Donald Clendon Peebles (5 March 1922 – 27 March 2010) was a New Zealand artist. He is regarded as a pioneer of abstract art in New Zealand, and his works are held in the collections of

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

, the

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

, and

Christchurch Art Gallery The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, commonly known as the Christchurch Art Gallery, is the public art gallery of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It has its own substantial art collection and also presents a programme of New ...

Early life

Peebles was born in Taneatua, Bay of Plenty, in 1922. His family moved to

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

two years later, and he attended

Wadestown Primary School Wadestown is a northern suburb of Wellington, (the capital city of New Zealand) located about 2–3 km by road from the Wellington central business district and the New Zealand Parliament Buildings. It is a residential suburb overlooking ...

and

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New Z ...

. At age 15, he left school to work as a telegram boy for the

New Zealand Post Office The New Zealand Post Office (NZPO) was a government department of New Zealand until 1987. It was previously (from 1881 to 1959) named the New Zealand Post and Telegraph Department (NZ P&T). As a government department, the New Zealand Post Office ...

. In 1941, he joined the

New Zealand Army , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

, and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served in the

New Zealand Division The New Zealand Division was an infantry division of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force raised for service in the First World War. It was formed in Egypt in early 1916 when the New Zealand and Australian Division was renamed after the detachmen ...

as a

radio operator A radio operator (also, formerly, wireless operator in British and Commonwealth English) is a person who is responsible for the operations of a radio system. The profession of radio operator has become largely obsolete with the automation of ra ...

between 1943 and 1945. At the end of the war he had his first formal art training in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

while waiting to be demobilised.

Education

Peebles began his training in fine art at the Wellington Technical College of Art in 1947, before moving to Australia and studying under

John Passmore John Passmore AC (9 September 1914 – 25 July 2004) was an Australian philosopher. Life John Passmore was born on 9 September 1914 in Manly, Sydney, where he grew up. He was educated at Sydney Boys High School.Sydney High School Old Boys ...

at the

Julian Ashton Art School The Julian Ashton Art School was established by Julian Ashton in 1890 as the "Academy Julian", (perhaps a reference to the Académie Julian in Paris) has been an influential art school in Australia. For a long time it was known as the Sydney Art ...

in Sydney from 1951 to 1953.

Career

In the early 1950s, Peebles returned from studying in Australia and moved back to New Zealand. In 1960, he won a scholarship to study in London, granted by the Association of New Zealand Art Societies. Prior to this trip, Peebles married Prue Corkill. It was in London that Peebles met constructivist painter

Victor Pasmore Edwin John Victor Pasmore, CH, CBE (3 December 190823 January 1998) was a British artist. He pioneered the development of abstract art in Britain in the 1940s and 1950s. Early life Pasmore was born in Chelsham, Surrey, on 3 December 1908. He s ...

, who became a friend and major influence. In 1964, Peebles became a lecturer at the Canterbury School of Fine Arts in Christchurch. In 1980, he was made head of the painting department, and he lectured there until his retirement in 1986 to concentrate on painting full-time. Peebles has exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions, including: * ''New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts Special Exhibition for 1969: Five Guest Artists'' (with

Melvin Day Melvin Norman "Pat" Day (30 June 1923 – 17 January 2016) was a New Zealand artist and art historian. Biography Day was born in Hamilton, New Zealand. At the age of eleven, Day began Saturday morning classes at Elam School of Art, University o ...

John Drawbridge John Boys Drawbridge (27 December 1930 – 24 July 2005) was a New Zealand artist, muralist and printmaker. He was famous for his murals in public places: for the foyer of New Zealand House in London in the 1960s, the Beehive in the 1970s, and ...

Pat Hanly James Patrick Hanly (2 August 1932 – 20 September 2004), generally known as Pat Hanly, was a prolific New Zealand painter. One of his works is a large mural ''Rainbow Pieces'' (1971) at Chrischurch Town Hall. Early life Born in Palmerston N ...

and

Ralph Hotere Hone Papita Raukura "Ralph" Hotere (11 August 1931 – 24 February 2013) was a New Zealand artist. He was born in Mitimiti, Northland and is widely regarded as one of New Zealand's most important artists. In 1994 he was awarded an honorary do ...

) at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, Wellington in 1969. * ''The Harmony of Opposites'', a major retrospective exhibition which toured in the 1990s. * ''Don Peebles at 83'' at Campbell Grant Galleries, Christchurch in 2005. * ''Pieces of Eight'', an exhibition that highlighted the work of eight influential New Zealand abstract artists, at Dunedin Public Art Gallery in 2010.

Honours and awards

In the

1999 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1999 for various Commonwealth realms were announced on 30 December 1998, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1999. The ''Honours list'' is a list of people who have been awarded one of the various orders, d ...

, Peebles was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to art. In 2003, Peebles received an honorary Doctorate in Literature from 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 ...

. In 2007, Peebles received an Arts Foundation Icon Award, awarded to only 20 living people at any one time.

Death

Peebles died of cancer in Christchurch in 2010, and was survived by his wife Prue and their three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peebles, Don 1922 births 2010 deaths University of Canterbury faculty New Zealand painters People from the Bay of Plenty Region People educated at Wellington College (New Zealand) New Zealand military personnel of World War II Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit Abstract artists Deaths from cancer in New Zealand New Zealand expatriates in Italy