B.

There's no business, like snow business

Behind the scenes

It seems we're really just not set up to deal with snow in Christchurch.

Petrus van der Velden The Dutch Funeral 1875. Oil on canvas. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, gifted by Henry Charles Drury van Asch 1932

Petrus van der Velden The Dutch Funeral 1875. Oil on canvas. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, gifted by Henry Charles Drury van Asch 1932

Walking to work and watching hopeful drivers revving their engines as their wheels spin in the icy detritus by the side of the road, the city was even emptier than it normally is. Which is saying something right now. Not a day for going anywhere or doing anything productive.

So here are a few seasonal treats from the collection from Rona Flemming, Austen Deans, and Petrus van der Velden. Some pretty and uplifting, some (and here I'm thinking of the master-of-misery, Mr van der Velden) perhaps not so.

Austen Deans Skating after snow Peel Forest. Oil on board. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū. Reproduced with permission

Austen Deans Skating after snow Peel Forest. Oil on board. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū. Reproduced with permission

Rona Fleming Snowing at Cass. Oil on hardboard. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, purchased 1962. Reproduced with permission

Rona Fleming Snowing at Cass. Oil on hardboard. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, purchased 1962. Reproduced with permission