Rita Angus painted this portrait of composer Douglas Lilburn at a time when the two were involved in a romantic affair. They formed part of an impressive group of intellectuals in Christchurch in the 1940s who were all driven by a commitment to a creative national culture. Others in Christchurch at the time included the poets Allen Curnow and Denis Glover, artists such as Colin McCahon and Louise Henderson, and Charles Brasch, who would travel up from Dunedin regularly to see his literary journal Landfallthrough the Caxton Press.
Using this item
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Reference: MA_I064451
by Rita Angus
Courtesy of the Rita Angus Estate
Permission of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa must be obtained before any re-use of this image.