Born in 1921
Agnes Graduated with a Masters of Fine Arts from Auckland University in 1973 and has been painting ever since.
Agnes has exhibited consistently over the last 30 years throughout New Zealand and her works can be seen in the Auckland City Art Gallery, Government and commercial venues and private collections.
One of her tutors at Elam, Colin McCahon encouraged her at Art School and she consequently went on to write a book in 1997: “Colin McCahon – The Man and the Teacher”.
Her first paintings were abstract concerned with the networks and patterns visible in the city landscapes, influenced by painters Elena Maria Veira da Silva and Robert Ellis. Ellis also tutored Agnes at Elam.
In the early 1980’s she moved to a more figurative style of painting. Agnes’s work in the early 90’s became much brighter reversing a previous trend of an almost monochromatic pallet.
Her fire invasion series was a combination of abstract and figurative and she endeavored to express her concerns of the destruction of our indigenous forests and the loss of animal and plant life. It was the disastrous fires of the Marlborough region in the upper South Island that first prompted her Fire/Invasion theme.
Another theme that continually appears in here work, are Portraits of unknown people. Her treatment of the figure especially the face appears to owe something to McCahon and perhaps Picasso and Modigliani.
With the simplification of form the figures are flat and gender made manifest only in the appearance of breast.
Later Portraits of unknown men and women are sub fused with other symbolism such as the lily, jug of water, and dove all common symbols of purity.