Guy Ngan

3rd Feb 1926 – 26 Jun 2017. Guy Ngan was born in Wellington however his early education was in China. At the age of 12, due to increasing tension and the threat of war in the east, he and his brother were taken to Hong Kong and put on a boat to New Zealand. Guy's formal studies saw him travel to the UK where he enrolled at the Goldsmith School of Art at the University of London where he was later granted entry to the Royal College of Art in London. In 1955 he was awarded a scholarship from the British Council, this included an allowance of 12 pounds a week with all travel expenses paid. When he returned to New Zealand in 1956 he took up a job with the Ministry of Works a job he retained until 1960. As an artist Guy worked across the full range of mediums from sculpture to painting and this included drawing and architecture. In 1970 he became the director of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts a role he would occupy for 20 years. 1983 saw Guy appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to the Arts.