Douglas MacDiarmid


Douglas Kerr MacDiarmid is one of New Zealand's most accomplished expatriate painters, known for his diversity and exceptional use of colour, and involved with key movements in twentieth-century art. He lives in Paris, France.

Life

Douglas MacDiarmid was born in Taihape, in the middle of the North Island of New Zealand, the younger son of Dr Gordon Napier MacDiarmid, country general medical practitioner and surgeon, and his wife Mary Frances, a school teacher before her marriage. He was born in his family home upstairs from his father's surgery at 24 Huia Street, Taihape.
He boarded at Huntley Preparatory School, Marton, and Timaru Boys' High School, then studied literature, languages, music and philosophy at Canterbury College, University of New Zealand, Christchurch. His studies were interrupted by World War II military service in the Army and Air Force at home. Although he had no formal art training, he was mentored by older members of The Group, an avant-garde set redefining New Zealand art and culture that he was closely involved with during his Christchurch years from 1940 to 1946.
While his brother Ronald Diarmid MacDiarmid followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a doctor, Douglas left New Zealand after the war in 1946 to find his way as an artist, teaching and painting in London and France. After a year back in New Zealand in 1949–50, he returned to France and has been based there ever since – with homeland exhibitions and regular trips back to New Zealand until recent years.
Douglas is a cousin of the late New Zealand scientist Alan MacDiarmid, one of three recipients of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2000. The following year, Douglas painted a portrait of his cousin for the New Zealand Portrait Gallery collection.
His childhood home is now a bed and breakfast called Magpie Manor at 24 Huia Street, Taihape.

Career

MacDiarmid has been a full time artist in Paris since 1952. He also writes poetry. Not confined to a style, he creates landscapes, cityscapes, portraits, figures, abstract and semi abstract forms, many inspired by his extensive travels, and has exhibited successfully in France, London, Athens, New York, and Casablanca.
In 1990, he was brought back to New Zealand for the country's sesquicentennial celebrations, and declared a New Zealand living cultural treasure by the government of the day. His portrait was painted by Jacqueline Fahey at the time for the new New Zealand Portrait Gallery.
MacDiarmid painted the portraits of Rita Angus and Theo Schoon among others.
His paintings are owned by French and New Zealand governments, the City of Paris, and public and private collections across the world, including New Zealand, Australia, the United States, France, England, Greece, Switzerland, Morocco, South Africa, China, South America, Korea, Tahiti, as well as the collection of the late Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
In 2016, two of his paintings sold through Art+Object for a record price of more than $27,000 each as part of the Tim and Sherrah Francis Collection, the highest grossing art auction in New Zealand history.
A series of Douglas' line drawings were used to illustrate a little volume of poems by New Zealand Poet Laureate 2015–2017 CK Stead. Published by the Alexander Turnbull Library, the signed, limited edition book was titled In the mirror, and dancing and hand-pressed by Brendan O'Brien. The book was launched on 8 August 2017 in Wellington, with the assistance of Gregory O'Brien to celebrate the conclusion of Stead's laureateship.
Senior art historian Associate Professor Leonard Bell, of the School of Humanities at the University of Auckland, has noted MacDiarmid's name missing in overviews of New Zealand's country’s painting history and has welcomed the launch of his biography Colours of a Life - the life and times of Douglas MacDiarmid by Anna Cahill.

