Artist Details

A A Deans from

AA Deans (1915-)
Austen Deans was born into an early pioneering family and raised at Morven, Sheffield in Canterbury. He gained a Diploma in 1938 from the Canterbury University College School of Art. Archibald Nicoll was the major influence on his painting but he also studied with Cecil Kelly and the sculptor Francis Shurrock. Deans received a great deal of encouragement from his parents in his choice of career and he was set to study at the Slade School in London when war broke out.
He was an early volunteer for active service and was appointed Assistant New Zealand War Artist, working alongside Peter McIntyre. He was injured in Crete, taken prisoner and sent to a P.O.W hospital. A prisoner of war for four years, he remained in England for a further six months to give evidence against collaborators.
After the war he married and traveled back to England where he studied at Sir John Cass College (affiliated to the University of London) from 1948-1950. Late in 1950 he and his family returned to NZ and purchased a small farm at Peel Forest, South Canterbury where Deans built a home with a spacious studio.
Deans’ interest in representational naturalism sustained him throughout his career. His particular love for mountains is evident in his landscape paintings and he accomplished many First Ascents while searching for the right viewpoint.
Austen Deans has won many national art awards and is represented in many of New Zealand’s public galleries. He is recognised as one of New Zealand’s outstanding artists and his works hang in many private homes in countries all around the world.

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