Muriel Moody (New Zealand) ceramics

Muriel Moody (née Wilson) was a New Zealand commercial artist, welfare worker, sculptor and potter. She was born in Whangarei, New Zealand on 18 March 1907, the second of six children of John Munro Wilson and Mildred Carrick Proude. Her mother was a talented pianist and loved to sketch, and encouraged her children to develop their talents. Moody attended Palmerston North Girls' High School, where she showed signs of talent with drawing — the 1925 school magazine contained two of her sketches. After finishing school, Moody worked in Palmerston North as a commercial artist and continued to study art with lessons from Harry Richardson.

In 1941, Moody joined the British YWCA War Service and worked closely with the director of welfare for the Far East, fellow New Zealander Jean Begg. Moody spent seven years in England, Egypt, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and India setting up residential, recreation and welfare clubs for more... servicewomen. In 1946 she worked in Japan to open clubs for women of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces, including a Muriel Wilson hostel. After a year in Sydney, Australia, receiving treatment for tuberculosis, Moody returned to New Zealand and married public servant Clive Robert Moody, known as Bob Moody, in 1949.

After her marriage, Moody settled in Lower Hutt, New Zealand and began to focus on her art. She studied sculpture with Colin McCahon and Toss Woollaston, and her work was soon exhibited in galleries around New Zealand. Moody's sculptures were often based on the human figure, and she was known for her ability to capture emotion and movement in her work. She also created a number of ceramic sculptures, as well as paintings and prints.

Moody's work was exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout her career, and she was awarded several prizes, including the Frances Hodgkins Purchase Award in 1972. She was also a member of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. Moody died in Lower Hutt on 24 December 1991.

Muriel Moody's work is held in public collections around New Zealand, including the Auckland Art Gallery, the Christchurch Art Gallery, and the National Art Gallery of New Zealand. She is considered one of the most important New Zealand sculptors of the 20th century. less...