Cedric Savage
New Zealand, 1901–1969
Aftermath c.1953
oil on canvas, 905 x 1130 mm
Collection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: gift of the legatees of the estate of F. G. Gibbs, in 1953. Acc 274
It is likely that Savage painted Aftermath as an impressive centrepiece for a solo exhibition held in The Suter Art Gallery in the 1950s. The artist had moved to Golden Bay in 1945, setting himself up in Packard Road in Motupipi.
In this painting, Savage has created a quintessential Golden Bay image of limestone ridges, wind-sculpted tōtara and nīkau palms. Sunlight could be breaking through the storm clouds, but the mist hasn’t yet lifted from the valleys.
Savage’s normal practice was to identify his landscape scene in the painting’s title. Aftermath is an exception, and it may well be a compilation of different aspects of Golden Bay, with Tata Island perhaps, in the middle distance.
