years it has grown steadily by gift and purchase and, of all the Collections, still maintains a largely traditional emphasis. When the Gallery opened in June 1932, just 28 of the 128 paintings on display were watercolours and, of these, 11 were by British artists and 17 by New Zealanders. Among the mostly nineteenth century British watercolours were those by Helen Allingham, Edgar Bundy, Matthew Hale, Laura Knight, William Lee Hankey and Ernest Waterlow. In contrast, the New Zealand watercolours were by mostly contemporary or early twentieth century artists and included works by James Cook, Olivia Spencer Bower, Margaret Stoddart, Maude Sherwood, Eleanor Hughes and Alfred Walsh. The foundation Watercolour Collection included two paintings of larger than usual dimensions. William Lee Hankey's We've been in the Meadows all day (1184 x 878mm) and Charles N. Worsley's Mount Sefton (996 x 1105mm) are still greater in scale than any other work in the Watercolour Collection.
Article
Exquisite Treasure Revealed
Canterbury Museum holds two albums compiled by Diamond Harbour artist Margaret Stoddart. The older of the two, containing images featured in this Bulletin, and itself currently exhibited in the Gallery, covers the period 1886–96. The album is handsomely bound in maroon, and stamped M.O.S. in gold. It contains a sort of travelogue by way of black and white photographs set amongst decorative painting, mostly of native flora, with some locality and date information.
Collection
Margaret Stoddart Anna Ollivier Roses
“I live out my own world & follow in the lives of Frances Hodgkins […] and other women painters,” wrote Rita Angus. One of those painters was fellow Waitaha Canterbury artist Margaret Stoddart. Like Margaret, Rita developed a deep appreciation of botanical subjects in her work. Although both artists are known for their landscapes, their approach to watercolour couldn’t be more different; Margaret’s lively impressionistic approach contrasts with Rita’s work, which is rich with the detail usually reserved for a botanical artist illustrating a scientific journal.
(Perilous: Unheard Stories from the Collection, 6 August 2022- )