Chrystabel Aitken

Aotearoa New Zealand, b.1904, d.2005

Tigers

  • 1944
  • Linocut
  • Anonymous gift, 2023
  • 154 x 327mm
  • 2023/086

These tranquil and reassuringly well-fed tigers offer an unexpected view of a creature many associate with danger. Chrystabel Aitken’s lifelong interest in animals meant she took up every opportunity to observe and sketch them – paying of a later visit to the Taronga Zoo in Sydney that she only wished she could have spent weeks there instead of days. As in much of her printmaking and sculpture, this linocut fuses a strong sense of naturalism with a stylised approach to pattern and colour – a combination perfectly suited to the sleek, striped coats of this affectionate pair.

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

Exhibition History