100 years of the School Journal

Colin McCahon

Cover illustration for the School Journal by Colin McCahon

Colin McCahon, Cover illustration for the School Journal, Part 4, No 2, 1971.

Colin McCahon

http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=5M4This cover by painter Colin McCahon (1919-1987) appeared on the Journal in 1971. It is one of a number of book cover designs that McCahon produced during his career, including cover illustrations for Bill Pearson's Coal Flat (1963) and Ruth France's Ice Cold River (1961), both published by Paul's Book Arcade.

In 1981 McCahon contributed a memoir to Education, School Publications' journal for teachers. In it, he looked back on the experiences he had at primary school that helped fuel his ambition to be an artist:

Tennyson, Wordsworth, struggling with the moderns, and wonderful exercises in formal English spelling. You never knew what was happening to you. Poetry – words – words and pictures – and music – and grabbing it all…

Biography of Colin McCahon – Dictionary of New Zealand Biography website

Art works by Colin McCahon – The Colin McCahon image library and database

Permission of the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any reuse of this image.

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Collection National Library Gallery