Rita Angus - The Unhinged Loner

That's how my Art History lecturer described her. Supposedly one of New Zealand's most loved artists, Rita would have cringed at the thought of being loved by everyone. She didn't want to be loved. I think she would have preferred the title of "Unhinged Loner."

I have been falling in love with her art work. We had a lecture about Rita Angus a few weeks ago, and I'm still not over it. Apparently, her work is being exhibited in Christchurch. I'd love to go to Christchurch to see it.

Rita Angus was a famous New Zealand painter. Along with Colin McCahon and Toss Wollaston, she has been credited with introducing modern art to New Zealand. She is probably most noted for her regionalist genre paintings, and her self-portraits.

This is one of Rita's most noted paintings:


Cass, 1939

Everything about it is expressive - the ground, the mountains, the sky. And yes, those are Van Gogh trees. This is a response to the famous Japanese-esque New Zealand painting Taranaki by Christopher Perkins:

I love that painting.

Here's one of Rita's most famous self-portraits:

This one comes from the late 30s, early 40s, the time period when art-deco was incredibly popular in New Zealand as well as abroad. Rita is the modern woman here. She is smoking a cigarette. She is dressed in a masculine fashion (especially with the short, slick-backed hair). She is independent.

This is one might be my favorite self-portrait (although, the quality and colour of this image is not very good):

Cleopatra

The image is very reflective of ancient Egyptian artwork. The background and her top are actually a very vibrant hue of green, almost luminescent (you can't tell from this picture, though). I also love the mystery of her cropped hand. What is she doing? Is she pointing? Is she simply holding her hand up as a sort of offering? Is she holding a cigarette? (quite possibly).

And this one is my absolute favorite painting of hers:

Rutu, 1951

It was painted in the midst of Rita's most severe bout of mental illness (1949-1952). It is an excellent example of multi cultural harmony. Rita has given herself the dark complexion of a Polynesian while giving herself the blonde hair of a European. She also uses three religious/spiritual images: the lotus flower (Buddhism), the halo (Christianity), and the fish (Astrology). This is just one of the many "goddess" paintings done by Rita. I'm just so drawn to it. My lecturer, Mark Stocker, says that no one could ever attempt to make another Rutu in New Zealand - not unless they were remarkably and unusually talented, or completely crazy.

Rita Angus, thank you for having been amazing.