Margaret Frankel

Elaine Margaret Frankel (; 8 October 1902 – 9 December 1997) was a New Zealand painter, potter, printmaker and art teacher. She was a founding member of The Group, an association of New Zealand artists.

Early life

Frankel was born in Christchurch on 8 October 1902. She was the middle of three children of engineer Frederick Anderson and his wife Phoebe. Her grandfather, John Anderson (1820–1897), founded an engineering business, and two uncles, Andrew (1851–1927) and John (1849–1934), were prominent engineers. In April 1923 she left New Zealand to study painting in France for a year. Frankel's notable landscapes around this time include Lyttelton Harbour – Rāpaki (1939) and Old Houses, Lyttelton (1946). Frankel became a committee member of the Canterbury Society of Arts in 1947. however, the city council rejected the painting on the grounds that it was too modern. Frankel responded:

Frankel received public support from other artists and members of The Group. Bill Sutton created a large painting based on this incident, with Frankel at the centre; his painting was later accidentally destroyed, but his sketches are still in existence.

Move to Canberra and later life In 1951 Frankel and her husband moved to live in Canberra.

After the move, Frankel gave up painting but continued with her pottery. She became entitled to use the honorific Lady following her husband's knighthood in 1966.

Her pottery works were shown in exhibitions and art galleries in Australia. In 1972 she spoke to The Press about the acceptance of pottery as an art form rather than a hobby.

Frankel died in Canberra on 9 December 1997.