Rita Angus, An Artist s
Life
Along with the
works of Colin McCahon and Toss Wollaston, Angus oil and
water colours are considered among the most important in
the development of twentieth-century New Zealand art. She
was a pioneer of modern painting during the 1930s and 1940s
and during the century since her birth works such as
Central Otago (1940) and
Portrait of Betty
Curnow (1941-42) have become national icons. Although
Angus is now one of Aotearoa’s best-loved painters,
the story of her life remained little known and poorly
understood before Jill Trevelyan s acclaimed and revelatory
biography, which won the Non Fiction Award at the Montana
Article – Howard Davis
Rita Angus, An Artist’s Life
Along with the works of Colin McCahon and Toss Wollaston, Angus’ oil and water colours are now considered among the most important in the development of twentieth-century New Zealand art.She was a pioneer of modern painting during the 1930s and 1940s and over one hundred years since her birth, works such as
Central Otago (1940) and
Portrait of Betty Curnow (1941-42) have become national icons. Although Angus has become one of Aotearoa’s best-loved painters, the story of her life remained little known and poorly understood before Jill Trevelyan’s acclaimed and revelatory biography, which won the Non Fiction Award at the Montana New Zealand Book Awards in 2009. This revised edition updates the original with new assessments of Angus in light of the upcoming exhibition to be held at Te Papa late in 2021.
From the MTG: Bay artist Rita Angus captures drought conditions
16 Apr, 2021 06:00 PM
3 minutes to read
Hawke s Bay Summer by Rita Angus, 1946. Copyright courtesy of The Estate of Rita Angus. Photo / Supplied
Hawke s Bay Summer by Rita Angus, 1946. Copyright courtesy of The Estate of Rita Angus. Photo / Supplied
Hawkes Bay Today
Artwork is always viewed in the present, regardless of the year it was made.
When seen today, Hawke s Bay Summer by Rita Angus, despite it being painted 75 years ago, brings to mind the drought conditions presently putting local farmers under so much pressure.
With no decent rainfall in Hawke s Bay during the last 18 months, save for the unmanageable floods in February, just keeping stock fed is a huge challenge for our farmers.
Last modified on Sun 14 Mar 2021 11.28 EDT
In 2019, the Royal Academy staged an exhibition by the great Finnish painter Helene Schjerfbeck. On the day I saw it, the galleries were preternaturally quiet â the crowds who are so mad for Frida Kahlo seem not to have heard of Schjerfbeck â and in the room where the curators had hung 17 of her self-portraits, a time-lapse sequence dating from 1884 to 1946, I was amazed to find myself entirely alone. Only I wasnât, not really. She was all around. Schjerfbeckâs colours are often mossy, shades of grey-green that bring to mind not only nature at its lushest, but also gravestones, mottled and cold to the touch. In the spectral hush, I saw a woman first grow into herself, then move beyond that self â as death tiptoed ever closer, the self-portraits grew ever more abstract â and it was indescribably strengthening. I could have taken on anyone that day. An unseen presence had sprayed courage on my wrists.