Story: Crafts and applied arts

Evelyn Vaile, woodcarver extraordinaire

Evelyn Vaile, woodcarver extraordinaire

Evelyn Vaile of Auckland was a very skilled woodcarver active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Her work was recorded by her photographer brother Hubert Vaile. In this period women rarely 'signed' their craft work, nor were photographed alongside it – Evelyn Vaile's work is remembered because of the photographic record. She made a wide range of carved furniture, some of which was very large and heavily decorated. In 1909 she made an impressive carved hallway seat complete with lions (one of which she is carving in the top photo) resting on the arms.

Using this item

Auckland City Libraries - Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero, Sir George Grey Special Collections
Reference: 2-V1145 (top); 2-V1149 (bottom)
Photographs by Hubert Earle Vaile

Permission of Auckland City Libraries Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Douglas Lloyd Jenkins and Lucy Hammonds, 'Crafts and applied arts - Early craft education', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/45271/evelyn-vaile-woodcarver-extraordinaire (accessed 20 April 2024)

Story by Douglas Lloyd Jenkins and Lucy Hammonds, published 22 Oct 2014