English, Colonial, Modern and Maori English, Colonial, Modern and Maori: The Changing Faces of the Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand, 1932-2002 By Anna Crighton English, Colonial, Modern and Maori: The Changing Faces of the Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand, 1932-2002, by Anna Crighton This book first published 2014 Cambridge Scholars Publishing 12 Back Chapman Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2XX, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2014 by Anna Crighton All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-6694-6, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-6694-1 For PB and MG TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Illustrations ..................................................................................... ix List of Plates .............................................................................................. xv Foreword .................................................................................................. xix Dr. Mark Stocker Author’s Note ........................................................................................... xxi Acknowledgements ................................................................................ xxiii Abbreviations ......................................................................................... xxix Introduction ............................................................................................. xxv Section I: In the Hands of the City ............................................................ 1 Chapter One ................................................................................................. 9 Beginnings: A Culture of Benign Neglect 1920s and 1930s Chapter Two .............................................................................................. 29 New Influences: Establishing the Collection 1930s and 1940s Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 63 Gathering Momentum: The Turning Point 1950s and 1960s Section II: Growing Up .......................................................................... 105 Chapter Four ............................................................................................ 113 An Educational Perspective: The Muir Years 1970s viii Table of Contents Chapter Five ............................................................................................ 147 Uncompromising Professionalism: The Wilson Era 1978–81 Chapter Six .............................................................................................. 185 Te Maori and More: Changing Attitudes to Maori Art Section III: New Tendencies and Old Legacies ..................................... 213 Chapter Seven .......................................................................................... 219 A Gallery of Canterbury: Selection under Coley 1980s and 1990s Chapter Eight ........................................................................................... 259 Space and Storage: Challenges and Responses 1980s and 1990s Epilogue: A New Gallery for a New Millennium .................................... 297 Appendices .............................................................................................. 303 Bibliography ............................................................................................ 319 Index ........................................................................................................ 331 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1.1: The Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 1881. Figure 1.2: Auckland Free Library, Municipal Chambers and Art Gallery, 1887. Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 4- RIC115. Figure 1.3: Suter Memorial Art Gallery, Nelson, 1898. Photo: Nelson Provincial Museum, L8592 fr1. Figure 1.4: Art exhibition, Canterbury Museum, April 1870. A.C. Barker photograph, Prudence Barker Collection, Canterbury Museum, 1958.81.2. Figure 1.5: Archibald Nicoll, Portrait of R.E. McDougall, 1932, oil on canvas, 710 x 913mm. Collection: Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu. Figure 1.6: Site plan showing the proposed art gallery site in the top right- hand corner behind the museum. Archives New Zealand, Box 54, 7/3 Art Gallery. Figure 1.7: Edward Armstrong in Christchurch, 1930. Christchurch Art Gallery Archives. Figure 1.8: The Robert McDougall Art Gallery on completion in 1932. Christchurch Art Gallery Archives. Figure 1.9: Workmen in the CSA gallery taking down paintings to be hung in the new art gallery. Christchurch Art Gallery Archives. Figure 1.10: The opening of the Robert McDougall Art Gallery, The Press, 16 June 1932. Fairfax Media/The