Teuane Ann Tibbo (2 October 1895 – 24 May 1984) was a Samoan-born New Zealand artist. She started painting when she was 71 years old; her work is held in the permanent collections of

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa ( Māori for ' the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum of New Zealand ...

, The

Hocken Collections Hocken Collections (, formerly the Hocken Library) is a research library, historical archive, and Art museum, art gallery based in Dunedin, New Zealand. Its library collection, which is of national significance, is administered by the University ...

(

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

), The University of Auckland and the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

. Tibbo was born in

Pago Pago Pago Pago ( or ; Samoan language, Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County, American Samoa, Maoputasi County on Tutuila ...

, grew up in Samoa, and later lived in Fiji as an adult before moving to Auckland, New Zealand in 1945 with her husband and eight children. She began painting in the 1960s, without any formal training, when one of her daughters became interested in art.

Pat Hanly James Patrick Hanly (2 August 1932 – 20 September 2004), generally known as Pat Hanly, was a prolific New Zealand painter. One of his works is a large mural ''Rainbow Pieces'' (1971) at Christchurch Town Hall. Early life Born in Palmerston N ...

introduced Tibbo to Barry Lett, who became her dealer and showed her work at

Barry Lett Galleries Barry Lett Galleries was a dealer gallery focused on contemporary New Zealand art that operated in Auckland in the 1960s and 1970s. History Barry Lett Galleries was opened in 1965 by Barry Lett (1940–2017), who had graduated from Elam Schoo ...

; her first solo exhibition was at Lett's gallery in 1964. Her work often depicted leisure activities from her Samoan childhood, such as fishing, cricket, swimming, church and picnics. In 2002, a retrospective of her work, "Keep It in the Heart: The Paintings of Teuane Tibbo" was held in Auckland at the Lopdell House Gallery (now Te Uru). Her work was also featured in the 2021 exhibition ''Stars Start Falling'', which was presented at the

Govett-Brewster Art Gallery The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery is a contemporary art museum at New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in ...

and Te Uru. In 2009, Tibbo's daughter Audie Pennefather published a biography of Tibbo's life titled ''A True & Strange Story: The Life of Teuane Ann Tibbo, Artist 1895-1984''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tibbo, Teuane 1895 births 1984 deaths Samoan emigrants to New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand painters 20th-century New Zealand women artists New Zealand women painters Samoan expatriates in Fiji 20th-century women painters