In 1943 Rita Angus' father, concerned at her hand to mouth existence as an artist, purchased a cottage for her at 18 Aranoni Track on Clifton Hill above Sumner. This was her base in Christchurch until she left the city permanently in 1954. The cottage had been built in the late 1930s by the architect Paul Pascoe for his own use. It had a simple modernist design with a low pitched flat roof, big windows and a sunny terrace making the most of the ocean views.