Story: Curnow, Thomas Allen Monro

Betty Curnow, by Rita Angus

Betty Curnow, by Rita Angus

This 1942 painting of Allen Curnow’s wife, Betty, showed her pregnant with her second child. Rita Angus gave the Curnows the portrait to thank them for their hospitality and friendship in the 1930s and 1940s. Angus and Betty Curnow planned the portrait together. They selected clothing and objects that would best symbolise the threads of Betty’s life as a daughter, wife and mother.

Courtesy of the Rita Angus Estate

Using this item

Auckland Art Gallery – Toi o Tāmaki
Oil on canvas by Rita Angus

Permission of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

How to cite this page:

Terry Sturm. 'Curnow, Thomas Allen Monro', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 2010. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/6c1/curnow-thomas-allen-monro (accessed 30 March 2024)