KRISTIN STEPHENSON (HOLLIS)

Kristin Stephenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Between the ages of 3 and 11 she grew up in the oil fields of Venezuela, before attending boarding school in England. She drew constantly, and her aptitude for art was early recognised when as a 17-year-old she was offered a place to study painting at the prestigious Slade School of Fine Art, University College London. Instead, she did a BA (Hons) in Graphic Communication & Printmaking at Reading University, then went on to work in publishing in London. In 1968 Kristin (now Hollis) moved to NZ, initially living in Napier, then Nelson, before undertaking her BFA (Hons) in painting in 1996 at the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts in Christchurch. She graduated with First Class Honours in 1997 and was awarded the Ethel Rose Overton Scholarship. The following year she received an MFA (Distinction) in painting.