John Weeks (1886-1965) was an influential force, both as a teacher and as a painter in the Auckland art scene from the 1930s to the 1960s. He was born in Devonshire and came to New Zealand at an early age. He studied at Elam School of Fine Arts between 1908 and 1911. Weeks was an extensive traveller, spending time in England, Australia, Europe and North Africa, studying at the Edinburgh College of Arts and Andre L'Hote's Academy in Paris before returning to teach at Elam in 1929.