Rita Angus (1908-1970) is a much-loved figure in New Zealand; in a 2006 opinion poll her 1936 painting of the tiny railway station Cass

Rita Angus (1908-1970) is a much-loved figure in New Zealand; in a 2006 opinion poll her 1936 painting of the tiny railway station Cass (on the TranzAlpine Christchurch to Greymouth line) on the South Island was voted the most popular painting in the country. Her enduring landscapes and portraits (including a remarkable group of self-portraits) emerged at a time when artists could not earn a living solely from their art and commercial galleries barely existed. Determined, however, not to compromise her work, Angus pioneered a new, national art creating a hitherto absent artistic identity for New Zealand. Despite this her work has never been the focus of a monographic exhibition outside of New Zealand.

This was going to change thanks to an exhibition at the Royal Academy in London in partnership with the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington which was postponed because of the COVID 19 pandemic. The rescheduled exhibition will open in Wellington in December this year but will no longer travel to London. The lecture will present an overview of her remarkable life and work