NEW ZEALAND SCULPTURE

A HISTORY

MICHAEL DUNN
NEW ZEALAND SCULPTURE

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NEW ZEALAND SCULPTURE
A HISTORY

MICHAEL DUNN

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 Acknowledgements

Firstly I wish to thank the sculptors who have checked my text relating

to their work, helping to ensure its accuracy. In some cases they also

assisted with the provision of transparencies for reproduction. In

addition, I wish to thank my wife Patricia for her encouragement and

patience with the project. I also would like to thank Mark Stocker for

reading the draft in full and making numerous editing corrections and

suggestions for improvement. His enthusiasm and support have been

of enormous value in the later stages of this undertaking.

First published 2002

Auckland University Press
University of Auckland
Private Bag 92019
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.auckland.ac.nz/aup

© Michael Dunn 2002

This book is copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of
private study, research, criticism, or review, as permitted under the
Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without
the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN 1 86940 277 4

Design by Christine Hansen

Typeset by Chris O'Brien
Printed by Kyodo Printing Press, Singapore

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Contents

Acknowledgements 4

Introduction 7

I Early Carvers and Masons: 1860–1890 10

II Public Statuary of the Victorian and Edwardian Periods 17

III The Origins of Local Sculpture 30

IV Sculpture Between the Wars: 1918–1939 40

V The La Trobe Scheme: Sculpture and the Art Schools: 1920–1960 55

VI Post-War Sculpture: 1945–1965 68

VII Figurative Sculpture Post-1960 86

VIII Abstraction and Modernism: 1960–1990 103

IX Post-Object and Conceptual Art: 1969 to the Present 118

X Contemporary Maori Sculpture 130

XI Contemporary Sculpture in New Zealand 147

Bibliography 172

List of Figures and Plates 182

Photo Credits 185

Index 186

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6
Introduction

Among Polynesians of the South Pacific, sculpture, especially wood-carving, the carving of the sternpost with its two ribs, grasped at the top by a manaia,
reached its most elaborate and striking manifestation with the New Zealand and the spiral patterns seen against the sky. He also included the canoe bailer,
Maori. Maori carving is noted for its curvilinear design, often incorporating the placed near the stern, with its fine carving. This image is arresting because he
spiral that is used to decorate surfaces of figures — canoe sternposts, boxes and shows the canoe outdoors, as part of life, instead of in the customary museum
other artefacts. With the introduction of metal tools after European contact, context.
carvings became more elaborate and pictorial but remained inside the same As an Anglican clergyman, Kinder would have known the views of
formal tradition. The intricate design and vigorous execution of Maori carving missionaries who took little interest in traditional Maori carving because of the
soon won the interest of visitors from Captain Cook onwards. For example, the non-Christian ideas it embodied. For example, about 1845 a carving of the
visiting painter Augustus Earle, who travelled through Northland in 1827–28, Madonna and Child was made in traditional style for a Catholic church in the
responded to the skill of Maori artists. In his book, A Narrative of a Nine Months’ Bay of Plenty (Figure 2). Its carver, a recent convert to Catholicism, took the
Residence in New Zealand in 1827, Earle saw ‘the dawning of the art of sculpture work to a priest who rejected it for display in church on the grounds that it
amongst them’. signified a pagan culture. As this incident shows, the gulf between Maori and
Throughout the nineteenth century Europeans systematically collected Maori European sculptural traditions and what they represented was wide and difficult
carvings and ornaments, some of which entered museums in Britain, Germany, to bridge in the nineteenth century. The carver, for example, introduced the
Sweden and elsewhere in Europe and the United States as well as New Zealand. male facial tattoo to the Madonna not by mistake but to give a symbolic
Often they were prized more for their ethnological than their artistic value and dimension to the image. Maori carving carries strong cultural associations and
some were disfigured by strategically placed nameplates because of their sexual meanings, just as European monuments do.
frankness. During the early years of British settlement most colonists did not Because Maori carving was conceptualised, and not based on observation
think of Maori art in terms of a cultural heritage from which they might draw and imitation of actual people and things, it could not be reconciled with the
inspiration. The photographs of amateur artist the Reverend John Kinder (1819– Western sculptural tradition. Knowledge of Maori carving was confined to a
1903) are exceptional in that they reveal his aesthetic appreciation of Maori limited number of skilled practitioners who had the status of tohunga or priest.
carvings. For example, about 1867 he photographed the sternpost of a great Only they knew the correct rituals to observe in carving and the formal language
waka taua, or war canoe, at Auckland (Figure 1). His close-up shot focuses on for creating it. For them tradition was enormously important and had to be
safeguarded. This acted to preserve Maori carving as unique and identifiable

