$1.25m-plus given out over 30 years

By The Star | Posted: Friday Apr 11, 2025

Women and children, the victims of family violence, were dear to the heart of Dunedin artist Patricia France, who died 30 years ago in 1995, aged 83.

$1.25m-plus given out over 30 years | Otago Daily Times Online News

France established a charitable trust and left part of her estate to support women’s refuges and related organisations based in Otago and Southland.

Thirty years on, the trust has made grants of more than $1.25million, an anniversary milestone trustees Tony Eyre, Ngaire Gardner, Dr Penny Kagan and Paul Sorrell reflected on at their recent annual grants meeting.

Born in Stratford, in 1911, Patricia France had an early introduction to art when her mother and aunt took her to Paris in 1928, where she was enrolled for two years at the New York School of Interior Design.

In her adult life, France lived with severe depression and became a patient in Dunedin’s Ashburn Hall over a period of seven years in the 1960s.

Despite several courses of shock treatment, her relapses were frequent.

Through alternative treatment, her psychiatrist Dr Denford supported and encouraged her to paint again.

Leaving Ashburn Hall in 1966, Patricia France bought a house at 396 Highgate, where her commitment to her paintings and entertaining friends became the centre of her life.

Her paintings, usually in gouache or oils, had an ethereal quality, often depicting old-fashioned women in hats and coats, seemingly sad and lost.

By the 1990s, her exhibitions had become sell-outs and her works sought after by institutional collectors.

Trustee Mr Eyre said in a statement, unfortunately New Zealand had the highest rates of family violence in the OECD, and referrals to support services continued to rise.

"The trust has given financial support to many organisations in Otago and Southland and built enduring relationships, some going back 30 years," he said.

"One such group is the Southland Help Rape and Abuse Support Centre in Invercargill. On completion of their new building later this year, they will name their art therapy room after Patricia France, in recognition of the trust’s ongoing support.

"It’s in ways like this that Patricia has left a lasting legacy, and on this 30-year anniversary of the Patricia France Charitable Trust, we pause to honour Patricia and celebrate that legacy." — APL