16 Facts About Doreen Blumhardt

Dame Vera Doreen Blumhardt was a New Zealand potter, ceramicist and arts educator.

Vera Dorren Blumhardt was born on 7 March 1914 in Huanui in the North of New Zealand.

Doreen Blumhardt's parents were German-born David Blumhardt and Wilhelmina Elisabeth Magdalene Hartdegen who ran a small farm near Whangarei.

Doreen Blumhardt had a keen interest in drawing and watercolours and went on to study at the Canterbury College of Art in Christchurch.

In 1940, Doreen Blumhardt began her teaching career at Nelson Central School.

In 1951, Doreen Blumhardt was appointed the head of the Art Department of Wellington College of Education, a position she held for over 20 years.

Doreen Blumhardt's works are included in many overseas galleries and institutions, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Museo Gaccia in Switzerland as well as in her home nation of New Zealand.

Doreen Blumhardt founded and ran the New Zealand Potter magazine together with Helen Mason.

Doreen Blumhardt travelled extensively and collected pottery from countries including Japan and Mexico.

Doreen Blumhardt was instrumental to international potters including Takeichi Kawai and Bernard Leach exhibiting in New Zealand.

In later years, Doreen Blumhardt completed a series of large commissions, including the Richard Byrd Memorial in Wellington in 1992, the tiles of which depict the Aurora Australis.

In 2003, Doreen Blumhardt founded the Doreen Blumhardt Foundation to foster, support, collect, and display the best examples of decorative arts and design in New Zealand.

In 2003, Doreen Blumhardt received a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to pottery and art education.

Doreen Blumhardt was made a Member of the Order of New Zealand in the 2007 New Year Honours.

In 2009, two months before her death, Doreen Blumhardt accepted the redesigned title of Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit following the restoration of titular honours by the New Zealand government.

Dame Vera Doreen Blumhardt died on 17 October 2009, aged 95.