Alister Austen Deans (2 December 1915 – 18 October 2011) was a New Zealand painter, known for his

landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the p ...

and for his work as a war artist in the Second World War. Born in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

to a well-known farming family, Deans became interested in art in his teenage years. He studied fine arts at the

Canterbury College School of Art The Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury was founded in 1882 as the Canterbury College School of Art. The school became a full department of the university in the 1950s, and was the first department to move to the suburban Ilam ...

before returning to the family farm for work. He volunteered for the

2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

on the outbreak of the Second World War, and was posted to the 20th Battalion. In 1941 he was appointed an assistant war artist, serving under Peter McIntyre. However, he was wounded during the

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (german: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, el, Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (german: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island ...

and became a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

(POW). Allowed to paint during his captivity, his work was a useful record of life as a POW. After the war, he studied painting at the

Sir John Cass Technical Institute London Guildhall University was a university in the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2002, established when the City of London Polytechnic was awarded university status. On 1 August 2002, it merged with the University of North London to form Londo ...

in England before settling down on a lifestyle block in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. He was a prolific painter of the Canterbury hill country. Made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1995, he died in October 2011.

Early life

Deans was born on 2 December 1915 in

, New Zealand, one of two sons of Alister and Norma Deans. His father, Alister, was a

scion Scion may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities *Scion, a playable class in the game ''Path of Exile'' (2013) *Atlantean Scion, a device in the ''Tomb Raider'' video game series *Scions, an alien race in the video game ''Ba ...

of the Deans family, notable in Christchurch for being one of the earliest European settlers in the region, and was later killed at the

Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

. His mother was the daughter of the farmer Harry Knight. Austen Deans' early years were spent on the family farm near

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

before, when he was 10, his mother moved to the Riccarton suburb in Christchurch. He was educated at

Medbury School Medbury School, located in Christchurch, New Zealand, is an independent school for boys between Years 1 to 8 (ages 5 to 13).Christ's College. His interest in art developed when he was 12 years old, while on holidays at the family farm. He tramped into the hills taking

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

and sketching materials with him. Family friends encouraged him in his art and when he finished his education, he decided to go to art school. Studying at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

towards a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

concurrently with learning

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

s at the

, he made the acquaintance of Bill Sutton. Despite being more interested in landscape work, he received much training in

life drawing A figure drawing is a drawing of the human form in any of its various shapes and postures using any of the drawing media. The term can also refer to the act of producing such a drawing. The degree of representation may range from highly detailed, ...

. Colin Lovell-Smith,

Evelyn Page Evelyn Margaret Page (née Polson, 23 April 1899 – 28 May 1988) was a New Zealand artist. Her career covered seven decades, and her main areas of interest were landscapes, portraits, still lifes and nudes. Early life Page was born in C ...

and Archibald Nicoll were influences. Deans graduated in 1937 and returned to the family farm to work. This financed his tramping trips to the

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern ...

where he would make several sketches and watercolours of the hill country. He received favourable reviews of his work at exhibitions at the School of Art's Sketch Club and the Canterbury Arts Society. Dame

Ngaio Marsh Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh (; 23 April 1895 – 18 February 1982) was a New Zealand mystery writer and theatre director. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1966. As a crime writer during the "Golden Age of Det ...

was an early supporter and soon he was making a number of sales of his work.

Second World War

The outbreak of the Second World War disrupted Deans' plans to study at the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Instead, he volunteered for war service abroad with the

(2NZEF). Posted to the 20th Battalion of the

2nd New Zealand Division The 2nd New Zealand Division, initially the New Zealand Division, was an infantry Division (military), division of the New Zealand Army, New Zealand Military Forces (New Zealand's army) during the World War II, Second World War. The division was ...

, he was assigned to its

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on account of his skills as an artist. His duties involved making and looking after maps but while off duty he continued to paint. By 1940, Deans was in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, where the 2NZEF had been transported for war service. He continued with his painting, doing landscapes of the Egypt countryside. His battalion commander,

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Howard Kippenberger Major General Sir Howard Karl Kippenberger, (28 January 1897 – 5 May 1957), known as "Kip", was an officer of the New Zealand Military Forces who served in the First and Second World Wars. Born in the Canterbury region of New Zealand, Kippe ...

