Robin White  (born 1946), New Zealand (Ngāti Awa)
Mangaweka  1973
oil paint on canvas
Purchased 1994 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds

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Instant recognition

During the 1970s, Robin White became known for her hard-edged, realist images of semi-rural New Zealand, presented almost like diagrams.

These images captured something instantly recognisable about New Zealand – its old villas, country churches, small-town shops, and railway stations. These were places Robin White felt strong connections with – where she, her family, and friends lived. She transformed them into poster-like images in a limited range of colours and tones.

Many of White’s works from this time were made as screen-prints that were frequently reproduced. For many, her work represented the ‘real’ New Zealand, the heartland, outside the cities.