Lois White
Night Zephyr, c.1950
oil on board
500 x 400mm
680 x 580mm framed
680 x 580mm framed
A. Lois White 1903 – 1984 A. Lois White is an important though historically under-recognised artist. Born in 1903, she studied at Elam School of Fine Arts in the 1920s....
A. Lois White
1903 – 1984
A. Lois White is an important though historically under-recognised artist. Born in 1903, she studied at Elam School of Fine Arts in the 1920s. In the 1930s and 40s, her finessed and stylised paintings with their symbolic content had won her a significant national profile. Her work regularly featured in newspaper reproductions and art society shows. Though in the 1950s, her work slipped out of fashion and her practice started to wane. It wasn’t until 1977 that she had her first solo exhibition, when notable Wellington art dealer Peter McLeavey presented her work. Writer and curator Nicola Green states, “Considering her reputation from the 'thirties onwards, it is clear that White's work has not received the recognition that it deserves. It is also apparent that she has outdistanced the mediocrity generally associated with the New Zealand art of the period between the two world wars, and specifically associated with Elam under the directorship of A. J. C. Fisher.”
White’s Night Zephyr, c.1950, is an excellent example of her stylised figurative painting. It presents the figure of a woman with cascading curls, entwined with snaking clouds and shooting stars. The term zephyr stems from Greek mythology: Zephyrus is a god personifying the west wind, the likely inspiration for this work. White’s masterful handling of paint is evident in this work.
1903 – 1984
A. Lois White is an important though historically under-recognised artist. Born in 1903, she studied at Elam School of Fine Arts in the 1920s. In the 1930s and 40s, her finessed and stylised paintings with their symbolic content had won her a significant national profile. Her work regularly featured in newspaper reproductions and art society shows. Though in the 1950s, her work slipped out of fashion and her practice started to wane. It wasn’t until 1977 that she had her first solo exhibition, when notable Wellington art dealer Peter McLeavey presented her work. Writer and curator Nicola Green states, “Considering her reputation from the 'thirties onwards, it is clear that White's work has not received the recognition that it deserves. It is also apparent that she has outdistanced the mediocrity generally associated with the New Zealand art of the period between the two world wars, and specifically associated with Elam under the directorship of A. J. C. Fisher.”
White’s Night Zephyr, c.1950, is an excellent example of her stylised figurative painting. It presents the figure of a woman with cascading curls, entwined with snaking clouds and shooting stars. The term zephyr stems from Greek mythology: Zephyrus is a god personifying the west wind, the likely inspiration for this work. White’s masterful handling of paint is evident in this work.