In memory of Liz Eastmond: scholar, advocate, activist

Liz Eastmond, former colleague of over 37 years in Art History at the University of Auckland, died on 1 October 2025 after a short illness.

As well as being a dedicated mother of Fenner, Liz was a fierce advocate and pioneering art historian of women artists in New Zealand, a champion of Palestinian rights and a friend to many.

After leaving her lecturing position, Liz established Tivoli, a gallery/bookstore in Oneroa on Waiheke Island. She continued to curate exhibitions, give public talks and research art historical issues, including writing the introduction for Christina Barton’s forthcoming book, Out of the Blue: Essays on Artists from Aotearoa New Zealand 1985-2021 (Te Herenga Waka University Press, 2025), and maintaining a weekly stall for Palestine at the Ostend Saturday Market.

Liz was never without her keffiyeh or her thoughtful conversation.

Born in Devon, Liz first came to NZ in 1969 with her then husband, David McMillan, following an invitation to take up a position in a newly created Art History Department at the University of Auckland. She had graduated from the University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh College of Art with a Master of Fine Arts Degree which trained students in art history, and at the same time, drawing and painting.

In her first years at Auckland, she chose to teach a general course in medieval art which had been her favoured area during her student years. Shortly after, she took a break from teaching for a few years before returning to her former position. On her return she developed a more specialised interest in medieval book illumination, particularly of the 12th and 13th centuries which she taught in advanced level courses.

Ultimately, she pursued this fascination further to include a much broader study of book arts over the centuries including twentieth-century practices. At the same time, her interests in this field motivated her to make a series of books that occupied a space closer to sculpture than to what is normally regarded as a book, some of which she exhibited.

During the late 1970s and 80s, she became actively involved with advancing the causes of feminism which led her to introduce a course into the curriculum focused on women in art.

She co-developed the first course on women artists in 1981 and curated and published on women artists, including Frances Hodgkins and Alexis Hunter. In 1985, International Women’s Year, Liz became a foundation member of Auckland Women's Community Video and helped digitise some of their work.

A member of FAN (Feminist Art Networkers) in the 1980s, she co-edited the journal ANTIC and was a freelance writer and curator. In 1986 she published a landmark book on New Zealand women artists with Merimeri Penfold, Women and the Arts in New Zealand: Forty Works, 1936-1986 (Penguin, 1986). She also co-wrote the first major book on Frances Hodgkins, Frances Hodgkins: Paintings and Drawings, with Iain Buchanan and Michael Dunn, (Auckland University Press, 1994).

Liz worked tirelessly towards revising historical narratives that had previously excluded women artists. Recent projects include the exhibition Bad Ambassador by the collective et al. (2022) and State of Palestine (2023).

There will be a memorial-celebration of Liz’s life at Morra Hall, Oneroa, Waiheke Island, on Sunday, 2 November 2025 at 2pm. All welcome.

by Pauline Buchanan, Alan Wright and Erin Griffey