William A. Sutton
Encyclopedia
William A. Sutton or Bill (1917–2000) was a leading portraitist and landscape artist based in Christchurch
, New Zealand
. 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 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, 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.
His paintings are typically signed / credited as WA Sutton. Much of his work shows the influence of New Zealand regionalism
as with fellow Cantabrian Rita Angus
.
Public figures he painted included John Cawte Beaglehole
.
In March 2009, Bill Sutton was commemorated as one of the Twelve Local Heroes
, and a bronze bust of him was unveiled outside the Christchurch Arts Centre.
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. A graduate of the Canterbury College School of Art
University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury , New Zealand's second-oldest university, operates its main campus in the suburb of Ilam in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand...
(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 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, 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.
His paintings are typically signed / credited as WA Sutton. Much of his work shows the influence of New Zealand regionalism
Regionalism (art)
Regionalism is an American realist modern art movement that was popular during the 1930s. The artistic focus was from artists who shunned city life, and rapidly developing technological advances, to create scenes of rural life...
as with fellow Cantabrian Rita Angus
Rita Angus
Rita Angus was a New Zealand painter born in Hastings. Along with Colin McCahon and Toss Woollaston, she is credited as one of the leading figures in twentieth century New Zealand art...
.
Public figures he painted included John Cawte Beaglehole
John Cawte Beaglehole
John Cawte Beaglehole, OM, CMG 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 Cook, published posthumously...
.
In March 2009, Bill Sutton was commemorated as one of the Twelve Local Heroes
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 to commemorate twelve local Christchurch people who were prominent in their respective fields in the latter part of the 20th...
, and a bronze bust of him was unveiled outside the Christchurch Arts Centre.