Flight 1969

Rita Angus made this painting, ‘Flight’, with oil on canvas, but we don’t know when exactly. The palette is subdued, almost grey, with little pops of white from the boats and lone bird in the midground. It's an image that really embraces the ambiguity of process over product. I’m especially drawn to the contrast between the smooth, almost classical rendering of the giant dove and the rougher, more textural treatment of the landscape. You can almost feel the grit of the stone in those tombstones, a stark contrast to the ethereal quality of the bird in flight. The dove dominates the scene, a monumental presence overseeing a landscape of life, death, and rebirth. Looking at this, I'm reminded of Marsden Hartley, particularly his landscapes with symbolic objects. But where Hartley often leaned into drama and intensity, Angus maintains a kind of quiet contemplation, a sense of stillness even in the midst of symbolic turbulence. It’s this quietness, this ambiguity, that really speaks to me.