Vivian Lynn (1931–2018)

Vivian Lynn was born in Wellington, New Zealand. She attended Wellington Girls' College and in 1952 completed a Diploma of Fine Arts at the School of Fine Arts at Canterbury University College, majoring in painting. She also earned a Diploma of Teaching at Auckland Teachers' Training College in 1954 and taught for many years at the Wellington Polytechnic School of Design (now Massey University). Lynn became a pioneering feminist artist, one of the first artists in New Zealand to address feminist issues in their work. She was an active supporter of the women's art movement and in 1983–1984 helped set up the Women's Art Archive.
She worked across a wide range of media, including collages, drawings, paintings, prints, books, sculptures, photographs, and installations.
In 1972, she spent a year in the USA, where she developed her interest in printmaking. Throughout the 1970s, she worked with this medium, producing works such as Book of Forty Images (1973–1974) and Playground. She is probably best known for her large installation works of the early 1980s. Each piece was titled to reflect cultural stages of a female life.

A survey exhibition of Lynn’s work entitled I, HERE, NOW: Vivian Lynn, curated by Christina Barton, was held at the Adam Art Gallery at Victoria University of Wellington in 2008–2009.
Lynn's work is held in public collections throughout New Zealand.