Archibald Nicoll

Aotearoa New Zealand, b.1886, d.1953

A Canterbury landscape

  • c. 1928
  • Oil on canvas
  • Osborne Alfred (Alf) Taylor Bequest, 2012
  • 545 x 698mm
  • 2012/046

Having lost his leg while fighting on the Somme during World War I, Archibald Nicoll was confined to painting landscapes in close proximity to where he was able to drive. This is why so many of his landscapes have roads as a central motif. Rather than a hindrance, however, Nicoll put his car to good use and revelled in the freedom it offered, driving all over Canterbury to paint. He would often combine painting excursions with family holidays. The scene in this work is thought to be Balcairn Downs inland from the town of Amberley in North Canterbury.

In the vast emptiness, 8 January - 21 August 2016

 If you can tell us exactly where this scene is, please contact us.

Exhibition History