Show marks centenary of painter's birth

Rachel Walmsley (left) and Shane Norrie at work yesterday setting up the Rita Angus exhibition at the Auckland Art Gallery. Photo / Greg Bowker

The largest retrospective exhibition of one of New Zealand's best-known painters starts at the Auckland Art Gallery on Saturday.

Auckland is the final venue for Rita Angus: Life & Vision, already seen by more than 250,000 people in Wellington, Dunedin and Christchurch.

It marks the centenary of Angus's birth and features iconic works such as Cass, a portrait of a small Canterbury railway station, which is held in Christchurch Art Gallery's collection. It was voted New Zealand's greatest painting in a 2006 poll by TV One's Frontseat arts programme.

The exhibition, presented by Te Papa museum, includes 143 works drawn from public and private collections throughout New Zealand. It includes sketchbooks, studies and unfinished works, some of which have never been exhibited before.

The exhibition is co-curated by Te Papa's William McAloon and Jill Trevelyan, author of the biography Rita Angus: An Artist's Life, which was the non-fiction winner and biography category winner in the Montana Book Awards this week.

Angus, considered a pioneer of modern painting, died in 1970 aged 61 of ovarian cancer.

Rita Angus: Life & Vision is at the Auckland gallery until November 1.

The show includes free talks and events each Sunday at 1pm, and private tours are available to those hiring the gallery's Art Lounge.

Auckland Art Gallery's shop has a wide range of Rita Angus merchandise, including T-shirts, posters, bags, badges, cards and Lisa Hoskin jewellery.