Maria Louisa Gardner

Maria Louisa "Briar" Gardner (29 July 1879 – 20 October 1968) was one of New Zealand's first studio potters and later in life a speech therapist. As a child she was tutored at home before spending two years at Araparera School after it opened in 1893. She began taking classes at Elam School of Fine Arts, studying sculpture under William Wright and learning about Māori design from artist and illustrator Trevor Lloyd.

Style In the mid-1930s, Gardner “was praised for the marked development in her work, particularly her use of ‘soft harmonious colourings’, ‘flowing glazes’ and Maori and indigenous plant motifs.”