- Shona McFarlane
Shona Graham McFarlane CBE (
March 27 ,1929 –September 29 ,2001 ) was aNew Zealand artist, journalist and broadcaster.McFarlane was born in Gore and educated at
Otago Girls' High School , and studied teaching at Dunedin Teachers' College. McFarlane taught Art in New Zealand schools from 1950-1952, before moving toLondon where she taught in the mid-1950s.During the 1960s and 1970s she served on the
Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council , and was President of the Otago Art Society during the 1960s. Until 1975, she served on the Otago Theatre Trust Committee, on the Dunedin Public Art Gallery Council, and was President of the Dunedin Civic Arts Council. She was also a prominent campaigner to preserve several historic Dunedin buildings.As a journalist during the period from 1960-1974, McFarlane was women's editor of the Dunedin Star, one of the two major daily newspapers in that city.
McFarlane became a public figure as an original panellist of the long-running chat show Beauty and the Beast, appearing alongside
Selwyn Toogood andCatherine Tizard from 1976-1985.McFarlane survived breast cancer in the early 1970s, and became a prominent campaigner for more government funding for early detection and intervention in the illness.
She was also vice president of the
New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts for many years.McFarlane wrote several books, and was widely commissioned throughout New Zealand for major art works. The Shona McFarlane Art Gallery in Dunedin was named after her, as well as the Shona McFarlane retirement village in Wellington.
McFarlane was married to National Arts Minister
Allan Highet . Her sister is well-known artistHeather Francis .McFarlane wrote six books, and her paintings appear primarily in museums, art galleries, and private collections.
Awards
*MBE, 1974
*CBE, 1994
*Governor General's Art Award, 1994 - from New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts [http://www.nzafa.com/fellowship.php]
*National Bank Art Award 1974Books
*Dunedin, Portrait of a City (1970)
*Mixed Media (1975)
*Of Cabbages And Things (1981)
*From Maungaraki (1983)
*White Moas and Artichokes (1993)
*Shona McFarlane: A Memoir (1999)External links
* [http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/writers/mcfarlaneshona.html New Zealand Book Council]
* [http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/search.aspx?advanced=colProProductionMakers%3a%22McFarlane%2c+Shona%22+colCollectionGroup%3aCH Works in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa]
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