FIGURE 1 John Kinder, A Carved Sternpost of a Maori Canoe, Ornamented with Feathers,
throughout the later nineteenth century when tourism became important.
c.1867, Hocken Library, Dunedin. Albumen print, 223 x 170 mm Tourists valued the traditional forms of Maori carving because they were different

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 from European art, and thereby they helped ensure their survival. Widespread
awareness of the value of tribal art in an aesthetic sense, which began in Europe
with the Cubists, did not affect the appreciation of Maori art in New Zealand
until much later. Effectively Maori carving continued as a separate and distinctive
tradition into the twentieth century.
The growth of sculpture in New Zealand after organised settlement began
in 1840 is based heavily on European standards of taste. Being mainly European
in stock, the colonists chose to import their own artistic standards and works
into the country. Understandably at first there was little scope for sculptors in
the practical world of the early settlers. The situation was quite unlike that which
Samuel Butler, who was in New Zealand from 1859 to 1864, describes in his
imaginary world of Erewhon where statues were so plentiful at one stage in its
history that the citizens rose up in fury and destroyed good and bad alike to
clear their streets and public squares. Although the true setting of his book,
Erewhon, or Over the Range, 1872, was based on Butler’s knowledge of the
Canterbury landscape as it was in colonial times, he parodies the situation in
nineteenth century England where ‘colourless heroes and heroines’ would ‘loaf
about in squares and corners of streets in all weathers without any attempt at
artistic sanitation’. By contrast, in colonial New Zealand such places were at first
empty of statues so that settlers subscribed funds to pay for commemorative
statuary to be brought in from Britain.
Apart from ornamental carving by local stonemasons, New Zealand imported
most of its sculpture in the nineteenth century. By the early twentieth century
circumstances changed. As settlements became towns and cities, some sculptors
found enough work for a small local practice. Teaching positions in art schools
established in the main cities helped others make a living. Naturally enough,
since most of the sculptors who came to New Zealand were trained in Britain,
their work reflected similar ideas and approaches. For the first locally born and
trained sculptors the struggle for an independent expression was to be a long
and difficult one.
The aim of this book is to study the growth of sculpture in New Zealand
from circa 1860 to the present with a view to compiling a concise history of the
subject. Traditional Maori carving lies outside the scope of this study because,
as we have seen, it has its own distinct cultural history and identity independent
of the European tradition. Also, Maori carving has been written about extensively
and has been the subject of many books, whereas the work dealt with here has

FIGURE 2 Unknown artist, Madonna and Child, c.1845, Auckland Museum Te Papa
Whakahiku. Wood and paua

