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 for the New Zealand Pavilion at Expo 70 in Japan. Drawbridge was born Karori and attended the

Wellington Teachers College Wellington College of Education (formerly Wellington Teachers' Training College) was established in 1888 with the purpose of educating teachers in New Zealand. It became the Faculty of Education of Victoria University of Wellington, formed from th ...

. He was a tutor in printmaking at the Wellington Polytech School of Design for 25 years (later becoming Massey University, College of Creative Arts, from whom he received an honorary doctorate and was also inducted into the Massey University Hall of Fame). After returning from England in 1964 he was considered one of New Zealand's most significant artists, but fell out of favour with the art critics of the late 1970s and 1980s (his work being seen as too international during a time when regional realism was helping define a New Zealand identity). After his death in 2005 his contribution to the New Zealand art scene has been revisited, on a number of occasions, by an increasing number of champions (notably by Dr. Damian Skinner, of Auckland Museum). He lived at Island Bay in Wellington for over 40 years with his artist wife Tanya Ashken; they had two sons, Tony and Cameron. In 1967 there was controversy about one of his oil paintings of Island Bay which was gifted to Canada. He was born and died in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) 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 second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

. In the

1978 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1978 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, to celebrate the year passed and mark the begin ...

, Drawbridge was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

, for services to art.

References

:''Obituary'' in ''Dominion Post'', Wellington of 28 July 2005 page B6. {{DEFAULTSORT:Drawbridge, John 1930 births 2005 deaths 20th-century New Zealand artists 20th-century New Zealand male artists 21st-century New Zealand artists 21st-century New Zealand male artists People from Wellington City 20th-century printmakers New Zealand art teachers New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Academic staff of the Massey University