Born in 1915 in Java, Indonesia, Theo Schoon arrived in New Zealand from Indonesia in 1939 where he studied at Canterbury School of Arts. His Dutch parents sent him and his brother to the Netherlands for further education, where he attended the Rotterdam Academy of Fine Arts, and travelled in Europe, acquiring first-hand knowledge of European modernism. He returned to Java in 1936 and then moved to New Zealand in 1939 with his family. He was one of the early European artists to be influenced by Maori culture, and known as a painter, sculptor, photographer and ceramicist. <p>He died in 1985.
Theo Schoon, greenstone pendant c1960/70, 1.42 in. x 0.98 in. maximum. Provenance: Collection of Hettie Sawyer (Dutch friend of the artist), gifted to the previous owner's father c1970, by descent & sold to current owner