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received little attention. In the first hundred years there is a strong dependence universities of Canterbury and Auckland. The research of Dr Mark Stocker on
on British taste and conventions in sculpture. This dependence passes through public statuary and individual sculptors has been especially important, as has
several different but related stages. At first there is the complete importation of the work of Dr Robin Woodward. Several outstanding theses have been written
statuary. Then follows the importation of British-trained sculptors as teachers on sculpture topics, most notably on Beadle, Butler, Hellyar, Trethewey, Twiss
and practitioners. Then appear locally born and trained sculptors who reflect to and Post-Object Sculpture, and I acknowledge my debt to their authors. Much
varying degrees the standards of their teachers. still remains to be researched if sculpture is to receive the status now accorded
Gradually New Zealand sculptors challenged British conventions of sculpture to painting. It is my hope that this book will spark further investigations and
by looking to a wider range of sources and seeking more personal forms of debate about a long-neglected yet rich aspect of New Zealand culture.
expression. An increased awareness of the advantages of working in a unique
geographical location with its own natural materials became apparent in the
1940s. Also, an increased feeling of cultural identity as a Pacific nation became
firmly established in the 1970s and 1980s, allowing New Zealand artists a more
distinctive base for their practice. It is against this background that contemporary Michael Dunn
sculpture is positioned. Auckland, 2002
While sculptors have difficulty finding the same support from private patrons
as painters, opportunities for commissions have increased. This is especially true
in the area of public sculpture. Recently leading sculptors such as Brett Graham
and Neil Dawson have completed large commissions in the main centres. An
emerging worldwide interest in indigenous peoples’ art has lifted the profile of
contemporary Maori artists outside the confines of New Zealand.
Of necessity this study is not exhaustive and some sculptors have been
excluded for reasons of space and clarity. However, every attempt has been
made to present an accurate and undistorted view of the principal developments.
If the selection of recent sculptors discussed suggests an Auckland bias, this has
been caused more by the size of the city and its increasing importance as an art
centre than by any other considerations. In the main, the account is chronological
rather than thematic though care has been taken to group artists where there is
a shared technical or thematic interest. Applied arts, coinage and medals have
been excluded from this study unless they relate directly to an understanding of
the sculptors under discussion.
The first five chapters of this book are closely based on my master’s thesis
written for Melbourne University in 1974 and supervised by the late Sir Joseph
Burke. Because of my research in the early 1970s I was able to interview a number
of sculptors such as Francis Shurrock, Molly Macalister and Robert Field while
they were still alive. My own art training at both the University of Auckland and
Canterbury Schools of Art allowed me to be taught by and meet other sculptors
such as Jim Allen, Tom Taylor, Paul Beadle and John Kavanagh.
Since I began my work nearly thirty years ago, there has been a gradual
growth of sculpture research, especially in the Art History departments at the

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I

Early Carvers and Masons: 1860–1890

The origins of European sculpture in colonial New Zealand are to be found in proper execution of designs, as well as occasional inventive carving to give
the decorative carving made by carpenters and stonemasons for domestic and authenticity of detail, especially in Gothic Revival buildings. Carving of this kind
public buildings, furniture and gravestones. The functional character of the had flourished as the Gothic revivalists passed from their early satisfaction with
earliest sculpture relates to the economics of colonial life in which there was sham ruins to the enthusiasm for fastidiously exact detail epitomised in the
little time for cultural pursuits. The domestic buildings were at first simple affairs, practice of Augustus Welby Pugin and the writings of John Ruskin. Ruskin, who
sometimes mere huts similar in construction to those of the Maori. Even good was an earnest advocate for careful imitation of nature in carved architectural
furniture was a luxury. Until skilled cabinetmakers arrived in the colony, the ornament as well as in painting, had taken pleasure in the elaborate carvings of
settlers were dependent on what could be brought out on small vessels from the O’Shea brothers at the Oxford Museum. Augustus Selwyn, first Anglican
England or Australia. In such an environment it is easy to see that there was little Bishop of New Zealand, and Frederick Thatcher, his architect, both members of
place for sculpture as a fine art. The same was true at first of colonial painting, the Cambridge Camden Society, introduced the influence of that society to
which began with occasional sketches made by surveyors and clergymen in ecclesiastical building in the colony. This background of ideas made architects
time left free from their regular profession. readily receptive to the skills of stone and wood carvers who were able to
Just as much colonial painting is of historic rather than artistic interest, so introduce inventive detail to their buildings.
too much early decorative carving in New Zealand is charming in context but For example, Edward Rumsey (1824–1909), who built Auckland’s Supreme
little more. Occasionally, however, as in some elaborate and inventive wooden Court building to a Gothic design in 1865–68, was quick to use the services of
gravestones in Northland cemeteries, unknown craftsmen could integrate skilfully a young immigrant who proved his ability to carve gargoyles and portrait heads
carved patterns with commemorative lettering. But the first substantial body of on the exterior of his building. In this case Rumsey gave the carver considerable
carving grew from the needs of architects for detailing on the Gothic and Classic freedom once he was sure of his artistic ability. Similarly, William Mason (1810–
Revival buildings erected in the 1860s as the colonial settlements grew in size 1897), who designed many buildings in the colony, employed the services of
and as more permanent, imposing structures were required. The period of skilled carvers to provide ornamental stonework on his major structures such as
systematic colonisation in New Zealand, begun in 1840, corresponded with the the Post Office in Dunedin (1865), built in a Neoclassic style and incorporating
early Victorian age in Britain. In architecture this was a time of revival styles, a carved frieze. Because of the scattered nature of the New Zealand settlements
none of which was more influential than the Gothic. It was to the revivalist taste and their comparatively small size, the number of buildings erected which
in architecture that New Zealand owes its best early carving in Dunedin, incorporated original carving was not large. Notable works only resulted when
Christchurch and Auckland. fortunate circumstances brought architect and skilled mason together.
Victorian architectural taste required skilled stone cutting to ensure the Conditions for a time were more favourable for this to happen in Dunedin

