This view from the Summit Road above Christchurch looks west across the Canterbury Plains to the Southern Alps. By using an elevated viewpoint, Doris Lusk has emphasised the structure of the rounded hills broken up by small gullies, and captured the broad expanse of the Canterbury Plains. She has simplified the landscape to its basic elements, placing an emphasis on the underlying structure of the valley rather than on what occupies the land. In this approach Lusk was influenced by the paintings of her contemporary, Colin McCahon (1919 -1987), who stayed with her and her family in 1948.
Born in Dunedin, Lusk spent her infancy in Scotland before returning to New Zealand in 1920. In 1933 she enrolled at the King Edward Technical College in Dunedin to study art. 1936 saw her first exhibition in Dunedin. In 1943 she moved to Christchurch. She taught at the School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury from 1966 to 1981. Lusk travelled to Europe and the United States. She died in Christchurch.

Read a blog post about the probable location of this work.

Purchased, 1974
Reproduced with permission
Oil on board
74/172
1952
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Collection tags

farms, green (color), hills, natural landscapes, plains, trees, valleys (landforms)