Richard Wallwork

Richard Wallwork (2 January 1882 – 14 April 1955) was a New Zealand artist. Born in England, he studied at the Manchester School of Art and then Royal College of Art. He taught at Liverpool City School of Art and in 1910 was recruited to teach at the Canterbury College School of Art in Christchurch in New Zealand. He moved there with his wife Elizabeth Wallwork and established a reputation as a respected teacher and eventually rose to become director of the college. He had a prodigious output of landscapes of Canterbury and historical works of classic and Maori legends as well as taking commissions for portraits. He died in Christchurch at the age of 73.

Early life Richard Wallwork was born on 2 January 1882 at Stretford in Lancashire into a large family. His father, also named Richard Wallwork, was married to Mary and worked in leather goods. Stretford was an industrial area on the outskirts of Manchester with little in the way of luxuries. The Wallwork family were cautious with their finances, even more so when Wallwork's father died in 1897. His mother had to take up sewing for income while Wallwork himself was working as well for the benefit of the family.

In 1899, he enrolled for evening classes at Manchester's Municipal School of Art where he would study art until 1906. This include periods travelling in Belgium and France on a scholarship. He was an excellent student, earning first class honours in a number of subjects and several cash awards and scholarships. He then attended the Royal College of Art on a scholarship and became a valued student teacher working with Gerald Moira. He took courses in mural and decorative painting, etching and engraving, art history, and architecture while at the college.

Teaching In late 1909 he was recruited to teach at the Liverpool City School of Art and commenced work there early the following year, teaching drawing and painting. On 16 July 1910, he married Elizabeth , a promising artist in her own right who had also attended the Municipal School of Art and then went on to the Slade School of Fine Art in London. He had been exempted from service during the war because of medical reasons.

At the Canterbury College School of Art, Wallwork taught not just painting but also etching and established a reputation as a respected teacher. By 1920, he was head of the drawing and painting department but still had capacity to undertake commissioned work. In 1928 Wallwork was appointed as director of the School of Art following the retirement of his predecessor. Under his guidance the curriculum for a diploma in fine arts was developed and within a few years he was on the professional board. In 1932, when the Robert McDougall Art Gallery was established, he was on its advisory committee. He retired as director of the college at the end of 1945 but carried out teaching in a part-time role for a further three years.

Even into his seventies, he continued to exhibit his work, most often at the Canterbury Society of Arts and the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts but also elsewhere. He died in Christchurch on 14 April 1955 at the age of 73, survived by Elizabeth and a daughter. Although his output declined in his final years as he became ill with lung cancer, his studio still contained several hundred paintings at the time of his death. His wife organised a posthumous exhibition of over 100 of his works the following year.