Te Papa summer exhibition will showcase work of artist Rita Angus to the new generation

Rita Angus | Central Otago. Collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, gift of Douglas Lilburn, 1972 © Reproduced courtesy of the Estate of Rita Angus

More than 70 works by one of Aotearoa's best-known artists will be on show at Te Papa from next month.

Free summer exhibition Rita Angus, New Zealand Modernist/ He Ringatoi Hou o Aotearoa will open on December 18 and run until April 25.

The museum's head of art Charlotte Davy says the display is one for the whole family to enjoy.

"This exhibition will introduce a new generation of New Zealanders to Rita Angus' work. It is remarkable how much power and relevance her paintings still have today."

Charlotte Davy, Head of Art, and Lizzie Bisley, Curator Modern Art, with Rita Angus' Marjorie Marshall. © Reproduced courtesy of the Estate of Rita Angus. Photo by Jack Fisher, 2019. Te Papa

Angus' paintings like Cass, Central Otago and Rutu will sit among two new acquisitions – Marjorie Marshall, a portrait of Angus's friend and fellow artist painted with a stunning backdrop of the Central Otago mountains and The Aviatrix, a portrait of her sister Edna.

Edna was the first female pilot in the East Coast Aero Club, and has been immortalised in her flying costume.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a full catalogue of the works, with an additional two essays by Angus' biographer Jill Trevelyan and Dr Adrian Locke – the chief curator at London's Royal Academy of Arts.

Rita Angus, 1969. Photo by Marti Friedlander. Purchased 2007. Te Papa

Once the exhibition closes in April, a scaled-down version will tour a number of regional galleries around the country.