Peter McIntyre | |
|---|---|
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Peter_McIntyre_with_Walter_Nash.jpg) McIntyre (right) with Prime Minister Walter Nash in May 1958 | |
| Born | 4 July 1910 Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Died | 11 September 1995 (aged 85) Wellington, New Zealand |
| Education | Slade School of Fine Art |
| Known for | War art Watercolour |
Peter McIntyre OBE (4 July 1910 – 11 September 1995) was a New Zealand painter and author who rose to prominence as a result of artwork produced in his capacity as an official war artist during the Second World War.
Born in Dunedin, McIntyre commenced a journalism degree at the University of Otago but abandoned his studies and went to England in 1931 to attend the Slade School of Fine Art. After graduating he worked as a commercial artist in London. On the outbreak of the Second World War, he enlisted in the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF) and was posted to the 34th Anti-tank Battery. By 1940, he was serving in the Middle East with the 2nd New Zealand Division, where his artwork caught the attention of Major General Bernard Freyberg, the commander of the 2NZEF. Freyberg appointed him the official war artist of the 2NZEF, and McIntyre went on to produce many notable works depicting the efforts of the 2nd New Zealand Division during the war, including major engagements in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Italy.
After the war, McIntyre returned to New Zealand and worked as a professional painter. In his later years, he produced an autobiography and a number of art books, covering topics such as New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, and his war art. These helped maintain his high profile in New Zealand and in 1970 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. He died in Wellington in 1995, aged 85, one of the country's best known artists.