John Weeks

Who was John Weeks?

John Weeks was a Devonshire born artist who was one of the most influential staff members at the Elam Art School of the University of Auckland where he taught from 1930-1954.

Weeks came to New Zealand as a child with his parents in 1892. He commenced part-time study at Elam in 1908, with further training at Sydney Technical College just prior to World War I. During the war he served in France with the New Zealand Medical Corps and some small watercolours from this time are held by the Auckland Museum. He broke his arms and one leg. He continued his studies after the war at the Canterbury College School of Art.

From 1923-1930 he travelled extensively in Europe, studying intermittently in Edinburgh and at André Lhote's academy, where he was influenced by the cubist movement.

In 1930 Weeks joined the staff at Elam where he was an influential and popular lecturer, representing a more 'modernist' approach than his contemporaries, until his retirement in 1954. In January 1949 much of Weeks' best work was destroyed in a fire at Elam, while he had over 300 of his paintings assembled for selection for a forthcoming exhibition.