An artists sanctuary and studio on the CBD fringe designed for artist Bill Sutton by fellow artist and sculptor Tom Taylor in 1961. The two storey house is simple in design and feels very tranquil inside and out thanks to dappled light from the rambling garden.

Cheryl Bernstein recalls:

Years ago, I visited the artist Bill Sutton at his house in Richmond, Christchurch. I went to interview him about the Christchurch art scene in the 1960s, in which – as in several other decades, too – he was a major figure, variously as a teacher, practitioner, and champion of both the arts and fellow artists.

The house was fantastic: like the man himself, compact, modest, unassuming, well put-together. We sat in the lounge on low modernist chairs with wooden arms, facing a tiny conservatory area festooned with well-tended plants. I remember that after a while Bill brought out tea and biscuits: he turned the plate so that the pink wafer biscuits faced me, and smiled. “Perhaps you might like these,” he said.

I did.

Thanks to Vic for the tip.

Lovely model.