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FIGURE 3 John Louis Godfrey, Carved Pulpit, 1873, First Church, Dunedin. Oamaru stone, 2350 x 2600 x 2600 mm

than elsewhere. Owing to the discovery of gold in Otago in 1861, Dunedin by the lure of a quick fortune to be made in the goldfields, Godfrey arrived in
prospered more than the other settlements. Suddenly, builders, architects and Dunedin about 1862 and he found extensive scope for his talent as a stone and
masons were in demand as the population of the southern town more than wood carver on major buildings erected in the following years, including the
doubled from 12,000 to 30,000 in the second half of that year. It was a propitious Bank of New Zealand (1863), the Post Office (1865), First Church (1861–73)
moment for skilled craftsmen to arrive there. and Larnach Castle (1871–76). Both the extent of his practice and the frequent
Among those drawn to Dunedin at that time was a talented English carver, references to his work by name in the local press attest to his reputation as the
John Louis Godfrey, whose work is of some sculptural interest. Perhaps attracted best carver in the city.

EARLY CARVERS AND MASONS: 1860–1890 — 11

 Godfrey’s carving is of a decorative kind, based on a close observation of ceiling for the dining room, ornamental brackets, a stairway and stone lions
nature, especially of plants, flowers and bird life. His style is seen at its best in his flanking the entrance steps. It was a major commission which kept Godfrey fully
work for First Church, a Gothic Revival building by R. A. Lawson, for which he occupied until at least 1879, for in that year some of his finished carving was
carved interior detail, including the stone pulpit (Figure 3). On the pulpit he sent for inspection by the Governor. Of this work an enthusiastic reporter for
carved a magnificent ornamental frieze of intertwining vines, fruit and flowers. the Otago Witness commented that ‘Few finer specimens of carving have ever
His technical virtuosity is evident in the deep undercutting from which the frieze been exhibited, even in the Home Country’. A fitting term of praise for
gains tonal depth as well as formal strength. There is sureness in his delineation adornments to Larnach’s castle which, in itself like its owner’s tomb (a scaled-
of natural forms without strain or fussiness. Elsewhere, on the interior capitals down model of Dunedin’s First Church), was a symbol of British cultural
there are carvings of butterflies, birds and mice, including a bird feeding its discernment in this remote outpost of the Empire.
young, which attest to Godfrey’s acute powers of observation. Work such as Drastically changed circumstances in the 1880s produced an economic
this allowed the artist’s inventive ability full scope. depression and led to an exodus from Dunedin. In 1887 Louis Godfrey sold the
Although Godfrey probably thought of himself more as a craftsman than house in King Street that he had bought for £850. Shortly afterwards he left the
an artist, it is worth noting that he exhibited examples of wood carving at the country, never to return. His last Dunedin work was on St Joseph’s Cathedral,
first New Zealand Exhibition, held at Dunedin in 1865. This shows pride in the 1886, designed by Francis William Petre, where his eldest son, Louis, assisted
quality of his carving, which in this instance was shared by the judges who him by carving the high altar. The son stayed in Dunedin but found little work
awarded him an honorary certificate and commended his work for its and died a pauper in 1910. His father’s career had spanned the prosperous
‘completeness of execution and finish’. Judging from the list of his exhibits at years of the city’s growth to which his skill had added considerable adornment.
the exhibition, which included a carved mantelpiece, candelabra and a fire screen, Godfrey’s carvings demonstrate the transplanting of British taste to a New
Godfrey was a versatile craftsman able to adapt his carving skills to the task in Zealand city. Its anonymous quality and functionalism made it an acceptable
hand. This versatility was useful for survival in a young country. expression of success, both public and practical, when sculpture as an art
Godfrey’s versatility is also apparent in his willingness to experiment with struggled to find local relevance. Elsewhere in the country conditions were
Oamaru stone, a local material quarried to the north of Dunedin and used comparable.
increasingly in construction work throughout Otago at the period. Before its Carving in Christchurch, as in Dunedin, was introduced in ornaments on
tendency to fail on exposure to weathering was known, Oamaru stone had a the rising Gothic buildings which gave to the young city an impressive skyline
vogue as a material especially suited to ornamental building. The Governor, Sir and an air of consequence. The city’s favourable location on the Canterbury
George Grey, attended an exhibition in 1867 at Dunedin to witness the speed Plains provided easy access to pastoral lands, from which wealth was to flow
at which balusters and capitals could be made from the stone. Godfrey was one less dramatically but with more consistency than from the goldfields of Otago.
of the carvers whose skill with the material was demonstrated on that occasion. Among the first and most impressive of Christchurch’s public complexes were
Not only was Godfrey enterprising enough to experiment with Oamaru stone, the Canterbury Provincial Government Buildings, by Benjamin Mountfort, erected
but he also carved on commission a New Zealand subject of a hen waxeye at its between 1858 and 1865. Its elaborate Gothic design culminates in the vaulted
nest to demonstrate ‘to those in neighbouring colonies the adaptability of this stone Great Hall, described by Nikolaus Pevsner as one of the finest High Victorian
stone for building and ornamental purposes’. spaces outside Europe. Fittingly, the decoration of this building, housing as it
Godfrey too was among the master craftsmen engaged by a wealthy did the seat of provincial government, was ornamented with painting and
businessman and Member of Parliament William James Mudie Larnach (1833– carving.
98) to realise his ambition for an ‘elegant house’ in what was described as the The sculptural ornaments were carried out by a mason from Nottingham,
‘English Manorial’ style, which he built on the Otago Peninsula. The architect William Brassington (1840–1905), who came to the colony at the age of twenty-
was R. A. Lawson. Helped by his sons who were trained as carvers, Godfrey three. Brassington carved corbels and capitals for the Great Hall as well as Gothic
worked along with Italian plasterers specially brought out to decorate the interior quatrefoils and ornament of a highly decorative character on the capitals of the
rooms of the castle. At the castle Godfrey and his sons carved an elaborate stone stairway columns leading to Bellamy’s refreshment rooms. On many of

