Molly Macalister

Molly Morell Macalister (18 May 1920 – 12 October 1979) was a New Zealand artist. She was the first female artist in New Zealand to be awarded with a major public art commission with her 1964 work A Māori Figure in a Kaitaka Cloak. Known for painting, woodcarving, and sculpture, her work is held in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Early life Macalister was born in Invercargill and was the daughter of Catherine Holmes McQueen and Morell Macalister, a partner in the law firm Macalister Brothers.

Education Macalister attended the Invercargill South School, Southland Girls’ High School, and the Chilton Saint James School in Lower Hutt. Her natural ability in drawing was noted as early as 1937. She also exhibited with The Group in 1943 and 1968.

Macalister's works were included in the first exhibition of contemporary New Zealand sculpture held at Auckland City Gallery in 1955. Four years later, her work featured again, this time alongside Anne Severs and Alison Duff.

Macalister was a founding member of the New Zealand Society of Sculptors and Associates and was made honorary life member from 1979. She played a key role in the 1971 international sculpture symposium in Auckland.

Personal life Macalister moved to Auckland in 1943. She married George Hajdu (later known as Haydn) in Dunedin on 14 August 1945. They had one son.