Rita Angus Selected Works

13 August - 25 September 2011

13 august - 25 September 2011

Picture caption: Flight, 1969, by Rita Angus (1908–70), oil on hardboard, Te Papa

Rita Angus was one of New Zealand’s pioneer artists.

This exhibition features 40 works by Rita Angus covering the span of her career, from 1929 to 1969. It includes paintings, watercolours and drawings, unfinished studies and seldom-seen items. The exhibition has been selected from Te Papa’s collection, and works cared for by the Museum on behalf of the Rita Angus Estate.

The exhibition draws on similar themes to Rita Angus: Life & Vision. It shows Angus’s commitment to pacifism, her strong feminist views, her spiritual beliefs, her love of nature and her affinity for the New Zealand landscape.

The exhibition includes portraits and self-portraits, landscapes, and her late depictions of Wellington and Hawke’s Bay. Several key works from the retrospective are featured, including Self-portrait (1929), Lawrence Baigent (1938–39/43), Central Otago (1953–56/69), and Flight (1968–69).