Margaret Stoddart Retirement Village
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Care is not an ‘add on’ at a Ryman village, it is built into the fabric of our villages from the very beginning. It’s comforting for couples and friends to know they can still be near each other even if their health needs are different.
Margaret Stoddart care centre offers the best of resthome care. Like all aspects of our villages, we constantly look for ways to improve both the care we provide and the innovation behind it. Care is customised using our myRyman Care app and residents love the food in our seasonal Delicious menu, which is prepared fresh on site by village chefs.
Margaret Stoddart is one of over 90% of Ryman villages that have been awarded 4-year certification by the Ministry of Health. It’s recognised as the ‘gold star’ standard in care.
Each Ryman village is named in honour of a Kiwi or Aussie trailblazer: Anthony Wilding, Lady Diana Isaac, Evelyn Page. They pushed further and set the bar high for others to aspire to. In creating communities that challenge the expectations of ageing, Ryman villages are also setting the bar high. They’re demonstrating that a retirement lifestyle brimming with new experiences, connections and fulfilment is something we should aspire to. Our Kiwi and Aussie namesakes represent the measure of inspiration, while Ryman villages represent the measure of retirement living.
Margaret Stoddart (1865-1934)
Margaret Stoddart’s exceptional talent, adventurous spirit, immersive watercolour style, and commitment to working from nature, are hallmarks of her remarkable career. She was widely exhibited while painting and her legacy continues to impact New Zealand art today.
Based in Canterbury, New Zealand for most of her career, she spent nine years spent living and painting in Europe. Christchurch, Banks Peninsula, and the Chatham Islands heavily inspired her work, and she established a reputation as one of New Zealand’s foremost flower painters. While abroad, she painted as she travelled through England, France, Italy, and Norway. Her works were displayed in prestigious exhibitions throughout Europe during this time.
She worked exclusively as a watercolourist and painted plein-air landscape. While watercolour painting was a common pastime for women at the time, Margaret’s talent for the art form flourished into a trail-blazing professional career.
In later years, Margaret heavily contributed to Canterbury’s artistic community. She taught at the Canterbury College School of Art, was a member of the Christchurch Sketch Club, and served as vice president of the Canterbury Society of Arts. More than an artist, she inspired many young artists through her teaching. Her students include Evelyn Page and Sir Toss Woollaston.
To learn more about Margaret’s life and career, read Margaret Stoddart: landscapes of a Canterbury flower painter by J. King as published in Art New Zealand No31 (Winter 1984) 46-49.
