Marilynn Webb

Marilynn Webb was born 11 September 1937[1] in Grey Lynn, Auckland, New Zealand, daughter of Trevor James Webb and Elizabeth Vaiven Webb, née Turner.[2][3] She is of Māori (Ngāti Kahu, Te Roroa) and European descent.[4]

Marilynn Webb is the direct descendant of Moe Ngaherehere, the 47th signatory of the Treaty of Waitangi [Ngaherehere; Pickering; Turner; Webb]. Her birth in Auckland was the result of her mother having previously lost children in Opotiki. Her maternal grandmother oversaw her birth in Auckland, and at a few days old she returned from Auckland to Opotiki on a scow. She was raised in Opotiki, where she attended primary and secondary school.[1]

Her son, Benedict Ben Webb, was also an artist.[5]

• 1937 - Born in Grey Lynn, Auckland New Zealand.
• 1937-1954 - Attended Opotiki Primary School and Opotiki College.
• 1955-1956 - Attended Ardmore Teachers college and Mother passed away during this time.
• 1957 - Attended Dunedin Teachers College and Kind Edward Technical Institute Dunedin. Webb had her first show in Dunedin at a coffee bar called Stewart's.
• 1958-1962 - Became an Adviser at the Department of Education in North Auckland. During this time Webb worked on Hokianga images and "travelled to New Caledonia".
• 1962-1963 - Travelled to Spain, England and North Africa during Webbs study leave.
• 1963-1964 - Study leave continued; traveled to Alice Springs, Australia and Worked on desert desert paintings and drawings. Continued her travels to the Western desert and Western Australia.
• 1964-1966 - Art Adviser for the Department of Education in Auckland, New Zealand. Worked on drawings, prints and watercolours such as Hokianga, Raglan and intaglio hill.
• 1966-1969 - Ran Napier Street Community Scheme, Central Auckland, with John Sinclair. Webb also ran teacher training courses in Suva, Fiji. this was where she worked on "intaglio hill from prints and early coastline images."
• 1970 - Invited to exhibit in 2nd Graphic Triennale New Delhi, India; 7th International Exhibition of Graphic Art_, Tokyo; Expo, Osaka, Japan. Won 1st prize at Te Awamutu Festival Exhibition with Dust Cloud Central Australia.
• 1976 - Webb was invited to exhibit in the 9th International Exhibition of Graphic Art, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia; New Vision Gallery, Auckland. Webb also did a touring exhibition of Print Council New Zealand.

[1]

Webb studied at Opotiki College, Ardmore Teachers' College, and the University of Auckland. From 1957 she studied at the Dunedin Teachers' College. She trained under the Arts Advisory Scheme and worked as an arts adviser for the Department of Education in Auckland and Northland, and the Northern Māori Project.[6][7] In 1974 she began the development of her pastel work at the University of Otago.[3]

Webb is known for her printmaking and has also created paintings, pastels, and hand-coloured works. Her art explores concepts of land, ecology, politics, women in art, and Māori and post-colonial history. Her landscapes reflect her passionate environmentalism and include depictions of Lake Mahinerangi, the Ida Valley, Fiordland, and Stewart Island.[3] Working closely with the Eastern Southland Gallery, and Southland Museum & Art Gallery provided the opportunity to work with the wider Southland Community. The Southland Art Foundation project Hodges, to Hodgkins to Here and In Hodges Wake provided the opportunity to work closely with the Department of Conservation where she explored Doubtful Sound and Dusky Sound, in particular. She formed part of the artist team who worked on the Southland Art Foundation project [Rakiura] in 2000, and was part of the Department of Conservation project Tamatea, which highlighted the fragility of the Dusky Sound ecology.

Webb has exhibited prolifically and been involved in over 180 exhibitions and over 35 curated exhibitions/symposiums,[8] including internationally in Australia, United States, India, Japan, Yugoslavia, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom.[9][7]

Specifically she has exhibited with:

• New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts[10][11]
• The Group[12] in 1970,[13] 1974,[14] 1975,[15] and 1976[16]

Works by Webb are held in the collections of the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki,[17] Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa,[4] Norwegian Contemporary Graphic Museum, and the US Library of Congress.[3]

She is the author, with Bridie Lonie, of the book Marilynn Webb: Prints and Pastels.[18]

Webb has taught art for over thirty years at secondary and tertiary levels in Dunedin. From 1988, she lectured in printmaking at the Otago Polytechnic School of Art and in 2004 was made an emeritus principal lecturer at the school. She has served as a member of the National Education Monitoring Project for the Ministry of Education, the university's Educational Assessment Research Unit, and is a governor of the Arts Foundation of New Zealand.[3]

In 1974, Webb was awarded the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship.[19]

in 2000, Webb was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2000 New Year Honours, for services to art and art education.[20]

In 2010, the University of Otago awarded her an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.[3]

In 2011, Webb was awarded Nga Tohu a Ta Kingi Ihaka for her lifetime of achievement in art and leadership as a Maori artist at the Creative New Zealand Te Waka Toi Awards.[21][22]

In 2018, Webb was awarded Te Tohu Aroha mō Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, the Supreme Award for excellence and achievement in Ngā Toi Māori (Māori art), at the Creative New Zealand Te Waka Toi Awards.[23][24]

Artist files for Marilynn Webb are held at:

• E. H. McCormick Research Library, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
• Robert and Barbara Stewart Library and Archives, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu
• Fine Arts Library, University of Auckland
• Hocken Collections Uare Taoka o Hākena
• Te Aka Matua Research Library, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
• Macmillan Brown Library, University of Canterbury

Also see:

• Concise Dictionary of New Zealand Artists McGahey, Kate (2000) Gilt Edge
• Prints and Printmakers in New Zealand Peter Cape (1974) Collins