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{{short description|New Zealand artist and art teacher (1913–1983)}}{{Infobox artist
'''Rudolf Gopas''' (né '''Hopp''',<ref>{{cite book |last=Ronayne |first=Chris |date=2002 |title=Rudi Gopas – a biograpy |publisher=David Ling |location=Auckland |page=267 p. |nopp=yes}}</ref> 13 December 1913 &ndash; 23 July 1983) was a New Zealand artist and art teacher. He was born in [[Siluté]], [[Germany]] on 13 December 1913.<ref name="DNZB Gopas">{{DNZB|title=Rudolf Gopas|first= Jonathan|last= Mane-Wheoki|id=5g13|accessdate=December 2011|authorlink=Jonathan Mane-Wheoki}}</ref>
⚫
| image = GopasR.jpg
| caption = Rudolph Gopas in his Christchurch studio, 1982
| nationality = German
| birth_place = Šilutė, Germany (present day Lithuania)
⚫
| birth_date = 13 December 1913
⚫
| death_date = 23 July 1983
| known_for = Painting and teaching
⚫
}}

'''Rudolf Gopas''' (né '''Hopp''',<ref>{{cite book |last=Ronayne |first=Chris |date=2002 |title=Rudi Gopas – a biography |publisher=David Ling |location=Auckland |page=267 p |no-pp=yes}}</ref> 13 December 1913 &ndash; 23 July 1983) was a New Zealand artist and art teacher. He was born in [[Šilutė]], [[Germany]] (present day [[Lithuania]]).<ref name="DNZB Gopas">{{DNZB|Mane-Wheoki|Jonathan|5g13|Rudolf Gopas|10 December 2011||Jonathan Mane-Wheoki}}</ref> Gopas' works are held in the collections of the [[Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.aucklandartgallery.com/explore-art-and-ideas/artist/2672/rudolph-gopas|title=Rudolph Gopas|work=Auckland Art Gallery|access-date=2018-08-28|language=en}}</ref> the [[Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/agent/25500|title=Rudolf Gopas {{!}} Collections Online - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa|website=collections.tepapa.govt.nz|language=en|access-date=2018-08-28}}</ref> [[Christchurch Art Gallery]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/exhibitions/rudolf-gopas-2|title=Rudolf Gopas: A Painter and Teacher in Retrospect {{!}} Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū|website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz|access-date=2018-08-28}}</ref> and the [[Hocken Library]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://findnzartists.org.nz/artist/5862/rudolf-gopas|title=Gopas, Rudolf|website=findnzartists.org.nz|language=en|access-date=2018-08-28}}</ref>


His second wife was the radio broadcaster [[Airini Nga Roimata Grennell]].<ref name="DNZB Gopas"/>
His second wife was the radio broadcaster [[Airini Nga Roimata Grennell]].<ref name="DNZB Gopas"/>


==References==
==Biography==
=== Early life and education ===
Gopas was born in [[Šilutė]], [[Germany]] (present day [[Lithuania]]) in 1913. His parents were Pranas Gopas, a machinery merchant, and Marte Plauschin. Gopas' birthplace was near [[Nida, Lithuania|Nidden]], a fishing village with a popular artists colony.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Furniss|first=J. K.|date=1987|title=Rudolf Gopas (1913-1983)|url=https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/handle/10092/7507|journal=University of Canterbury Theses and Dissertations|language=en}}</ref>

Gopas studied painting at the [[Kaunas Art School]] from 1933 to 1938. While studying, Gopas travelled in Germany, Austria, Italy, Latvia and Greece.<ref name="DNZB Gopas" />

=== Career ===
During the [[German occupation of Lithuania during World War II|occupation of Lithuania by Germany]] during [[World War II]], Gopas served in the German army. He married Natalija (Natascha) Seeberg in 1942, in [[Ventspils]], Latvia, and their daughter Sylvia was born in 1944. When the Russian army invaded later that year, the Gopas family fled to Germany. From 1944 to 1948, they lived in a refugee camp at [[Ehrwald]], and Gopas made a living producing portrait and landscape paintings. In June 1949, Gopas, his wife, daughter and mother-in-law (Marte Seeberg) travelled to New Zealand on an Irish boat, the ''Dundalk-Bay'', which brought New Zealand Government-assisted immigrants from central and eastern Europe. The family arrived in [[Wellington]] on 27 June 1949, and were housed temporarily at the [[Pahiatua]] refugee camp. They were resettled in [[Dunedin]], and Gopas found work as a photo-processor with Coulls Somerville Wilkie Limited.<ref name=":0" />

