Conductor Poses for a Painter

New Zealand Listener, Volume 29, Issue 752, 11 December 1953, Page 29

Conductor Poses for a Painter

| HEN I rang the front door bell at a studio in Lambton Quay the other morning, I was admitted by a red-haired young artist — 28-years-old Leonard Mitchell-who, at my request, introduced me to his portrait of Warwick Braithwaite. There sat the musician, in a blue suit, wearing a dark blue tie and a red cardigan-what the layman calls a "speaking likeness." The sittings were completed just before Mr.

Braithwaite left recently on a visit to America. Among other _ notable people Mitchell has painted in the last few years are A. R. Cutler, V.C., Sir Carl Berendsen and Michael Bowles, and when I called he was busy assembling materials for a portrait of W. S. Wauchop, Parliamentary Librarian, to be started that morning. Son of a Wellington commercial artist, Leonard Mitchell begar to paint when he was a child. He studied at Wellington Technical ‘College under Frederick Ellis, Alexander Fraset, Nelson Isaac and Nugent Welch, and for a time he taught ife drawing at Wellington Technical College. After Army service he studied in Europe and returned to New Zealand about five years ago. "Since then I have been experimenting," he told me. Discussing his Warwick Braithwaite portrait Leon- . ard Mitchell said: "A painter sets out to transcribe the sitter in terms of the medium used-

always hoping, of course, that the intention will come off. I just sat Mr. Braithwaite down and went ahead to express his character in paint." With James Gawn, a_ sculptor, Mr. Mitchell intends to use his big double studio as a gallery to "help strengthen artistic pursuit in New Zealand." It will be opened early next year. In the meantime he intends to continue painting portraits.