William Alexander Sutton (1 March 1917 – 23 January 2000) was a New Zealand portrait and landscape artist. A graduate of the Canterbury College School of Art (now the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts) he returned there to teach for more than 30 years. He was tutored by many well-known Canterbury artists, including 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 and gained his Diploma of Fine Arts in 1937. In 1947 he travelled to London where he studied for a time at the Anglo-French centre in St John's Wood. On returning to New Zealand in 1949 he took up a teaching position at Canterbury University College School of Art and was appointed senior lecturer in 1959. During the 1940s and 1950s Sutton followed in the tradition of fellow Canterbury artists, such as

Rita Angus Rita Angus (12 March 1908 – 25 January 1970), a New Zealand painter, has a reputation - along with Colin McCahon and Toss Woollaston - as one of the leading figures in twentieth-century New Zealand art. She worked primarily in oil and water c ...

, Colin and Rata Lovell-Smith and Louise Henderson, developing a distinctive interpretation of the Canterbury landscape. Sutton continued to teach at the school until his retirement in 1979. Sutton continued to paint until 1993. In the 1980 Queen's Birthday Honours, Sutton was appointed a

Commander 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 ...

, for services to art. Sutton's paintings are typically signed / credited as ''WA Sutton''. Much of his work shows the influence of New Zealand

regionalism Regionalism may refer to: * Regionalism (art), an American realist modern art movement that was popular during the 1930s * Regionalism (international relations), the expression of a common sense of identity and purpose combined with the creation a ...

as with fellow Cantabrian

. In 1963, Sutton built a house in Templar Street in the Christchurch suburb of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. Until his retirement in 1992, he painted most of his works there. The house was bought by a former curator of the

Robert McDougall Art Gallery The Robert McDougall Art Gallery is a heritage building in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was designed by Edward Armstrong and it opened in 1932. It is a Category I heritage building listed with Heritage New Zealand and is located within the Chri ...

and it was his intention to gift it as a home for an artist in residence scheme. Following the

2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...

, the house is located in the Residential Red Zone and was thus purchased by the

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA; Māori: ''Te Mana Haumanu ki Waitaha'') was the public service department of New Zealand charged with coordinating the rebuild of Christchurch and the surrounding areas following the 22 Februar ...

; it is hoped for the house to be kept despite the red zoning. A retrospective of his work was held at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū in 2003. In March 2009, Sutton was commemorated as one of the

Twelve Local Heroes The ''Twelve Local Heroes'' is a series of bronze busts located in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand on Worcester Boulevard outside the Arts Centre An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An ...

, and a bronze bust of him was unveiled outside the Christchurch Arts Centre.

(Untitled) Taylors Mistake

One of his most popular paintings is of the baches at

Taylors Mistake Te Onepoto / Taylors Mistake is a locality in New Zealand's South Island, at the southeastern extremity of the city of Christchurch Taylors Mistake is a bay adjacent to the locality, on the north side of Awaroa / Godley Head, on the northern ed ...

near Christchurch with the brown hills in the background. This painting is held by the Christchurch Art Gallery.

Notable people painted

John Cawte Beaglehole John Cawte Beaglehole (13 June 1901 – 10 October 1971) was a New Zealand historian whose greatest scholastic achievement was the editing of James Cook's three journals of exploration, together with the writing of an acclaimed biography of Co ...

. *

Alice Candy Alice Muriel Flora Candy (9 July 1888 – 18 May 1977) was a New Zealand teacher, academic and historian. Born in West Oxford, New Zealand on 9 July 1888, Candy attended Christchurch Girls' High School and got a Junior Scholarship. She earned ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, William A. People from Christchurch Ilam School of Fine Arts alumni University of Canterbury faculty 1917 births 2000 deaths 20th-century New Zealand painters 20th-century New Zealand male artists New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire