Avis Winifred Higgs (21 September 1918 – 14 October 2016) was a New Zealand textile designer and painter.

Education

Higgs was born in 1918 in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

into a family of artists. Both her great grandfather and her grandfather were highly regarded Tasmanian landscape painters. Avis’s father, Sydney Higgs, was a well-known Wellington watercolourist who exhibited at the New Zealand Academy of Arts between 1921 and 1971. She attended Wellington East Girls' College and in February 1936 enrolled at the Art School of Wellington Technical College. She did not complete her course in design but was recommended by one of her tutors for a design position at National Distributors Ltd in Wellington, where Higgs undertook lettering and poster design work and learned the principles of screenprinting. With the outbreak of the Second World War Higgs resigned from National Distributors and trained as a nurse; however, while on section at Wellington Hospital she contracted

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs a ...

Australian career

Following her illness an aunt suggested a convalescent holiday in Sydney, and Higgs resigned from nursing to accept this offer. In Australia Higgs applied for a role at Sydney firm Silk & Textile Printers, and from 1941 to 1946 she was the company’s head designer. Here Higgs drew on the Sydney environment for her textiles designs, especially nearby

Bondi Beach Bondi Beach () is a popular beach and the name of the surrounding suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Bondi Beach is located east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of ...

, resulting in patterns featuring sailing boots, water skiers, surfers, seashells and sun umbrellas.

New Zealand career

Higgs returned to New Zealand in 1948. As in Australia Higgs drew on her surroundings for her work, creating designs based on native plants, flowers, and taonga held at the

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

. In 1951 Higgs travelled to England, but returned to New Zealand in 1952 after a car accident. The trauma of her car accident spelled the end of Higgs’ career as a textile designer, and on her return to New Zealand painting became her focus. In the 1950s and 1960s Higgs was a very active member of the Wellington artistic community, including the

New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts The New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts (also referred to as the Wellington Art Society) was founded in Wellington in July 1882 as The Fine Arts Association of New Zealand. Founding artists included painters William Beetham (first president of the As ...

, the

Wellington Architectural Centre The Architectural Centre Inc is a nonprofit organization in Wellington, New Zealand, for architects and laypeople with an interest in architecture which offers lectures, site visits, tours and exhibitions. History of the centre The centre was es ...

Gallery and the Helen Hitchings Gallery. She exhibited throughout New Zealand and won several awards, including the National Bank award for watercolour in 1964. In 1999 Higgs was included in ''The Eighties Show'' at The Dowse Art Museum, an exhibition of artists who were still active in their eighties, including

Doreen Blumhardt Dame Vera Doreen Blumhardt (7 March 1914 – 17 October 2009) was a New Zealand potter, ceramicist and arts educator. Early life Vera Doreen Blumhardt was born on 7 March 1914 in Huanui in the North of New Zealand. Her parents were Germa ...

John Drawbridge John Boys Drawbridge (27 December 1930 – 24 July 2005) was a New Zealand artist, muralist and printmaker. He was famous for his murals in public places: for the foyer of New Zealand House in London in the 1960s, the Beehive in the 1970s, and ...

, Roy Cowan and Juliet Peter. In 2001 her life and work was the subject of a survey exhibition and publication by design historian Douglas Lloyd-Jenkins, ''Avis Higgs: joie de vivre''. She died on 14 October 2016, aged 98.

Recognition

1937: Second place in League of Nations' national poster design competition for the best poster symbolising peace. 1945: Commonwealth Government commendation from the Australian Federal Treasurer and Prime Minister

Ben Chifley Joseph Benedict Chifley (; 22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was an Australian politician and train driver who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), and was n ...

, received for her work designing textiles for the war effort with Victory Loan campaign slogans. 1964: Winner of the National Bank of New Zealand Art award for watercolour painting. 1968: Special Merit prize from the National Bank of New Zealand for watercolour painting. 1985: Winner of the IBM New Zealand Fine Arts Award. In 2006 Higgs was awarded the Governor-General’s Art Award for her contribution to New Zealand art, and given a retrospective of her work at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. Higgs was inducted into the College of Creative Arts Toi Rauwharangi (

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

) Hall of Fame in 2010, along with ceramicist Manos Nathan. Higgs has also been named as one of the five most important Australian designers in the 20th century by the Australian Ministry of Culture.

Exhibitions

1999: ''The Eighties Show'', The Dowse Art Museum
2000: ''Avis Higgs: joie de vivre'', Hawke's Bay Museum and Art Gallery (now

MTG Hawke's Bay MTG Hawke's Bay Tai Ahuriri (formerly Hawke's Bay Museum & Art Gallery) is a museum, theatre and art gallery (hence the name) in Napier in New Zealand. MTG Hawke's Bay occupies three buildings that were redeveloped in 2013. History The first ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgs, Avis 1918 births 2016 deaths New Zealand artists New Zealand designers New Zealand textile designers People educated at Wellington East Girls' College