, was supportive of his work. Deans later completed a portrait of Kippenberger which was used to illustrate his biography. In March 1941, the 2nd New Zealand Division was sent to Greece. The British Government anticipated an invasion of Greece by the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

and decided to send troops to support the Greeks, who were already engaged against the Italians in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. The 2nd New Zealand Division was one of a number of Allied units dispatched to Greece. The campaign was little more than a series of withdrawals but Deans still found time to make depictions of life in the Greek villages he saw. At the end of the fighting in Greece, Deans was among those evacuated to

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

. In the meantime, the

New Zealand Government , background_color = #012169 , image = New Zealand Government wordmark.svg , image_size=250px , date_established = , country = New Zealand , leader_title = Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern , appointed = Governor-General , main_organ = , ...

was considering appointing an official war artist to record the exploits of New Zealanders serving with the military. Deans had already been interviewed for the position the previous year and his application was supported by many in New Zealand, particularly from the Canterbury region. His mother even wrote to the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Peter Fraser Peter Fraser (; 28 August 1884 – 12 December 1950) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 24th prime minister of New Zealand from 27 March 1940 until 13 December 1949. Considered a major figure in the history of the New Zealand La ...

advocating for her son. Deans had been interviewed by the commander of 2NZEF,

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Bernard Freyberg Lieutenant-General Bernard Cyril Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, (21 March 1889 – 4 July 1963) was a British-born New Zealand soldier and Victoria Cross recipient, who served as the 7th Governor-General of New Zealand from 1946 to 1952. Freyb ...

, the previous year but the position would eventually go to Peter McIntyre. However, shortly after Deans' arrival on Crete, he was told that he had been appointed assistant war artist. His first task was to paint depictions of New Zealanders serving in Greece, as McIntyre had not been present for that campaign. Although he was offered the opportunity to return to Egypt to start his work there, he preferred to remain on Crete. He was therefore caught up in the

invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

that commenced on 20 May 1941. Paintings already worked up by that stage were in transit to Egypt and would duly arrive in New Zealand. In the meantime, Deans was badly wounded; he had inadvertently set off a

land mine A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

and had to be hospitalised with his legs full of

shrapnel Shrapnel may refer to: Military * Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use * Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material Popular culture * ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics) * ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...

. A few days later, and unable to be evacuated, he was one of 520 wounded New Zealanders to be captured by the Germans.

Prisoner of War

Flown to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

by his captors, Deans received medical treatment for several months at a hospital at Kokkinia, near

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...

. While there, he was provided with pad and pencil by a fellow prisoner of war (POW) who wanted a portrait sketch to send to his family. This led onto further commissions from other POWs, as well as doctors and even guards. Paid a few pennies a time, he soon built up enough cash to organise, through a friendly Greek hospital worker, the purchase of painting supplies. He then set to work painting depictions of life at the hospital and surrounding landscapes which he would sell for money. While recuperating at Kokkinia, he met Australian

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

artists

Justin O'Brien Justin O'Brien (2 August 1917 – 25 January 1996) was an Australian artist. He won the inaugural Blake Prize in 1951. Collections O'Brien's works are held in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of New South ...

and

Jesse Martin Jesse Martin, OAM (born 26 August 1981) is a German-Australian sailor who in 1999 became the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo, non-stop, and unassisted, Martin's journey in the S&S 34 sloop ''Lionheart-Mistral'' took approxima ...

, both of whom were also POWs and who would influence Deans with their styles. When he recovered from his wounds, Deans was transferred to a POW camp at

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

, in occupied Poland. The trip there was arduous, travelling on cattle rail trucks, in a journey that took over two weeks. On arrival at the camp,

Stalag XX-A Stalag XX-A was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp located in Toruń in German-occupied Poland. It was not a single camp and contained as many as 20,000 men at its peak. The main camp was located in seven forts of the 19th-century Toruń ...

, the POWs were put to work. Deans struggled initially, not accustomed to labouring after his prolonged period of medical treatment. He soon injured himself and consequently would be placed on light duties. As he had at Kokkinia, Deans soon found opportunities to express himself artistically at Stalag XX-A. Sourcing artist's materials through the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

, he resumed doing portraits of POWs and as well as scenes of camp life. He was joined by O'Brien and Martin, once they had been transferred to the camp from Kokkinia. As an artist, his skills were in demand for forging documents to help with escape attempts. Deans himself had the opportunity to get away from his captors but refrained from doing so; while on a work party outside of the camp, he slipped away from his guards but realised he was too attached to his painting portfolio back at Stalag XX-A to leave them behind. He made his way back to the work party without his absence being noticed. Towards the end of 1943, Deans was transferred to a special POW camp in Germany, just outside of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. Before his move, with the help of the Red Cross, he was able to arrange the shipping of half of his paintings to England. Conditions at the new POW camp, at

Genshagen Ludwigsfelde is a town in the north of the district Teltow-Fläming in Brandenburg. Geography Location The town is located south of Berlin in the district Teltow-Fläming on the plateau of Teltow. In earlier times, it was part of the district Zo ...

, were much better. Nominally, the POWs were selected for the camp based on their good behaviour but Deans soon discovered that its actual purpose encourage the prisoners to enlist in the

British Free Corps The British Free Corps (german: Britisches Freikorps; BFC) was a unit of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II, made up of British and British Dominions, Dominion prisoners of war who had been recruited by Germany. The unit was origi ...

