Esther Studholme Hope (née Barker, 8 August 1885 – 16 July 1975) was a New Zealand artist.
Background
Hope was born in Woodbury, New Zealand, on 8 August 1885. Her father was the farmer John Matthias Barker (1856–1933), the son of Dr Alfred Barker (1819–1873). Her grandfather, while trained as a doctor, was prominent as a photographer in colonial Christchurch. Her mother was Emily Studholme (1863–1938), the daughter of the pioneering runholder Michael Studholme (1833–1886).
Barker married Henry Norman Hope in 1919, and died on 16 July 1975.
Education
Hope's early education was at Miss Bowen's School in Christchurch. Her first art teachers included Captain Edwyn Temple and Margaret Stoddart. After travelling to England, Hope's art education included attending the Slade School of Fine Art in London, receiving tuition from Henry Tonks, John Peter Russell, and Ambrose McEvoy. While in London she also studied at the Chelsea College of Arts under Ernest Borough Johnson and Frank Spenlove-Spenlove.
