Anna Lois White (2 November 1903 – 13 September 1984), known in the art world as Lois (pronounced Loyce) White, was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

painter 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 ai ...

of the

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 ...

school. She taught at the Elam Art School of the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

from 1927 until 1963.

Early life

White was the youngest of four children of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

architect Arthur Herbert White and Annie White (Phillips). Her maternal grandfather ran W. Phillips & Sons, an importer of prints and artists' materials. She attended

Epsom Girls' Grammar School , motto_translation = ''Through difficulties to greatness.'' , coordinates = , type = State Single Sex Girls Secondary (Year 9–13) with Boarding Facilities , established = 12 February 1917 , MOE = 64 , principal = Lorraine Pound , colo ...

from 1919 to 1922, excelling at all subjects, moving on to study at Elam in 1923.

Career

In 1927 she became a part-time tutor at Elam, teaching the junior drawing classes, while at the same time taking a part-time position teaching art at

Takapuna Grammar School Takapuna Grammar School is a state coeducational secondary school located in the suburb of Belmont on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. Established in 1927, the school mainly serves the eponymous suburb of Takapuna and the entire Devo ...

. From 1934 she was full-time at Elam until her retirement in January 1963. Her career as a painter continued in concurrently with her teaching career, being accepted as a full "Working Member" of the

Auckland Society of Arts Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

in 1931 and exhibiting regularly with the Society. Lois was one of the founders of the

New Group The New Group was a group of young South African artists who, starting in 1937, began to question and oppose the conservatism of the South African Society of Artists. Its founding chairperson was Gregoire Boonzaier; other founding members were Lip ...

in 1948, a somewhat conservative group of artists concentrating on traditional form and draughtsmanship, somewhat in opposition to younger artists of the time who were pursuing

and abstract forms. She continued to be viewed as a somewhat conservative artist, even in her own opinion, until her work was reappraised through solo exhibitions in 1977 and (after her death) 1994. Thematically, many of her works have been recognized as progressive social activism, including her painting 'Success', which shows a man waving a money bag over a hungry family, and her painting 'War Makers', exhibited between the World Wars, which shows prosperous older, powerful figures mocking a young soldier. According to Raymond Huber in the book 'Peace Warriors', Lois described 'War Makers' as intended to expose the injustice of an older generation engaging in war and sending the younger generation to kill and be killed.Huber, Raymond: Peace Warriors, 2015. Wellington: Makaro Press.

References

External links

Artworks by Lois White in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Lois 1903 births 1984 deaths Elam Art School alumni People educated at Epsom Girls' Grammar School 20th-century New Zealand painters

Early life

Career

References

Further reading

External links