Elva Bett
New Zealand art gallery owner (1918 - 1991)
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The basics
Quick Facts
| Intro | New Zealand art gallery owner (1918 - 1991) | |
| A.K.A. | Elva Lilian Brown | |
| A.K.A. | Elva Lilian Brown | |
| Places | New Zealand | |
| was | Gallerist | |
| Work field | Arts | |
| Gender |
| |
| Birth | 30 March 1918, Dunedin, New Zealand | |
| Death | 6 December 1991Paraparaumu, New Zealand (aged 73 years) | |
| Star sign | Aries |
The details
Biography
Elva Lilian Bett QSM (née Brown, 30 March 1918 – 6 December 2016) was a New Zealand artist, art historian and art gallery director. Her work is held in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
Biography
Bett was born Elva Lilian Brown in Dunedin, New Zealand, on 30 March 1918, the daughter of Lily May Marion Brown and Herbert Patrick Flowerdew Brown. In 1940, she became engaged to John James Bett, and the couple later married. She worked in Wellington as an art gallery director, including at the Centre Gallery. In 1964 she curated an exhibition of women's art at the National Art Gallery, entitled A Room of One's Own: Women in New Zealand Art.
Bett opened a co-owned gallery in Wellington in 1968 with her business partner Catherine Duncan. It was called the Bett-Duncan Gallery and was located in Cuba Street. In 1976, Duncan left and the gallery became the Elva Bett Gallery.
In the 1988 New Year Honours, Bett was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for community service. She died in Paraparaumu on 6 December 2016.
Publications
- Drawing and Painting: A Complete Study Course for New Zealanders. Wellington: Reed, 1984.
- New Zealand Art: A Modern Perspective. Auckland: Reed Methuen, 1986.