Charles Kidson

Charles Kidson was born in Bilston, near Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England in 1867. In 1885 the family emigrated to Nelson, New Zealand however Charles remained in Birmingham until 1888, working at an engineering firm by day and studying art at evening classes.

In February 1892, having settled in the Southern Hemisphere, he became an Assistant Master at the Canterbury College School of Art in Christchurch, instructing in life drawing, Greek and Roman sculpture, geometry, perspective, modelling, carving and repoussé work. During this time he made a lasting friendship with Samuel Hurst Seager, a local architect then teaching at the School of Art.

Kidson’s first public commission was carving the decorative details for a memorial to Ngai Tahu, located on the site of the Kaiapoi Pa sacked and burned by Ngai Toa chief, Te Rauparaha in 1832. The memorial was driven by the work of the local runanga and missionary writer Reverend Canon James West Stack (1835 - 1919). The local runanga had approached Stack to advise on the memorial. A committee of Kaiapoi Māori was set up and Samuel Hurst Seager was invited to prepare designs for the committee. Seager’s accepted design was for a round column obelisk 9 metres high and a metre in diameter topped by an Atua of the tribe. The obelisk stood over earthworks under which there was a grotto; the entrance to this was to be decorated to resemble the doorway of a Maori meeting house. Flanking the buttressing of the earthworks were two additional tribal guardian figures. Seager recommended Kidson be given the task of carving the three guardian figures and the entrance to the grotto. Kidson prepared by studying Māori design and carving in Dr Augustus Hamilton's book, 'Maori Art'. The memorial was finally completed in March 1899 and was unveiled by the Prime Minister, Richard John Seddon on 3 April.

In 1903 Kidson returned to England for six months, where he visited major art collections and attended classes in wood-carving at the Royal College of Art, South Kensington. He also studied modelling at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London. Returning to Christchurch, he undertook a number of major works while retaining his teaching post, and then in 1906 resigned to begin a full-time career as a sculptor and craftsman.

Kidson's sculptural work was conservative in style and subject, and he obtained commissions for a number of portrait busts of local dignitaries, as well as creating 'fancy pieces' such as 'Daughter of Eve' (1907), a marble study of a young girl smiling (based on his daughter Elsa. A bust of Richard Seddon made for Parliament Buildings in 1907 (after Seddon's death) was among these. The bust was destroyed when it was knocked off its pedestal by an earthquake in December 1942.

Charles Kidson died in Christchurch on 2 October 1908, having fallen victim to Bright’s Disease. He was survived by his wife, three sons and a daughter. He reached high professional standards in his work and proved that a sculptor based in Ōtautahi Christchurch in this era could make a living as an artist and compete successfully with British sculptors for commissions.

Biography adapted from Michael Dunn’s 'Kidson, Charles', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography and Neil Roberts, 'Canterbury Vignette Series: Charles Kidson : 1867 - 1908'.

See also:

• Canterbury Vignette Series: Charles Kidson | Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū
• Neil Roberts, 'Canterbury Vignette Series: Charles Kidson : 1867 - 1908' (Robert McDougall Art Gallery: 2000), pp.14-15.
• Kidson, Charles, 1867-1908 (National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa)
• Michael Dunn. 'Kidson, Charles', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography(Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand: 1996) (accessed 11 April 2025)