Once settled in New Zealand, Gopas began to re-establish himself as a painter. From 1949 to 1953, he exhibited works at the [[New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts]] in Wellington, and from 1951, he began to exhibit at the Otago Art Society.<ref name="DNZB Gopas" /> In 1951, Gopas and others formed The Independent Group, in response to The Group in Christchurch. Gopas was a regular exhibitor with The Group until its cessation in 1977.<ref name="DNZB Gopas" />

In 1953, Gopas left his wife and daughter in Dunedin and moved to Christchurch, where he worked for a photographic firm. He and his wife divorced in 1957. In Christchurch, on 25 November 1958, Gopas married the radio broadcaster [[Airini Nga Roimata Grennell]].<ref name=":0" />

Gopas was appointed as a temporary assistant lecturer in painting at the [[Ilam School of Fine Arts|School of Fine Arts]], University of Canterbury in 1959, and took up a permanent position in 1960. His students included [[Philip Trusttum]], [[Philippa Blair]], [[Philip Clairmont]], [[Vivien Bishop]], [[Gavin Bishop]], [[Tony Fomison]], [[John Coley]], [[Barry Cleavin]] and [[Kura Te Waru Rewiri]].<ref name="DNZB Gopas" /> Gopas was considered by his students to be a "lively and controversial teacher [...] His reputation was not based so much on his painting as on his ability as a talker about art, and as a stirrer."<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Dunn|first=Michael|date=Winter 1983|title=Rudolf Gopas: A Teacher and Painter in Retrospect|url=https://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues21to30/gopas.htm|journal=Art New Zealand|volume=27|pages=28–33}}</ref>

In 1976, Gopas and his second wife separated, and in 1977 Gopas resigned from his teaching role at the university and travelled to Ehrwald, Austria. He quickly became disillusioned and returned to New Zealand.<ref name=":0" />

=== Illness and death ===
After Gopas' return to New Zealand in the late 1970s, his mental health deteriorated and he was committed to [[Sunnyside Hospital]] for periodic treatment. Suffering from alcoholism, Gopas' condition deteriorated, and his left leg was amputated above the knee due to circulatory issues. He made a partial recovery from this surgery before complications arose. On 23 July 1983, two weeks before the scheduled opening of the first exhibition dedicated to his life's work, Gopas died of a heart attack caused by [[arteriosclerosis]], at his home in Christchurch.<ref name=":0" />

== Exhibitions ==
''Exhibition of paintings by Rudolf Gopas'' (1950), at Kendal Nisbet, Dunedin.<ref>{{Cite news|last=A.|first=E.A.|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT19500420.2.37?items_per_page=10&query=gopas&snippet=true|title=European Artist: Exhibition of Paintings|date=1950-04-20|work=Otago Daily Times}}</ref>

''Group Loan Show'' (1960), at the [[Christchurch Art Gallery]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/exhibitions/group-loan-show|title=Group Loan Show {{!}} Christchurch Art Gallery {{!}} Te Puna o Waiwhetū|website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz|access-date=2018-08-28}}</ref>

''Galactic Landscapes 1965 - '67'' (1967), at [[New Vision Gallery]], Auckland.<ref name=":0" />

''Paintings for the Sun'' (1976), at the [[Christchurch Art Gallery]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/exhibitions/rudolf-gopas|title=Rudolf Gopas: Paintings for the Sun {{!}} Christchurch Art Gallery {{!}} Te Puna o Waiwhetū|website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz|access-date=2018-08-28}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

''Rudolph Gopas'': ''A Retrospective Exhibition'' (1982) at the [[Govett-Brewster Art Gallery]], New Plymouth.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/221513813|title=Rudolf Gopas: a retrospective exhibition|last1=Gopas|first1=Rudolf|last2=Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council of New Zealand|last3=Govett-Brewster Art Gallery|last4=New Zealand Art Gallery Directors Council|date=1982|publisher=Govett-Brewster Art Gallery|location=New Plymouth, N.Z.|oclc=221513813|language=en}}</ref> This exhibition subsequently toured throughout New Zealand during 1982–1984.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=August 1983|title=Rudolf Gopas: A Painter and Teacher in Retrospect|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/exhibitions/rudolf-gopas-2|journal=Bulletin|publisher=Christchurch Art Gallery {{!}} Te Puna O Waiwhetū|volume=28|pages=2}}</ref>

