6 Dec 2015

Marcus King: Painting New Zealand for the World

From Standing Room Only, 1:33 pm on 6 December 2015

He created some of New Zealand’s best known images but few would recognise his name. Marcus King painted The Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, as well as dozens of tourism posters portraying New Zealand as a travel and agricultural paradise. For 50 years from 1920 he created relentlessly, as an impressionist artist privately, and commercially in advertising.

His work was shown internationally and undoubtedly had a big role to play in New Zealand's early success as a tourist destination.

Peter Alsop and Warren Feeney are huge fans and have spent several years researching Marcus King's work including the many murals he painted around the country which has lead to the book Marcus King: Painting New Zealand for the World.