John Holmwood was a keen observer and painter of everyday life in New Zealand. Originally trained as a commercial artist at Wellington Technical College, Holmwood went on to employment at the New Zealand Railways advertising department. This saw him travel the country inspecting various railway billboard sites in the 1940s and these journeys exposed him to a broad cross-section of New Zealand rural life, including the clearing of native bush. This became a subject that he often painted, after Christopher Perkins and Eric Lee-Johnson.
Horses and Children depicts a snapshot of rural life at a time when the land was changing. The children run barefoot at play, flying kites and riding horses bareback, amidst the windswept trees. The scrub in the distance atop the rugged terrain has been partially cleared and fenced off; the stumps at the foreground offer a timely reminder of the realities that were required in order for farm life to occur.
Painted in a variety of techniques, including scratching and scumbling, the work is built up from numerous applications and manipulations of paint, hinting that, perhaps, Holmwood painted from memory of the feel of the place. Perhaps this scene was glimpsed from a passing train, the heaviness of the stumps bearing the weight of Holmwood’s observation. JESSICA PEARLESS