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 executed at Dunedin at the same time. But Brassington’s works are noteworthy
more for their honest qualities of design and invention than for technical
excellence. The Canterbury Provincial Government Buildings contain
Brassington’s major achievement as a creative sculptor. Unfortunately his practice
as stonemason and builder afterwards took a more functional turn. However, it
is worth noting that he was entrusted with designing the pedestal for Thomas
Woolner’s statue of John Robert Godley, which was ordered from England. This
pedestal was to contain a design with an oak tree and native flax plants.
Brassington completed the work in 1866 only to find that the measurements
supplied from England were inaccurate so that his pedestal was unusable. As a
consequence a second pedestal without any ornamentation was hurriedly
completed for the inauguration.
This incident shows the comparatively lowly status of the local mason and
his work in relation to the elevated position of English sculptors and their statues.
FIGURE 4 William Brassington, Two Hands, 1865, Provincial Council Chambers,
Christchurch. Stone, life size Although Brassington was able to carry out carving as an applied art on a building,
there appears no evidence that he was ever commissioned to make freestanding
the capitals clusters of tree leaves, including oak and ivy, are shown as well as sculpture. At this stage such works were invariably imported from Britain.
birds and animals introduced with ‘playful humour’, as a contemporary critic Significantly, too, the important commission for sculptural panels on the Selwyn
described them. Brassington’s range of subjects included small portrait heads of pulpit in Christchurch Cathedral was given to the English sculptors John Roddis
nineteenth-century notables including Queen Victoria, Albert Edward, Prince of and R. L. Clark, even though the subject matter, drawn from the history of the
Wales, Florence Nightingale, Major-General Charles George Gordon, David Anglican Church in New Zealand, would have been suitable for local talent.
Livingstone and the Marquess of Salisbury. Despite certain awkwardnesses in Undoubtedly the local mason was at a severe disadvantage in such cases when
their drawing, these blocky faces integrate very well with the architecture, to competing with trained British artists.
which they are totally subordinate. Brassington spent the rest of his career primarily as a builder and stonemason
The most unusual subjects in the whole building are situated in the shadows in Christchurch. There appears to have been no other carver in the city who
of the Press Gallery. These are carvings of two hands shown as if clasping the followed his lead. However, his son, Claudius, born in 1873, who trained as a
stems of the leaves, which decorate the corbels (Figure 4). There is no better sculptor, must have been influenced by his father’s example. Creative carving
example of Brassington’s ability to conceive his ideas within the framework of remained a sporadic development in the New Zealand towns depending very
the architecture. Yet these two hands contain a comment on labour as well, for much on circumstances bringing architect and mason together. In Wellington,
one is broad and sturdy, the other slender and graceful; one is the hand of a where because of the fear of earthquakes most of the building was in wood,
manual worker, the other of a scholar. The mason apparently used his own there is little of sculptural interest at this time, although the range and variety of
hand as a model for that of the workman, thereby testifying both to his skill and wooden fretwork on colonial buildings is remarkable.
to a pride in his work. His comment on two kinds of labour was singularly By contrast Auckland was fortunate to attract a talented young die-caster
appropriate to the buildings housing a democratically elected Provincial from Westphalia in Prussia, Anton Teutenberg (1840–1933), who practised as a
Government, and prophetic too of a society in which manual work was long stone carver in the city for a short period in the 1860s. In a series of architectural
regarded as worth at least as much as that of the intellect. As a further evidence carvings for public buildings he revealed an extraordinary sculptural ability. The
of his contribution to the building, Brassington carved a self-portrait on a corbel son of a gunsmith to King Frederick William IV of Prussia, he had been trained
showing him with chisel in hand, as if he had just looked up from his task. by his father as a die-caster. While visiting New Zealand in 1866, he met Messrs.
Comparatively, Brassington’s carving is less accomplished than Godfrey’s Amos and Taylor, contractors for the new Auckland Supreme Court building

