Obituary: Greg Whitecliffe

By GILBERT WONG

Artist and teacher. Born in Wellington in 1954, died in Auckland last month, aged 46.

Greg Whitecliffe leaves a dual legacy, as an artist and educator who was president of the Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design in Auckland.

He was a prolific artist, with his work appearing in more than 100 shows. He described himself as a social realist who created Maori figurative work that reflected his Maori heritage and who took pride in his Maori name: Kerehi Tikihana Pararaki Wikiriwhi (Te Arawa, Ngati Pikiao.)

A University of Auckland graduate in fine arts, with postgraduate degrees in management, history and arts administration, his career ranged from developing higher education management at Harvard University to taking stone lithographic workshops in Switzerland.

The college he established in 1983 with his wife Michele now offers three postgraduate degrees: Master of Arts in Arts Administration; Master of Fine Arts; and Master of Arts in Arts Therapy.

In 1994 Whitecliffe was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in Britain, and he was a past board member of the International Council of Fine Arts Deans, based in the United States.

Whitecliffe is survived by his wife Michele and their three children Amber 13, Hayden 12, and Laken 9.