Sylvia Siddell

Sylvia Siddell studied at Auckland University of Technology and University of Auckland. The field of work recorded is painting. Work by Sylvia Siddell is recorded in the collections of Auckland Art Gallery. Distinctions recorded are New Zealand Order of Merit.

• Name — Sylvia Siddell • Honorific Suffix — ONZM • Born — 1941 • Birthplace — Auckland, New Zealand • Died — 26 August 2011 • Place of death — Auckland, New Zealand • Spouse — Peter Siddell • Awards — Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) • Field — painting, etching, screen printing, drawing • Training — Avondale College, Auckland Post Primary Teachers' College, Auckland University, Auckland Society of Arts, Auckland Technical Institute • Works — Fire and Water (2002), Out of the Frying Pan (2007), Sleep of Reason (1984), The Birds, the Bat and the Beast (2006), The Princess began to doubt the Veracity of the Lecherous Amphibian (2008)

Siddell attended the Avondale College (Art teacher: R.N.Field), Auckland Post Primary Teachers' College (1964–65), Auckland University Summer School (1967, tutored by Colin McCahon), night classes at the Auckland Society of Arts (1970, tutored by Louise Henderson), and night classes at the Auckland Technical Institute (1975–76).

Drawing on the tradition of the European vanitas, or allegorical still life, Siddell's work often depicts inanimate, familiar, and ordinary objects, giving them a sense of vibrancy and reflects on the joys, sorrows, struggles, and frustrations of daily existence. Examples of this include her still life paintings, Fire and Water (2002) and Out of the Frying Pan (2007). Her exhibition Couches, at the Artis Gallery in 2005, is another example of how she instilled life and character into ordinary domestic objects, animating them with a sense of personality.

From 1975 onward Siddell exhibited regularly throughout New Zealand and her work is held in private and public collections, both in New Zealand and internationally. Notable exhibitions at the Artis Gallery include Fragments of Life (2000), A Rich Life (1998), and Couches (2005). In 1994 she took part in the exhibition Unruly Practices at Auckland Art Gallery. The project was a series of solo projects by feminist artists living in Auckland, including work by Carole Shepherd, Claudia Pond Eyley, Mary McIntyre, Christine Hellyar.

In 1960, she married fellow artist Peter Siddell, and had two daughters, Avril and Emily (also an artist).