Douglas MacDiarmid

Douglas MacDiarmid described himself as an expressionist painter, expressing the rhythm and movement of people, places and objects visually. Born in Taihape, MacDiarmid graduated from Canterbury College with a Bachelor of Arts in English, Literature and music following World War II. After the War, he moved to Paris 'to devour the rest of the world'. Working in a range of mediums such as oils, watercolour and acrylic, on a variety of surfaces, MacDiarmid produced works of vibrancy and expressionistic movement to convey a mix of portraits, figurative studies and landscapes. His work was often described as being nourished expressively but kept within certain limits by his classical training. These works were exhibited widely across Europe. He frequently returned for exhibitions in New Zealand, but ultimately passed away in Paris.