Violet Whiteman

Violet Emily Whiteman (née Sells; 24 December 1873 – 21 January 1952) was an English-born New Zealand artist.^[1] Her work is in the permanent collection of the Sarjeant Gallery in Whanganui, New Zealand.^[2] Her paintings depict farm animals and pets, including foxes, dogs and horses.

Whiteman was born in Guildford, Surrey, England, in 1873.^[3] She studied art at Herkomer School in Bushey; she also studied anatomy at the London Veterinary College and took lessons from animal painters William Frank Calderon and Stanhope Forbes.^[2]

In 1926 she moved to New Zealand and settled near Whanganui and lived on a farm. She exhibited with the Wanganui Arts Society.^[3] She also accepted private commissions to paint clients' pets and prized animals, such as the racehorse Beau Le Havre.^[1]

Whiteman died in Whanganui on 21 January 1952, and her body was buried in Aramoho Cemetery.^[4][5][6]