# Thelma Kent

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{{Short description|New Zealand photographer (1899–1946)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox artist
| name          = Thelma Kent
| image         = Thelma Rene Kent 1939.jpg
| alt           =
| caption       = Self-portrait panning for gold in the [Arawhata River](/source/Arawhata_River), Westland, 1939
| birth_name    = Thelma Rene Kent
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1899|10|21|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [Christchurch](/source/Christchurch), New Zealand
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1946|6|23|1899|10|21|df=y}}
| death_place   = Christchurch, New Zealand
| education     = Christchurch Technical College
| field         = [Photography](/source/Photography)
| training      =
| movement      = 
| works         =
| patrons       =
| awards        = 
}}
'''Thelma Rene Kent''' (21 October 1899 &ndash; 23 June 1946) was a New Zealand photographer.<ref name="TeAra">{{DNZB |title=Kent, Thelma Rene |first=Joan|last=McCracken |id=4k9 |accessdate=15 January 2018}}</ref>

==Biography==
Kent was born in [Christchurch](/source/Christchurch), New Zealand on 21 October 1899. She attended [Addington School](/source/Addington_School) and [Christchurch Technical College](/source/Christchurch_Polytechnic_Institute_of_Technology).<ref name="TeAra"/>

She traveled around New Zealand by car, horseback and foot to find photographic subjects.  She had an affinity for the New Zealand landscape, with a particular interest in the South Island high country.  Around 1937, Kent met the legendary [Arawata Bill](/source/Arawata_Bill) (William O’Leary) and took several photographs of him, which have been regularly reproduced.<ref name="TeAra"/>

Her photographs and articles were published in the ''Auckland Weekly News,'' the ''New Zealand Railways Magazine,''<ref name="nzhistory">{{cite web|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/thelma-kent|title=Thelma Kent: Biography|website=New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage|accessdate=15 January 2018}}</ref>the ''Australasian Photo-Review'' and in the British annual ''Photograms of the Year 1939''.<ref name="TeAra" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Mitchell |first=Lissa |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/on1374563763 |title=Through shaded glass: women and photography in Aotearoa New Zealand 1860-1960 |date=2023 |publisher=Te Papa Press |isbn=978-0-9951384-9-0 |location=Wellington, New Zealand |pages=317-326 |oclc=on1374563763}}</ref>

From 1939 until 1941 she did a series of Saturday evening talks on Christchurch radio station 3YA on photography topics.<ref name=":0" />

Through experimentation, Kent became adept at [microphotograph](/source/microphotograph)y.<ref name="TeAra" /> In this field she did work for the organisations such as the [Canterbury Museum](/source/Canterbury_Museum%2C_Christchurch), [Cawthron Institute](/source/Cawthron_Institute), and the Pathology Department at [Christchurch Hospital](/source/Christchurch_Hospital).<ref name=":0" />

Kent never married and died at the age of 46 in Christchurch on 23 June 1946.<ref name="nzhistory"/>

==Legacy==
Her collection of negatives and prints is held by the [Alexander Turnbull Library](/source/Alexander_Turnbull_Library) in [Wellington](/source/Wellington).<ref name="TeAra"/><ref name=":0" />

In 2017, Kent was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "[150 women in 150 words](/source/150_women_in_150_words)", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Thelma Kent|url=https://www.royalsociety.org.nz/150th-anniversary/150-women-in-150-words/1918-1967/thelma/|access-date=2021-05-10|website=Royal Society Te Apārangi}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/2952/larnachs-castle-photographed-by-thelma-kent A photograph of 'Larnach's Castle' taken by Thelma Kent about 1939.]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, Thelma Rene}}
Category:1899 births
Category:1946 deaths
Category:New Zealand photographers
Category:Artists from Christchurch
Category:20th-century New Zealand women photographers

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Thelma Kent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelma_Kent) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelma_Kent?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.