Evelyn Page was part of the generation of painters that came through the Canterbury College School of Art in the 1920s and included Rita Angus, Olivia Spencer Bower, Rhona Haszard, and Ngaio Marsh. In 1927 Page was a founding member of the Group, located in Christchurch and one of New Zealand’s most progressive independent exhibiting bodies. By the 1940s Page had emerged as a leading New Zealand modernist painter, known for applying paint thickly with confidence and freedom. The Page family made regular holidays to central Otago, staying at Queenstown and exploring the surrounding region. Road Through Arrowtown was painted directly outdoors during one such holiday between December 1941 and January 1942. The tree lined streets of Arrowtown are one of the most photographed images of Central Otago, and little has changed since Page painted this streetscape – except perhaps the increased number of tourists and their mode of transportation.

(Turn, Turn, Turn: A Year in Art, 27 July 2019 – 8 March 2020)

Read an article about this painting from The Press.