B.

Colin Lovell-Smith often went on painting trips to this area with his wife Rata, who was also a landscape painter. Craigieburn is in the Southern Alps, about 100 kilometres northwest of Christchurch. Although set beside a small riverbed close to the main road, the painting focuses on the steep eroded slopes of the Craigieburn Range. Lovell-Smith has paid close attention to the landform details, capturing the distinctive qualities of the Canterbury mountain region. Shades of ochre are subtly orchestrated with the soft grey of the predominant greywacke rocks. Born in Christchurch, Lovell-Smith studied at the Canterbury College School of Art then worked for his father’s printing business. During World War I Lovell-Smith was with the Royal Engineers on the Balkan Front and was subsequently awarded the Serbian Gold Medal of Merit for his work. On his return to Christchurch in 1919 he taught, first at St Andrew’s College, then at the School of Art, of which he was Director from 1947 until his death.

The Christchurch Gas Company commenced operations on the corner of Moorhouse Avenue and Waltham Road in 1864. When Rita Angus painted Gasworks six decades later, she was living on the edge of a semi-industrial area two blocks away at 120 Ferry Road, lodging with her husband’s family as well as her youngest sister, Jean. Gasworks was a revelation when first shown at the Canterbury Society of Arts annual exhibition in 1933. Fellow painter Margaret Anderson later recalled “the tall chimney of this work as an event of greater artistic importance than any that had happened in Christchurch for years”. In reflecting something of the sharp austerity of the Depression years, the work also encouraged others to unlock the artistic possibilities in commonplace industrial subject matter.

(From Here on the Ground, 18 May – 17 November 2024)