Avis Higgs (1918-2016)
Avis Higgs was born and trained in Wellington. In her early 20s she was head designer for silk and textile printers in Sydney. The challenge in the 1940s was to create attractive prints with the limited colour palette that was available because of World War II.
She is still celebrated for her innovative art deco designs inspired by Maori motifs, New Zealand nature themes and personal memories. “When the Lights Go On Again” is a legendary print that commemorates the moment after the Second World War when the lights on the Sydney Harbour Bridge go on again, after having been dimmed under the threat of aerial bombings.
