Artwork Information

Robert Field studied art together with Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore at London's Royal College of Art. He arrived in Dunedin in 1925 to begin teaching art full-time. In 1931, he established the Studio of Modern Art, which later led Toss Woollaston to recall: 'Dunedin in 1932 was the most artistically enlightened place in New Zealand.' This direct stone carving is the first 20th century portrait sculpture created in New Zealand by a professional artist.