Looking at New Zealand - Peter McIntyre

This edition of the 60s magazine show is a portrait of Peter McIntyre. McIntyre was New Zealand’s official war artist, and his paintings became icons of the NZ war effort. This piece focuses on his later landscapes — then at the height of their popularity. Shots of McIntyre working in his studio and around Kākahi — where the “happy escapist” retreats from the hurly burly of Wellington — bolster the romantic image. He muses on ‘scenic decay’, trout fishing, the zen of the bush and pop art: “If they’re surrounded by cans of beans let them paint cans of beans!”.  

I’ve always felt sorrow for those men you see at Taupo and such places, fishing in the rip at the Waitahanui, and their wives sitting knitting in the car, with the stony faces of women who are ‘waiting’.

– McIntyre on Taupo fly fishing’s take on Stepford Wives

Key Cast & Crew

Bute Hewes

Producer