Alix Simpson with Cat; Toss WOOLLASTON; 1963; 498
Alix Simpson with Cat
About this objectAn ink and wash sketch of a figure holding a cat in their arms and reclining on a high-backed chair.
Maker Date Made1963
Medium and MaterialsPen, brush and ink on paper
Place Made Subject and Association Keywords Subject and Association KeywordsNew Zealand/South Island/West Coast/Greymouth
Subject and Association Description
Having given up his Rawleigh's salesman run in order to take up a trip to Europe sponsored by a Government Arts Council grant, Toss Woollaston began to struggle financially on return to Greymouth. Although his reputation was on the rise, he was still unable to support himself wholely through his art.
Portraiture was an important element in Woollaston's work and he continued to develop it throughout his career. He described his approach as observing the subject "sometimes for quite a long time, till I find their most natural attitudes and movements. I do not copy their actual physical movements...but I have a rich means of suggesting them - the lean and tilt of the different planes and volumes in contrasting directions..." (Barnett, 1991, p.67). These suggestions of physical appearance and underlying personality were achieved in quick and spontaneous compositions, displaying the dramatic energy of his style.
Woollaston Davies Collection
Credit LineGifted by the artist in 1979
Object Type Object number498
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