Dame Janet Elaine Paul DNZM was a Postwar & Contemporary artist. Paul was a seminal figure in New Zealand publishing in the 1950s and 1960s. She and her husband Blackwood Paul, who ran Paul's Book Arcade in Hamilton, published hundreds of titles by New Zealand writers, including Charles Brasch, Frank Sargeson, Keith Sinclair, C.K. Stead, and Hone Tuwhare. She worked in the Alexander Turnbull Library art department from 1971 to 1980. Her works show the influence of Cezanne and traditional Chinese painting. Using sumi (Japanese ink), she works in situ, often running inside to escape the rain. 'I guess the idea behind all my work is to realise how fleeting life is, how precious' - Dame Janet Elaine Paul