''Gopas and His Students: Gopas, Clairmont, Frizzell, Trusttum, Te Waru Rewiri'' (2002) at Ferner Galleries, Auckland.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/271512006|title=Gopas and his students: Gopas, Clairmont, Frizzell, Trusttum, Te Waru Rewiri.|last=Ferner Galleries|date=2002|publisher=Ferner Galleries|location=Auckland, N.Z.|oclc=271512006|language=en}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*''[https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/handle/10092/7507 Rudolf Gopas (1913-1983)]'', MA thesis by J. K. Furniss from the University of Canterbury, 1983.
*[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52127813 ''Rudi Gopas: A Biography''], by Chris Ronayne (David Ling, 2002).
*[https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/media/uploads/2015_06/Rudolf_Gopas_Inventory.pdf The Archive of Rudolf Gopas (1913-1983)] is held at the Christchurch Art Gallery Archive, and the inventory is available online.


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
⚫
| NAME = Gopas, Rudolf
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Hopp, Rudolf
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Artist, art teacher
⚫
| DATE OF BIRTH = 13 December 1913
| PLACE OF BIRTH = Siluté, Germany
⚫
| DATE OF DEATH = 23 July 1983
| PLACE OF DEATH =
⚫
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gopas, Rudolf}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gopas, Rudolf}}
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:1913 births]]
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[[Category:New Zealand educators]]
[[Category:New Zealand educators]]
[[Category:People from Šilutė]]
[[Category:People from Šilutė]]
[[Category:German emigrants to New Zealand]]
[[Category:Lithuanian emigrants to New Zealand]]
[[Category:Lithuanian emigrants to New Zealand]]
[[Category:University of Canterbury faculty]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Canterbury]]


{{NewZealand-artist-stub}}

Latest revision as of 08:16, 2 March 2024

Rudolf Gopas
Rudolph Gopas in his Christchurch studio, 1982
Born13 December 1913
Šilutė, Germany (present day Lithuania)
Died23 July 1983
NationalityGerman
Known forPainting and teaching

Rudolf Gopas (né Hopp,[1] 13 December 1913 – 23 July 1983) was a New Zealand artist and art teacher. He was born in Šilutė, Germany (present day Lithuania).[2] Gopas' works are held in the collections of the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki,[3] the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa,[4] Christchurch Art Gallery[5] and the Hocken Library.[6]

His second wife was the radio broadcaster Airini Nga Roimata Grennell.[2]

Biography[edit]

Early life and education[edit]

Gopas was born in Šilutė, Germany (present day Lithuania) in 1913. His parents were Pranas Gopas, a machinery merchant, and Marte Plauschin. Gopas' birthplace was near Nidden, a fishing village with a popular artists colony.[7]

Gopas studied painting at the Kaunas Art School from 1933 to 1938. While studying, Gopas travelled in Germany, Austria, Italy, Latvia and Greece.[2]

Career[edit]

During the occupation of Lithuania by Germany during World War II, Gopas served in the German army. He married Natalija (Natascha) Seeberg in 1942, in Ventspils, Latvia, and their daughter Sylvia was born in 1944. When the Russian army invaded later that year, the Gopas family fled to Germany. From 1944 to 1948, they lived in a refugee camp at Ehrwald, and Gopas made a living producing portrait and landscape paintings. In June 1949, Gopas, his wife, daughter and mother-in-law (Marte Seeberg) travelled to New Zealand on an Irish boat, the Dundalk-Bay, which brought New Zealand Government-assisted immigrants from central and eastern Europe. The family arrived in Wellington on 27 June 1949, and were housed temporarily at the Pahiatua refugee camp. They were resettled in Dunedin, and Gopas found work as a photo-processor with Coulls Somerville Wilkie Limited.[7]

Once settled in New Zealand, Gopas began to re-establish himself as a painter. From 1949 to 1953, he exhibited works at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington, and from 1951, he began to exhibit at the Otago Art Society.[2] In 1951, Gopas and others formed The Independent Group, in response to The Group in Christchurch. Gopas was a regular exhibitor with The Group until its cessation in 1977.[2]

