Anne McCahon
Anne McCahon was a New Zealand painter, printmaker and illustrator from Dunedin. Contributing to the ‘School Journal’ for over 20 years, her illustrations were beloved by teachers for their meaningful simplicity.
Anne McCahon (nee Hamblett) (1915 to 1993) was born in Mosgiel, Dunedin and studied at the King Edward Technical College from 1934 to 1937. She established herself early in her career, joining the Otago Arts Society in 1934 and starting a women’s only painting studio in the central city on Moray Place. Over and above her painting sales, McCahon earned money at the Dunedin Medical School painting medical specimens. During this period, she formed strong bonds with important South Island artists including Doris Lusk, Toss Woollaston and her future husband Colin McCahon — who as a group often went in search of dramatic rural scenes for their subject matter.
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![Black and white photo of a smiling woman with short hair and a man standing near her looking at her]()
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![An old black and white photo of a woman wearing a hat, black jacket and a checkered scarf]()
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After marriage in 1942, the artist’s family grew, and her painting practice ended. However, she took up illustration work after being introduced to author Aileen Findlay. Their second story featuring the character Timothy Tidy, was published by the ‘School Journal’ in 1951. Some illustrations for ‘Timothy Tidy’ were included in McCahon’s posthumous exhibition ‘A Table of One’s Own: The Creative Life of Anne McCahon’. This was the first of many stories McCahon was to illustrate for the journal, which gave her a practical outlet for her formal art training, while supplementing the family income.
Her daughter, Victoria, writes “I loved finding my mother’s pictures in the school journals, the familiar animals and the native birds, French Bay, our dinghy”. She recalls coming home from school and seeing her mother at the kitchen table — with poster paints, inks and brushes — working on her illustrations, which she contributed to for over 20 years. Her son, William, reflects that "teachers would comment that mum’s drawings were clear and simple, and easily conveyed the ideas in the story".
Anne McCahon's artworks for the story ‘Timothy Tidy’
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![Illustration of a boy with a black cat on his left, wearing a red coat and holding a green hat, with words written the story of Timothy Tidy. Words By Aileen Findlay and Anne McCahon below.]()
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![An illustration of a house with red roof, a green door and a red fence with a row red flowers in the front yard]()
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![An illustration of a young boy wearing a red jacket and green hat, holding a can of wheat, three hens and a rooster on the left]()
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![An illustration of a young boy standing in front of a kitchen sink, wearing a red apron and black shoes. He's holding a plate in his left hand and a brush in his right hand.]()
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![An Illustration of a young boy sitting on a chair holding and reading a newspaper, with a fireplace painted red on his right. A black cat is sitting in front of the fireplace.]()
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![An illustration of a black cat sleeping on a red cat bed]()
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![An illustration of a black cat sitting, a hand on the right holds a fish. There are fish bones and a red milk bowl in the front.]()
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![An illustration of a young boy wearing a red coat, pushing a boat with two paddles in the water, word Sally written on the boat]()
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