Exhibitions
Events
On display
Persimmon (Study of a Racehorse) by Betty Harrison
Betty Harrison Persimmon (Study of a Racehorse) c.1930 Painted plaster. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, gift of J.H. McGregor, 2008
Art Bite
Past event
Meet in the exhibition
Join Guided Engagement Coordinator Rebecca Ogle as she discusses Betty Harrison's Persimmon in Dear Shurrie: Francis Shurrock and his contemporaries on the ground floor.
Art Bites are 30-minute lunchtime presentations on a single work on display, presented by our staff, guides and guest speakers.
There's a new Art Bite to enjoy each Friday at 12 noon (except during public and school holidays).
Related reading: Free event
Exhibition
Dear Shurrie: Francis Shurrock and his contemporaries
8 March – 13 July 2025
The art, influence and friendships of sculptor and teacher Francis Shurrock.
Collection
Betty Harrison Persimmon (Study of a Racehorse)
Chrystabel Aitken and Betty Harrison both grew up in rural communities where they developed a great love of animals – an interest they both explored as students studying sculpture under Shurrock at the Canterbury College School of Art during the 1920s and 30s. Aitken’s interest in the natural world was manifest in her sculptures, prints, applied arts and ceramics, most of which focused on depictions of animals. A Bull is her tribute to the famous nineteenth-century French painter and sculptor of animals, Rosa Bonheur. Aitken flourished under Shurrock and in 1926 was appointed his assistant at the art school, leading to a close friendship for the remainder of their lives. Harrison studied sculpture under Shurrock. Persimmon (Study of a Racehorse) suggests a talented, promising student, but she decided to change career paths in the 1930s to become a nurse. Harrison died tragically young in 1937, aged just twenty-five.
(Dear Shurrie: Francis Shurrock and his contemporaries, 8 March – 13 July 2025)
