Robin White (artist)

Dame Robin Adair White, DNZM (born Te Puke, 1946) is a New Zealand painter and printmaker, recognised as a key figure in the regionalist movement of 20th century New Zealand art.

White grew up in Epsom, New Zealand, a suburb of Auckland, the youngest of seven children. Her father, a builder, was of Māori descent.

White completed a Diploma of Fine Arts at Elam School of Fine Arts in 1967. Along with her contemporaries Richard Killeen and Ian Scott, White was taught by Colin McCahon at Elam and has cited him as an important influence on her development as commitment as an artist.

After art school White moved to Bottle Creek, Paremata in 1969, and taught art at Mana College. Here White taught herself to screenprint, motivated by a desire to make her art more accessible and affordable. She has frequently reproduced her oil paintings (such as Mangaweka (1973) in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa) as prints. While at Bottle Creek White befriended local writers, including Sam Hunt, Fleur Adcock and Alistair Te Ariki Campbell, and historian Michael King.

Art historian Jill Trevelyan notes that it was while living at Bottle Creek that White developed her characteristic style, as she ‘began to paint the local landscape using crisp, rhythmic outlines, strong light, and flat blocks of colours’. White became well known for these works, which often depicted scenes of small town life, such as flat-bed trucks fish and chip shops.

White is also a member of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1972 White moved to Portobello, near Dunedin, where she met her husband, also a member of the religion.

...
Wikipedia