Beauties of Shakespeare

James McKain Meek
W Baker, Christchurch (printer)
Beauties of Shakespeare [sic] 1883
lithograph
60.8 x 50.5cm
Canterbury Museum
Christchurch, New Zealand

Meek favoured subjects that showcased the history and achievements of the colonies, but he also had an eye to the marketplace with broadly popular themes as in this work that celebrated the Bard. “The effect of the whole display is enhanced by the judicious use of numerous appropriate Masonic emblems and symbols.” There is no evidence that Meek was a Freemason but he seems to have drawn on that style of iconography as an artistic source. “Mr Meek intends to exhibit this specimen of his skill at the forthcoming Exhibition in Christchurch.”