Austen Deans

Description

First NameAlister Austen Last NameDeansDescriptionAusten Deans was the great grandchild of prominent Canterbury pioneers John and Jane Deans.
From a young age he was a passionate admirer of the mountains. He attended Canterbury School of Art before enlisting to fight in World War Two, where he was commissioned as an assistant war artist. Captured on Crete, Deans became a P.O.W. but was still able to paint and even send a few of his works home.
Austen Deans returned to New Zealand and made his living for decades as an 'en plein air' (an out of doors painter) inspired by his love of the mountains.
( See 'Capturing mountains : the life and art of Austen Deans' by Nathalie Brown)

The Aoraki Heritage Collection holds several books featuring Austen Deans' work and his biography 'Capturing mountains : the life and art of Austen Deans' by Nathalie Brown. Please follow the link below or contact us for more information.External LinkTimaru District Libraries catalogue : Search ' Austen Deans'Date of Birth2 Dec 1915Place of BirthChristchurchDate of Death18 Oct 2011Place of DeathChristchurchSubjectArtsArtistsBiographyWar

Newspaper Clipping

Delight in 'free' side of NZ landscape

Interesting Exhibition

Portrait of an Artist - Austen Deans

Soldier and Artist: The Work of Austen A Deans

New Crest for Geraldine

Ephemera

Friends of the Aigantighe Newsletter March 2018

Artist Austen Deans with his mural painted in the Peel Forest Hall, 20 August 1993.
Image courtesy of the South Canterbury Museum, item 2012/186.2362. Please contact the museum for more information.

Connections

PlacePeel Forest