Olivia Spencer Bower Britain, New Zealand, 1905-82
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About Olivia Spencer Bower
Daughter of New Zealand artist Rosa Spencer Bower, Olivia Spencer Bower was born in England in 1905. She arrived in Christchurch with her parents in 1919 and studied part time at the Canterbury University College School of Art. For 9 years. After a trip back to Europe in 1929 to study at the Slade School in London and travel around Europe, she studied for a time at the Elam School of Art in Auckland. Spencer Bower is widely recognised as a leading New Zealand exponent of the watercolour medium.
In our database, 336 works by Olivia Spencer Bower are listed as being offered for sale, the earliest in 1988, of which 221 (66%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $10,285 for Anita sold by Watson's Auctioneers in September 2009. This year 5 works have been offered for sale. Works by Olivia Spencer Bower are held by the Christchurch Art Gallery, Auckland Art Gallery and Suter Art Gallery.
Olivia Spencer Bower is listed in the following standard biographical references:
- Gil Docking, with additions by Michael Gunn covering 1970-90. Two Hundred Years of New Zealand Painting, David Bateman Ltd., New Zealand, 1990 Page 162
- McGahey, Kate. The Concise Dictionary of New Zealand Artists Painters Printmakers Sculptors, Gilt Edge Publishing, Wellington, New Zealand, 2000. Page 229
- The Find New Zealand Artists web site: a database of artist names that directs researchers to the rich resources found in New Zealand's libraries, art society exhibition histories and published sources.
The Australian Art Sales Digest is a database of over 610,000 works by more than 12,000 artists who are listed as having either lived or worked in Australia or New Zealand, and an additional 36,000 foreign and other artists, offered for sale by auction in Australia and New Zealand from the early 1970s to the present day.
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