Don Peebles
Donald Clendon Peebles was a New Zealand artist. He is regarded as a pioneer of abstract art in New Zealand, and his works are held in the collections of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and Christchurch Art Gallery.
Early life
Peebles was born in Taneatua, Bay of Plenty, in 1922. His family moved to Wellington two years later, and he attended Wadestown Primary School and Wellington College. At age 15, he left school to work as a telegram boy for the New Zealand Post Office. In 1941, he joined the New Zealand Army, and during World War II he served in the New Zealand Division as a radio operator between 1943 and 1945. At the end of the war he had his first formal art training in Florence while waiting to be demobilised.Education
Peebles began his training in fine art at the Wellington Technical College of Art in 1947, before moving to Australia and studying under John Passmore at the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney from 1951 to 1953.Career
In the early 1950s, Peebles returned from studying in Australia and moved back to New Zealand. In 1960, he won a scholarship to study in London, granted by the Association of New Zealand Art Societies. Prior to this trip, Peebles married Prue Corkill. It was in London that Peebles met constructivist painter Victor Pasmore, who became a friend and major influence.In 1964, Peebles became a lecturer at the Canterbury School of Fine Arts in Christchurch. In 1980, he was made head of the painting department, and he lectured there until his retirement in 1986 to concentrate on painting full-time.
Exhibitions
Peebles has exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions, including:Solo
Don Peebles Retrospective Dowse Art Gallery, Lower Hutt in 1973.- Don Peebles: Recent Work Robert McDougal Art Gallery, Christchurch in 1979. Don Peebles: Drawings of the Eighties Robert McDougal Art Gallery, Christchurch in 1988. The Harmony of Opposites Robert McDougall Art Gallery a major retrospective exhibition which toured New Zealand from 1996.Don Peebles at 83 at Campbell Grant Galleries, Christchurch in 2005.