B.

The painting shows the railway station at Hawkins, a small farming settlement near Darfield. Rural stations like this were once a common feature on branch lines across the Canterbury Plains. Rata Lovell-Smith chose to paint outside, rather than in the studio, often seeking out isolated rural views. Her works vividly capture the region’s distinctive colours and bright, clear light, and her crisp style is especially well-suited to landscapes with strong structural elements. Here, she deftly conveys a scene full of lines, curves and angles while preserving a sense of the spaciousness of the mountains beyond and the open sky above.

(Perilous: Unheard Stories from the Collection, 6 August 2022- )