Michael Smither

Reproduction of Original 1973 Painting

“Joseph as the Lone Ranger captures a moment of play in the life of Smither’s son. Equipped with hobby horse, plastic ray gun and helmet, Joseph is in his own mind the living embodiment of the Lone Ranger. Smither’s painting seems to ask, and why not? The flax bushes that form a backdrop for Joseph’s performance are luridly coloured, reflecting the saturated, intensely sensory world of childhood play. However, the flax seems dangerously spiky, and Joseph is backed up against it as if on a stage, pinned by the spotlight of adult attention. There is a tension here, and abrasiveness, in the contact between the worlds of child and adult.

The Lone Ranger is a link between Smither’s boyhood and his son’s. Born in 1939, Smither would have been enthralled by the popular radio and television series in its height in the early 1950s, whereas Joseph would have caught re-runs in the 1970s. The immortal figure of the Lone Ranger telescopes time, and the gap between two generations is compressed as Smither witnesses his son’s playtime fantasy. Looking in from the outside of childhood, Smither celebrates Joseph’s perfect obliviousness to the boundaries of his imaginative world. Innocence and knowledge co-exist in this moment, and in the look that passes between father and son.”

Description by Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth.

Image Size: 640 x 500 mm
Paper Size: 760 x 560 mm
Limited edition of: 80

“Michael Smither was made a CNZM in 2004 for his services to art.  It is important to acknowledge and celebrate the work and achievement of this New Zealand artist who shows us so much of where we come from and of what shapes us.”

– Helen Clark, former Prime Minister & Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage

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