Amy Merania Harper (1900–1998) was a New Zealand photographer. Harper was the first photographer in Auckland who used fluorescent lighting.[1]
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Biography
editAmy Merania Harper was born on 23 May 1900 in Paeroa, New Zealand.[1] Harper's was given her first camera, a Thornton Pickard, by her mother in around 1916. Her mother encouraged her photography, organising lessons with Victor R. Millard on photograph retouching.[2] Harper began her career in photography when she was eighteen years old at the studio of H.J Schmidt in Queen St, Auckland.[3] She worked as a retoucher and finisher.[3]She worked at the Schmidt studio for two years, and after leaving worked at retouching and work at home.[2] In 1922, her family purchased JC Morton's Glenmore Studio in central Auckland where Harper became chief photographer, and retained the Glenmore name.[4][2] In 1928 the family practice expanded further with the purchase of Belwood Studios in Queen St which was later renamed to the Amy Harper Studios.[1][2] In 1942 she purchased yet another studio, St John Biggs Studio, on Karanghape road which she named Belwood Studios.[3][2] She opened more Belwood Studios in Ōtāhuhu in 1958 and Papatoetoe in 1969.[2] She became widely known for her formal portraits which captured major life events for her customers.[1] However, she was most well respected for her wedding photography which became a thriving business for her.[3]
In 1945, Harper helped to establish the New Zealand Professional Photographers Association and was subsequently made a life member in 1975.[4] Harper retired in 1979.[4] She died on 15 September 1998 in Glenfield, New Zealand.
Legacy
editHarper's collection of work has been exhibited at the Auckland War Memorial Museum in an exhibition titled Reflections; New Zealand Women's Lives Presented Through the Collections of Auckland Museum in 1993.[3] It was also displayed for the public in 1992 at the Auckland City Art Gallery in the 1950s show.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b c d McClure, Margaret. "Amy Merania Harper". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f Mitchell, Lissa (2023). Through shaded glass: women and photography in Aotearoa New Zealand 1860-1960. Wellington, New Zealand: Te Papa Press. pp. 129–135. ISBN 978-0-9951384-9-0. OCLC 1374563763.
- ^ a b c d e f Maitland, Gordon (Spring 1993). "Amy Harper and Her Studios". Art New Zealand. Vol. 68.
- ^ a b c "There Were Never Such Devoted Sisters". Photo and Audio NZ. 1 (5). 1979.
External sources
edit- Works of Harper are in the collection of Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira
- Biography of Amy Merania Harper