Sir Mountford Tosswill "Toss" Woollaston (11 April 1910 – 30 August 1998) 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 ...

artist. He is regarded as one of the most important

painters of the 20th century.

Life

Born in

Toko Toko is a small rural settlement 10 kilometres east of Stratford, New Zealand, at the intersection of East Road ( State Highway 43) and Toko Road. It is located on a railway, the Stratford–Okahukura Line, the western portion of which was o ...

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

in 1910, Woollaston attended primary school at Stratford, and Stratford Technical High School. He studied art at the

Canterbury School of Art The Kent Institute of Art & Design (KIAD, often ) was an art school based across three campuses in the county of Kent, in the United Kingdom. It was formed by the amalgamation of three independent colleges: Canterbury College of Art, Maidstone Co ...

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 / ...

. One of his teachers at the Canterbury School of Art was

Margaret Stoddart Margaret Olrog Stoddart (3 October 1865 – 10 December 1934) was a New Zealand artist. Early life and education Stoddart was born in Diamond Harbour, Canterbury, New Zealand in 1865, one of six children born to Mark Pringle Stoddart (181 ...

. He became interested in

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

after moving to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

to study with R N Field. In 1934 he settled at Mapua, near

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, and married Edith Alexander two years later. They became part of a circle of local artists and writers which included

Colin McCahon Colin John McCahon (; 1August 191927May 1987) was a prominent New Zealand artist whose work over 45 years consisted of various styles, including landscape, figuration, abstraction, and the overlay of painted text. Along with Toss Woollaston an ...

. After

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 ...

the Woollastons moved to

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coas ...

, and the landscape of the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

became a major feature in his art. It was only from the 1960s that Woollaston was able to paint full-time; previously he had taken numerous part-time jobs to support himself and his family. As well as painting, Woollaston wrote, poetry in particular having been a lifelong passion. His books included ''The Far-away Hills'' in 1960, and ''Sage Tea'' (his autobiography) in 1980. In ''The Far-away Hills'', Woollaston acknowledges the influence of artist Flora Scales, who allowed him to study her notes from training by Hans Hoffman. Woollaston was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

in the 1979 Queen's Birthday Honours, becoming the first New Zealander to be knighted for services to art ( Peter Siddell being the second). His youngest son

Philip Woollaston Philip Tosswill Edmond Woollaston (born 17 August 1944) is a former New Zealand Labour Party politician. He was Member of Parliament for Nelson from 1981 to 1990 and Mayor of Nelson from 1992 to 1998. Early life and family Woollaston was born ...

was the (Labour) Member of Parliament for

from 1981 to 1990.

Death

Woollaston died in

Upper Moutere Upper Moutere (originally called Sarau by its founding German settlers) is a locality in the Tasman District near Motueka at the top of New Zealand's South Island. History As early as 1839 the New Zealand Company had resolved to "take steps ...

on 30 August 1998 at the age of 88.

References

External links

Works at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki: Works by M T Woollaston

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woollaston, Toss 1910 births 1998 deaths People from Taranaki New Zealand Knights Bachelor 20th-century New Zealand painters People educated at Stratford High School, New Zealand Otago Polytechnic alumni People associated with The Group (New Zealand art)