Head of a girl

In 1911, the London-based expatriate Raymond McIntyre wrote home to his father. ‘New Zealand sees England through glasses which are apt to distort’, he complained. ‘The unimportant things become the important there [in New Zealand], and the important unimportant.’

Frustrated by New Zealand’s limited art scene, McIntyre had left New Zealand to pursue a career in London, as had his contemporary Frederick Porter. Both became successful. Neither returned.

In this portrait, the influence of modernism is clear: McIntyre has placed as much importance on shape, texture, and expressive colour as on capturing the sitter’s likeness.