Press. Figure 2.1: Control of the New Art Gallery at Christchurch. The Press, 8 March 1932, 11. Fairfax Media/The Press. Figure 2.2: Samuel Butler, Self Portrait, oil on canvas, 533 x 435mm. Collection: Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu. Figure 2.3: The private gallery of James Jamieson, Hereford Street, Christchurch. Photo courtesy Jamieson family. Figure 2.4: James Jamieson. Photo courtesy Jamieson family. Figure 2.5: Layout of art works from the Illustrated Catalogue of the Robert McDougall Art Gallery. Figure 2.6: Robert McDougall Art Gallery Sculpture Court showing the centre piece bronze sculpture Ex Tenebris Lux by Ernest Gillick x List of Illustrations presented by R.E. McDougall in 1938. Collection: Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu. Figure 2.7: Long Gallery of the Robert McDougall Art Gallery at its opening, 16 June 1932. The Press, 16 June 1932. Fairfax Media/The Press. Figure 2.8: Mackelvie Collection, Auckland City Art Gallery, c.1890s. Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 7-A11350. Figure 2.9: Ivy Fife, Portrait of William Sykes Baverstock OBE, FRSA, 1948, oil on board, sight size 580 x 470mm, framed size 669 x 567mm. Collection: Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu. Figure 3.1: R.N. O’Reilly. The Press, 4 September 1951. Fairfax Media/The Press. Figure 3.2: Cover of catalogue for Fifteen New Zealand Painters, Irving Galleries, London, 1952. Folder 7, Colin McCahon Artist’s Files, E.H. McCormick Research Library, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki. Figure 3.3: Marcello Mascherini, Bather (A Fragment), 1960, bronze, 1115 x 200 x 400 mm. Collection: Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, purchased with assistance from the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council. Figure 3.4: Quentin MacFarlane with Colin McCahon’s Tomorrow is the same but not as this is, Cashmere High School art room. Photo: Quentin MacFarlane. Figure 3.5: The Origins of Frances Hodgkins exhibition, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, 1969. The Press, 26 March 1969. Fairfax Media/The Press. Figure 3.6: Typical storage scene, Robert McDougall Art Gallery basement, c.1960s. Christchurch Art Gallery Archives. Figure 3.7: W.S. Baverstock, 1967. Frontispiece from H.S. Baverstock, In Memory of William Sykes Baverstock. Figure 4.1: Brian Muir. The Press, 9 December 1969. Fairfax Media/The Press. Figure 4.2: Edgar Degas, Manet assis, tourné à droite, undated, etching, image 175 x 110 mm. Collection: Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu. Figure 4.3: Bail amphora, Campanian, 330–320 BC, terracotta, 438 x 121mm. Collection: Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, on long-term loan to the Logie Collection, University of Canterbury. Figure 4.4: Artist unknown, Portrait of a Woman, pigment/gesso/wood panel, height 600 x width 353 x depth 44mm, probably the Ptolemaic period. Collection: Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, on long-term loan to the Logie Collection, University of Canterbury. English, Colonial, Modern and Maori xi Figure 4.5: Artist unknown, Duck-shaped ewer, Ming Swatow dynasty (1369–1644), 260 x 183 x 109mm, earthenware with sancai (three- colour) lead glaze. Collection: Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu. Figure 4.6: Ralph Hotere, Ko Wai Koe, 1977, drawing, lacquer, ink, pencil, image 655 x 451mm, paper 762 x 560mm. Collection: Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu. Reproduction courtesy of the Hotere Foundation Trust. Figure 4.7: Madame X. Christchurch Star, 4 September 1971, 7. Figure 4.8: Floor Plan of the Gallery, 1973. 1. Foyer, 2. Sculpture Court, 3. European Collection: oils, 1600 to late nineteenth century, 4. European drawings, prints and watercolours, 5. European Collection: oils, late nineteenth century to present, 6. New Zealand Collection, 7a British watercolours, 7b Temporary exhibitions, 8 & 9 Toilets. A Guide to the Collections of the Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand, 4. Figure 5.1: Rodney Wilson, c.1978. Staff Photo Archive: Christchurch Art Gallery Archives. Figure 5.2: Frances Hodgkins, Zipp, 1945, oil on canvas, 632 x 765mm. Collection: Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu. Figure 5.3: A view of the north gallery showing a section of the Yugoslav contemporary exhibition, 1978. Christchurch Art Gallery Archives. Figure 5.4: The refurbished north-eastern galleries, 1980. Christchurch Art Gallery Archives. Figure 5.5: Neil Dawson, view of a model for Seascape, 1979. These tiny boats were placed on round mesh screens as part of the main installation. Christchurch Art Gallery Archives. Figure 5.6: Seascape installation,