Click on the thumbnails below to find out more.

Rutu  1951	A Goddess of Mercy  1945-47	Sun Goddess  1949
Douglas Lilburn  1945	St Luke  1953-55	The apple pickers  1944
Dona Nobis Pacem (Ralph Vaughan Williams)  1944	Theo Schoon  circa 1941-43	Portrait of R. Gormack, Esq.  1948-49
Head of a Maori Boy  1951	Schoolgirl  1950	Waterlilies  1950
Canna leaves and flowers  circa 1948	Cannas  circa 1948	Crocus  circa 1946
Orange leaves  circa 1948	Sea and palms  circa 1948	Red and orange begonia leaves  circa 1948
Sketch enclosed with letter to Douglas Lilburn  1943	Douglas Lilburn  1944-50	Riverside sketchbook  1940s
Girl in tartan  circa 1946	Figure at Sumner  circa 1949	Fair-haired woman with bird  circa 1948
Sketchbook  circa 1945

Rutu

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Rita Angus worked on Rutu for six years. After finishing the eyes and hair, she wrote to a friend: 'You may understand what relief I felt … I relax now from years of tension, knowing I've done the most difficult & important work for me.'

Rutu - with her blonde hair, blue eyes, and dark skin - represents an idealised mix of races. Angus felt strongly that New Zealand's future lay in the merging of Pacific and European cultures.

Rutu is also a symbol of peace - a Pacific madonna that Angus hoped would be a model for all humanity.