Hannah Eliza Jane Brenkley

Hannah Eliza Jane Brenkley (née Hopkins, 7 March 1882 – 25 February 1973) was a New Zealand artist and craftswoman. She created artworks through carving, needlework, and painting. Her work is in the permanent collections of the National Library of New Zealand, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and the Museum Theatre Gallery Hawke's Bay.

Biography 'My Little Grey Home in the West', circa 1950, New Zealand, by Jane Brenkley. Te Papa Brenkley was born in Norsewood, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. Her parents were Scandinavian and had immigrated on board the Hovding. When she was five years old, she started sketching; a family member gave her a paint set, and she began to paint in watercolours. Brenkley admired Māori culture, and many of her items feature artistic elements of Māori style, such as using pāua shell for the eyes of carved figures.

Personal life When she was 18, she married saw-miller Thomas Brenkley. The couple lived most of their lives on their dairy farm in Norsewood-Ormondville and raised 10 children.