BILL SUTTON – PORTRAIT PAINTER AND ARTIST COMPLETE

Press, 18 September 1976, Page 12

BILL SUTTON - PORTRAIT PAINTER AND ARTIST COMPLETE

DOUGLAS CLIFFORD

William Alexander Sutton is one of the best known of Christchurch artists. He is especially well known for his portrait painting, and in this field he is known nationally.

Mr Sutton can hardly remember when he was hot directing his life towards art. While he was Still at Christchurch Boys’ High School he was studying part-time at the University School of Art.

In 1934 he became a full-time student there and, once he had completed the course, he joined the staff as a parttime lecturer.

Then the war came. Four years in the Army followed.

Once out of uniform Mr Sutton returned to the School of Art for a time in his part-time capacity and also taught at Christ’s College; then, in 1947, he went to England, where he stayed for two years.

This was a time of

strong development for the young artist He worked at the AngloFrench Art Centre in St Johns Wood; painted around London; free lanced; sold a few sketches. In 1949 he received a cable from Christchurch which defined, his future. This offered him a fulltime lectureship at the University School of Art.

Mr Sutton still lectures there, and is now head of painting. Indeed, he is acting head of department at present while Professor Simpson is away. Early this year Mr Sutton was appointed to a readership in the department — a barony in the university peerage. Mr Sutton has done much more, artistically, then paint protraits and bring students to an understanding of art — but portrait-painting has become one of his central interests.

“I like meeting people,” he said. “It’s the pleasure of meeting people.” He has painted about 40 portraits. A few have been done from photographs because the sub-

jects have not been accessible; these are not, however, the ones that he has enjoyed the best. Many of the Sutton portrait oils now hang in universities, schools, add other public places to mark the life’s work of respected subjects. Some have been privately commissioned.

Mr Sutton is a landscape artist of distinction. “I used to paint from nature,” he said. “Now I look, draw, come back and work something more complex. I use my memory.

“This is to distill out the essense and put it down in strong, uncompromising terms. There is much more impact. The irrelevancies are stripped away.”

Mr Sutton will drive into the country and spend two or three hours “just lying around, looking.”

Of the Mackenzie Country he said: “I might put two broad bands of colour together, evoking the huge emptiness of the place.”

In 1973-74 Mr Sutton

was overseas for 10 months visiting England, Italy, and the Netherlands.

One result of this trip was the appearance of his book, “Watercolours of Italy.” This was published by the University of Canterbury, and is only No. 22 in this distinguished series. Mr Sutton has an intense interest in calligraphy — “beautiful handwriting.” He himself writes in the classic Italian script.

As a work of art he has lettered a small volume which has the appearance of hand-set printing in the style of the early monks. He has embellished this with gold leaf and other adornment in t lliant colour, and has set the cover with s e m i-precious stones. It is an equisite piece.

This is part of his library at home, which includes an enormous accumulation of books on art, many of them huge volumes.

If Mr Sutton had not been a painter he could

have been a highly successful landscape gardener.

At his home near the Avon he is enclosed in a world of his own. “When I come in and shut the gate I am completely cut off,” he said.

He has constructed banks of foliage to give groupings of various texture, and plants of contrasting size and colour. His garden is set round a courtyard made of old bricks laid on their side.

Twelve years ago he began setting out his garden; the bricks he gathered by wheel-barrow from demolitions in the area.

He plans his work in his garden, and speaks of it enthusiastically. The house which the garden 'rames is also made to his measure. It was designed by his colleague, Tom Taylor, who has had architectural training, and is senior lecturer in sculpture at the School of Art. Here is Mr Sutton’s studio, his large and old cat, and his music.

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On this page are examples of the art of W. A. Sutton, including two views of his garden and a fragment of his formal hand* writing. He is shown (above) with his painting of Mr G. F. S. Caldwell, a former headmaster of Ghristchurch Boys’ High School; and, right, during his work on the Sir James Wattie portrait. The portraits left are of (top line) Professor N. C. Phillips, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canterbury; Sir lan Macarthur, a judge of the Supreme Court; (bottom line) Miss Alice Candy, a former warden of Helen Connon Hall; Mr J. C. Beaglehole, scholar and author.