Modernism and Paul Olds (1922–1976) Questioning New Zealand’s Story of Art
New Zealand’s established history of art from the nineteenth century reveals significant omissions in its presentation, particularly regarding Māori, Pasifika, Asian, and women artists. Equally overlooked are the diverse manifestations of modernism within New Zealand’s cultural landscape, with modernist architecture standing as a notable exception. Only recently have art historians begun to interrogate modernism’s influence, particularly through focused studies of New Zealand Cubism. Modernism’s arrival in New Zealand—part of its global trajectory—encountered sustained resistance, with critics dismissing it as an unwelcome foreign presence that challenged the prevailing quest for ‘national identity’ or ‘New Zealandness’ in art. While some post–World War II modernist works have garnered scholarly attention, many remain unexplored, their achievements demanding deeper analysis. Through autoethnography and critical visual analysis, this thesis examines one such overlooked figure, Christchurch-born Paul Olds (1922–1976), as an exemplar of these art historical oversights. Olds was highly educated in art through the Canterbury College School of Art and gained overseas experience in Europe over six years—at the Royal College of Art in London, the British School at Rome and in the modernist sculptor Albert Féraud’s (1921–2008) studio in Paris. Olds achieved significant recognition during his lifetime, with works acquired by eleven New Zealand institutions. Yet, since the 1980s, his presence in art historical literature and exhibitions has diminished significantly. This research draws upon a substantial, previously unseen corpus of paintings, drawings, watercolours, sketches and collages from his estate to reconstruct his artistic trajectory. The marginalisation of Olds in art historical discourse can be attributed to several factors: the dispersal of his oeuvre across private collections, which complicated efforts to trace his modernist development; his premature death at 53 of bronchial asthma; his geographical distance from Auckland’s dominant art scene; the persistent resistance to modernism’s ‘foreign’ influence; and the critical establishment’s shift towards American rather than European artistic paradigms. This thesis aims to address this significant gap in New Zealand’s post–World War II modernist narrative. Through close examination of Olds’ work and life—which prove inextricably intertwined—this study reveals an artist whose unique engagement with modernism merits restoration to his former prominence in New Zealand’s story of art.
Cubism, modernism, New Zealand's story of art, overlooked artist, Paul Olds, painter, tutor, 1950s Rome, 1950s London, 1950s Paris, 1960s & 1970s Wellington artistic scene, Landscape, portrait, collage, drawing from the figure, Lyrical abstraction, Canterbury regional realists, Canterbury College School of Art, Royal College of Art, British School at Rome, Albert Féraud, Ōtira
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