Brian Strong
New Zealand, 1945–
Lake Series 10, Rotoiti 1974
oil on canvas, 1820 x 1505 mm
Collection of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū: purchased with the assistance of the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council in 1976. ACC: 430
Brian Strong grew up in Nelson and studied at Canterbury University. His early career was as an art teacher and examiner, until demand for his paintings made art his full-time commitment.
Like Toss Woollaston, Strong is known to merge different viewpoints and elevations into one composition. Most of his paintings are based on the landscape around the Nelson area.
Lake Series 10, Rotoiti is painted from a high viewpoint, probably from the St Arnaud Range, and captures the dramatic scale of the Nelson Lakes landscape, and its changing moods and colours. The Travers River flows from the upper centre of the painting.
