This robe, inspired by the traditional Japanese kimono, was made and hand-painted by Shurrock while he was studying at the Royal College of Art in London in 1912. It highlights the influence of Japanese art on Western culture at the time. Artists such as James Whistler and post-impressionists like Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh were inspired by ukiyo-e prints. This robe also reveals the eccentricities of Shurrock’s character that made him stand out in the conservative town of Ōtautahi Christchurch. Juliet Peter recalled Shurrock’s colleagues at the Canterbury College School of Art wearing “suits, ties and shoes”, whereas Shurrock walked around in a “coarse sculptor’s smock, with (usually) a red and white checked gingham shirt, open at the neck and sandals”.

(Dear Shurrie: Francis Shurrock and his contemporaries, 8 March – 13 July 2025)