Douglas Lilburn

The composer Douglas Lilburn was a close friend of Rita Angus’s for nearly 30 years. They shared a fierce commitment to their work as artists, and valued each other’s opinion.

Music inspired Angus. She wrote to Lilburn in 1946: ‘I hear through music, and translate into colour and line.’
Angus treasured this calmly intense portrait of Lilburn. She wrote to him about the painting: ‘This morning I sat and wept before your Portrait, the eyes have an alive sense of profundity, and the painting is complete.’