Endless Fascination

Endless Fascination is an exhibition of paintings by three women artists of different generations, connected to one Canterbury family, spanning a hundred years. This features the paintings of Daisy Le Cren, born in the 19th Century; her daughter, Betty Curnow, and Curnow's granddaughter-in-law, the contemporary artist, Nadia Curnow. The works are fittingly presented together in the historic birthplace of the Impressionist painter, Margaret Stoddart.

Born in 1879, the daughter of a noted watercolourist, Florence Sharland, Daisy Le Cren grew up in a household in Ashburton where paintings by Margaret Stoddart hung on the drawing room walls alongside other early New Zealand artists. Her obscure and unusual work proved an inspiration to no less than Colin McCahon, who dedicated 16 works to her memory. Daisy is said to have painted almost every day of her life. 

Betty Curnow, daughter of Daisy Le Cren, was born in Geraldine in 1911 and is perhaps better known for her close association with artists such as Louise Henderson and Rita Angus, both of whom painted her portrait, among others. Several of her own paintings and drawings from the 1940s reflect the time she spent at Frederick and Evelyn Page's house at Governor's Bay. Betty achieved greater prominence in the 1960s as a printmaker. 

Nadia Curnow is Betty Curnow's granddaughter-in-law and was born in Kazakhstan in 1962. She has exhibited widely in New Zealand since 2020 and currently lives in Timaru. Her work has been acquired by the Aigantighe Art Gallery, where she was included in the exhibition 'Domestic Bliss' in 2024. She is represented at the McAtamney Gallery, Geraldine, where she has recently held a solo exhibition. 

Selected local works of Margaret Stoddart are also on display in the rear gallery of Stoddart Cottage during the exhibition.

Image: Betty Curnow - Red Cottage