Born in Te Puke on the North Island of New Zealand in 1946, Robin White, who is part Maori, studied at the School of Fine Arts at Auckland University in the late 1960s. Colin McCahon was one of her mentors and Canterbury painter, and Rita Angus another key influence. She held her first solo show in 1970, and worked as a full time artist from 1972 after moving to the South Island. Of Maori and Pakeha descent Robin White has been one of this country's most prominent painters and printmakers since the 1970s. In 1982 she moved with her family to Kiribati (formerly Gilbert Islands) to work with the Ba'Hai community. White set up a studio there returning to New Zealand in 1999 where she continues to work with weavers and artists from around the Pacific. In 2002 a survey show, "Island Life: Robin White in New Zealand and Kiribati", toured New Zealand. Robin White has represented New Zealand at a number of international exhibitions including the sixth International Biennale of Sydney and the first Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in Brisbane, and the sixth Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in 2009.
Robin White is one of the most prolific of the artists listed in our database, with the number of works offered for sale by auction since 1988 of 577, of which 459 (80%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $362,054 for Glenda at Tahakopa sold by Webb's in September 2022. This year 12 works have been offered for sale. Works by Robin White are held by the Auckland Art Gallery, Christchurch Art Gallery and a further four major public national galleries (see list below).
Robin White is listed in the following standard biographical references:
The Australian Art Sales Digest is a database of over 610,000 works by more than 12,000 artists who are listed as having either lived or worked in Australia or New Zealand, and an additional 36,000 foreign and other artists, offered for sale by auction in Australia and New Zealand from the early 1970s to the present day.
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