Significant exhibitions

1945: Showed with The Group, Christchurch
1950: Helen Hitchings Gallery, Wellington
1951: Work shown at Bienniale de Menton salon exhibition, Gallery Pierre Mondal, London
1952: Aquarelle, Galerie Morihien, Paris. Fifteen New Zealand Painters, Irving Galleries, Leicester, presented by Helen Hitchings as first exhibition of contemporary NZ art in Britain. Also New Forms Gallery, Athens, Greece.
1953: Chelsea Private Gallery, London; Galerie Royale, Paris
1955: Galerie Ror Volmar, Paris
1958: Galerie du Colisée, Paris, Galerie du Claridge, Paris. Pierre Montal Gallery group exhibition, London
1959: André Brooke's Gallery 91, Christchurch. John Leech Gallery, Auckland. Beaux Arts group exhibition, Paris, works selected for L'Exposition du Prix Othon Friesz, Paris
1960: Commonwealth Week, Midland Bank, London; Gallery Pierre Montal, London; Redfern Gallery, London. Galeries Felix Varcel, represented NZ in New York Norwich International Exhibition, London
1961: Architectural Centre, Wellington
1963: Galerie Chardin, Paris; New Forms Gallery, Athens
1964: Opening of NZ House, London. Represented NZ at Stamford International Exhibition, Connecticut, USA
1965: Galerie 259 Raspail, Paris, with sculptor Dambrin. Represented at NZ painting and ceramics exhibition, New Zealand Embassy, Paris. John Leech Gallery, Auckland
1966: Ensemble exhibition, Palmerston North Public Art Gallery, NZ. Group exhibition of NZ Paintings & Pottery, NZ Embassy, Washington DC
1968: Retrospective MacDiarmid Exhibition, Wellington; Galerie Berri-Lardy, Paris. Represented NZ at Commonwealth Exhibition, Bristol, UK
1969: Bishop Suter Art Gallery, Nelson, NZ.
1970: Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Festival Week Exhibition. Canterbury Society of Arts Gallery, Christchurch
1972: Galerie Motte, Paris
1974: Medici Galleries, Wellington
1976: NZ House, London; Galerie Venise Cadre, Casablanca, Morocco
1977: Galerie Séguier, Paris
1979: Galeriè Bond Street, Casablanca
1981: Louise Beale Gallery, Wellington
1983: Galerie Lambert, Paris
1989: Chez Lonjon, Paris – first home based exhibition
1990: NZ Sesquicentennial Exhibition, Light Release, Louise Beale/Christopher Moore Gallery, Wellington; National Art Gallery, Wellington
1992: Christopher Moore Gallery, Wellington. MacDiarmid studio exhibitions, Paris
1995: New Zealand Embassy, Paris
1996: Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui, NZ
1999–2002: Ferner Galleries, Auckland & Wellington, NZ, MacDiarmid 50th anniversary Retrospective 1948–1998 – From the Artist's Studio, followed by Celebrating the artist at 80 retrospective to coincide with the New Zealand launch of art history book MacDiarmid by French art historian Nelly Finet
2003: St Tropez, France, solo exhibition for 5th Australia/New Zealand Film Festival
2004: NZ Embassy residence, Paris
2006: Hocken Collections, Dunedin NZ, Douglas MacDiarmid: A Very Generous Gift; St Tropez, France 11–15 October. This show supported the release of A Stranger Everywhere documentary at Australia/New Zealand Film Festival; Otago University Auckland Centre; NZ Embassy exhibition, Paris
2008: New Zealand Embassy, Paris, also 2011 exhibition in aid of Christchurch earthquake reparation
2013: Montmartre, Paris exhibition with expatriate NZ sculptor Marion Fountain; Jonathan Grant Gallery, Auckland
2015: Early work shown in Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa autumn Nga Toi exhibition, Wellington
2017: University of Auckland's Gus Fisher Gallery exhibited work covering a period of six decades, gifted to the University of Auckland Art Collection by Douglas in 2015.
2018: Colours of a Life: Douglas MacDiarmid, New Zealand Portrait Gallery. Coinciding with the publication of his biography by the same name, this is an exhibition curated by Anna Cahill and Jaenine Parkinson to celebrate the life and art of expatriate New Zealand artist Douglas MacDiarmid, including a survey of MacDiarmid’s portraits and figurative works that span from realist figuration through to geometric abstraction, and showcasing his vibrant use of colour and the network of relationships the artist formed to places and people throughout his life and career.