In 1953, Gopas left his wife and daughter in Dunedin and moved to Christchurch, where he worked for a photographic firm. He and his wife divorced in 1957. In Christchurch, on 25 November 1958, Gopas married the radio broadcaster Airini Nga Roimata Grennell.[7]

Gopas was appointed as a temporary assistant lecturer in painting at the School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury in 1959, and took up a permanent position in 1960. His students included Philip Trusttum, Philippa Blair, Philip Clairmont, Vivien Bishop, Gavin Bishop, Tony Fomison, John Coley, Barry Cleavin and Kura Te Waru Rewiri.[2] Gopas was considered by his students to be a "lively and controversial teacher [...] His reputation was not based so much on his painting as on his ability as a talker about art, and as a stirrer."[8]

In 1976, Gopas and his second wife separated, and in 1977 Gopas resigned from his teaching role at the university and travelled to Ehrwald, Austria. He quickly became disillusioned and returned to New Zealand.[7]

Illness and death[edit]

After Gopas' return to New Zealand in the late 1970s, his mental health deteriorated and he was committed to Sunnyside Hospital for periodic treatment. Suffering from alcoholism, Gopas' condition deteriorated, and his left leg was amputated above the knee due to circulatory issues. He made a partial recovery from this surgery before complications arose. On 23 July 1983, two weeks before the scheduled opening of the first exhibition dedicated to his life's work, Gopas died of a heart attack caused by arteriosclerosis, at his home in Christchurch.[7]

Exhibitions[edit]

Exhibition of paintings by Rudolf Gopas (1950), at Kendal Nisbet, Dunedin.[9]

Group Loan Show (1960), at the Christchurch Art Gallery.[10]

Galactic Landscapes 1965 - '67 (1967), at New Vision Gallery, Auckland.[7]

Paintings for the Sun (1976), at the Christchurch Art Gallery.[11][8]

Rudolph Gopas: A Retrospective Exhibition (1982) at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth.[12] This exhibition subsequently toured throughout New Zealand during 1982–1984.[13]

Gopas and His Students: Gopas, Clairmont, Frizzell, Trusttum, Te Waru Rewiri (2002) at Ferner Galleries, Auckland.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Ronayne, Chris (2002). Rudi Gopas – a biography. Auckland: David Ling. 267 p.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Mane-Wheoki, Jonathan. "Rudolf Gopas". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  3. ^ "Rudolph Gopas". Auckland Art Gallery. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  4. ^ "Rudolf Gopas | Collections Online - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa". collections.tepapa.govt.nz. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  5. ^ "Rudolf Gopas: A Painter and Teacher in Retrospect | Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū". christchurchartgallery.org.nz. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  6. ^ "Gopas, Rudolf". findnzartists.org.nz. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Furniss, J. K. (1987). "Rudolf Gopas (1913-1983)". University of Canterbury Theses and Dissertations.
  8. ^ a b Dunn, Michael (Winter 1983). "Rudolf Gopas: A Teacher and Painter in Retrospect". Art New Zealand. 27: 28–33.
  9. ^ A., E.A. (1950-04-20). "European Artist: Exhibition of Paintings". Otago Daily Times.
  10. ^ "Group Loan Show | Christchurch Art Gallery | Te Puna o Waiwhetū". christchurchartgallery.org.nz. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  11. ^ "Rudolf Gopas: Paintings for the Sun | Christchurch Art Gallery | Te Puna o Waiwhetū". christchurchartgallery.org.nz. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  12. ^ Gopas, Rudolf; Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council of New Zealand; Govett-Brewster Art Gallery; New Zealand Art Gallery Directors Council (1982). Rudolf Gopas: a retrospective exhibition. New Plymouth, N.Z.: Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. OCLC 221513813.
  13. ^ "Rudolf Gopas: A Painter and Teacher in Retrospect". Bulletin. 28. Christchurch Art Gallery | Te Puna O Waiwhetū: 2. August 1983.
  14. ^ Ferner Galleries (2002). Gopas and his students: Gopas, Clairmont, Frizzell, Trusttum, Te Waru Rewiri. Auckland, N.Z.: Ferner Galleries. OCLC 271512006.

Further reading[edit]

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