A Sublime Confidence
The career of post-war artist Rosemary Elizabeth Grice (1926–1948) was characterised by adversity and courage. Born in Auckland, Grice was a ‘blue baby’, diagnosed at birth with a congenital heart condition that would have a significant impact on her ability to participate in vigorous physical activities. Despite these limitations, she was determined to live a full and independent life and focused much of her childhood and early adult years on developing skills as an artist. Educated in Auckland, Warkworth and Wellington, Grice’s early artistic talent led her to enrol at Auckland’s Elam School of Art, which she attended from 1943 to 1947. During this time she was prolific, amassing a body of work that recorded her artistic development and growing confidence. Yet despite this building momentum, Grice’s story ended abruptly, cut short in 1948 when she was aged just 21. Her final painting, inscribed ‘June 1948, New York’, reveals a story of bravery and a commitment to art that shaped her life to its final days.
Grice arrived at Elam in the final years of World War II, immersing herself in the art-school environment. At the time, Elam was led by A.J.C. Fisher, an artist who had emigrated from