. He stayed only a month before requesting a transfer to a camp in Austria that housed Australian and New Zealand POWs. A couple of his paintings from his time in Genshagen were given to another POW; these were sold to an art gallery in Christchurch in 1987 and are notable for their modernist traits. Deans was held in Austria at

Stalag XVIII-A Stalag XVIII-A was a World War II German Army (Wehrmacht) prisoner-of-war camp located to the south of the town of Wolfsberg, in the southern Austrian state of Carinthia, then a part of Nazi Germany. A sub-camp Stalag XVIII-A/Z was later opened i ...

, near Wolfsberg for well over a year. By this time, the war in Europe was drawing to a close and conditions in the POW camp grew steadily harsher. Despite this, Deans still painted and sketched and by early 1945 had accumulated a portfolio of nearly 300 works. When the camp's POWS were ordered to force march towards Germany, he packaged them up for the Red Cross to collect. The collection of art works were never retrieved and were lost. While on the march, the guards' attention to their charges declined and security became lax with the war all but over. With a group of others, Deans was able to make contact with American forces and made his way back to England. Before he could leave for New Zealand, he had to appear at the trial of

Roy Courlander Roy Nicolas Courlander, (6 December 1914 – 1 June 1979), nicknamed 'Reg', was a British-born New Zealand soldier who became an Unterscharführer in the German Waffen-SS British Free Corps during the Second World War. Early life Born out of w ...

, a New Zealander who had joined the British Free Corps. Once this was complete, he departed England aboard the SS ''Mooltan'' on 2 December 1945, arriving back in New Zealand by the end of the year.

Later life

Soon after his return to New Zealand, Deans married Liz , the daughter of a farmer. She was a family friend, and Deans had known her since she was an infant. She helped him settle back into civilian life, which he had been struggling with since coming back to New Zealand. In early 1948, the couple's first son was born and later that year the family went to England, Deans having accepted a scholarship to study at the

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. It gives its name to Aldgate High Street, the first stretch of the A11 road, which included the site of the former gate. The area of Aldgate, the most common use of ...

. He benefited from a higher standard of teaching than he had received to date; his tutors at the institute included Bernard Rice and Nicholas Egon, the latter being known for

abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th ...

and landscapes. The institute instilled in him the confidence to pursue his traditional style of painting, rather than the modernist influences that he had dabbled with while a POW. The couple settled at Peel Forest, in Canterbury, after finishing their studies in England. To the southwest of Christchurch, Austen saw the area as being similar to the West Coast but with a better climate. While in England, a second son had been born and the couple would add five more boys to their family by 1958. While Liz set up and ran a horse stud, Deans continued to work in landscapes. In 1962, he won first prize in the Kelliher Art Awards with a landscape of the Southern Alps. He won again the following year with a depiction of the Rakaia headwaters. He wrote an autobiography, ''Pictures by Austen Deans'', and in 1970 this was published by A.H. & A.W. Reed. Sales did not justify further printings after the first run was complete. For a number of years, until his resignation in 1970, he was on the management committee of the

National Art Gallery List of national galleries is a list of national art galleries. {{tocright Africa *Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa *National Art Gallery of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia The Americas *Galería Nacional, San Juan, Puerto ...

, which selected works for its collection. Despite his age, in his later years Deans made several painting expeditions to the Southern Alps, including an ascent of

Aoraki/Mount Cook Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height, as of 2014, is listed as . It sits in the Southern Alps, the mountain range that runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourit ...

in 1974, as well as a trip to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

in late 1981, sponsored by the New Zealand Government. He considered the work produced from his Antarctica visit to be some of the best of his career. By this stage of his life, the majority of his income was from commissioned works which he continued to accept even as he approached his late eighties. He received an appointment as an

in the 1995 Queen's Birthday Honours, for services to art. He died on 18 October 2011 at Princess Margaret's Hospital in Christchurch, having suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

several days previously. He was survived by his second wife, Margaret , who he had married in 2009. His first wife, Liz, had died in May 2004. In November 2018, a sculpture of Deans was unveiled at Peel Forest.

Legacy

Over the course of his painting career, Deans was a prolific producer of landscapes, often from the Canterbury region which meant his work was particularly popular amongst Cantabrians. However, some felt his paintings to be formulaic and clichéd although technically accomplished. The work he produced as a POW was particularly well received by art critics although they have not aged well; many were completed with paints of poor quality or on acid cardboard and have deteriorated.

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

Genshagen Camp 1943, a painting by Austen Deans in the collection of the Christchurch Art Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deans, Austen 1915 births 2011 deaths New Zealand writers New Zealand war artists New Zealand military personnel of World War II Artists from Christchurch World War II artists New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century New Zealand painters 20th-century New Zealand male artists New Zealand prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Moorhouse–Rhodes family Austen