Self-portrait (with moth and caterpillar)

Rita Angus began this unfinished self-portrait shortly after moving to her cottage in Clifton, Christchurch. For her, this was a period of growth and transformation – symbolised by the moth and caterpillar on her shoulder.

The Māori woman represents the figure of Spring. Māori subjects rarely appear in Angus’s work. When they do, Angus often transforms them into symbols that are personal to her – unlike her Pākehā subjects, who she gives specific identities.