EARLY CARVERS AND MASONS: 1860–1890 — 13

 PLATE 1 Anton Teutenberg, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, 1866, High Court, Waterloo Quadrant, Auckland. General view.

(now High Court). From this acquaintance came his commission to make carvings For example, his head of Victoria (Figure 5) is basically ovoid and at an angle to
for the courthouse. the simple cylinder of her neck. Details of eyes, nose and mouth, which are
Relating the casual origin of this commission, Teutenberg once said: ‘I had secondary in importance to these main forms, are cut out with refreshing
never done work of that kind before but I said I would try. I practised on a piece simplicity. Even the coronet that Victoria wears is not obtrusive but is integrated
of sandstone and to my surprise the architect, Mr Rumsey, said I could go ahead.’ with her hair into a framing arch around the face. These carvings show the
Teutenberg began with carved heads for the label-stops of the entrance porch, young craftsman’s natural talent, which found an outlet almost by chance.
working to designs supplied by the architect. Although generally there seems Because of Teutenberg’s success with his first carvings, he was given a free hand
to be little method in the selection and positioning of the portrait heads, Queen to invent gargoyles for the upper parts of the building. His imaginative ability
Victoria and Prince Albert were given pride of place, facing each other from was considerable, as the completed carvings show.
either side of the central entrance arch of the porch (Plate 1). People of Although the Supreme Court carvings are generally accepted as Teutenberg’s
importance in the colony, such as Sir George Grey (who was twice Governor of earliest works in Auckland, a case can also be made for a group of twenty heads
New Zealand) and Edward Gibbon Wakefield (who had done much to advance carved on the façade of the Pitt Street Methodist Church. Since the church was
the progress of organised settlement) were also honoured with portraits. opened in October 1866 and the carvings were placed high up, some on the
Teutenberg conceived his best carvings broadly so that they look uncluttered. finials of the Gothic façade, it is unlikely that they could have been worked on

14
 Office heads are over life-size, which marks an enlargement of scale over the
earlier series with which they have similarities both in subject matter and
technique. Once again figures of importance such as Queen Victoria and Sir
George Grey were portrayed as well as some of the Maori leaders of the period
including Potatau Te Wherowhero (1800–1866) (Figure 6). He was the first
Maori king who helped to unify the Waikato tribes during the New Zealand
Wars with the settlers.
Compared with the earlier portraits, those on the Post Office reveal a definite
progression in characterisation. This is most noticeable in the difference between
the two versions of Queen Victoria. The earlier Supreme Court carving (Figure
5) shows the Queen as young and beautiful, as she might have appeared at her
coronation some thirty years earlier. The Post Office carving (Figure 7), however,
reveals a somewhat different aspect. Queen Victoria is depicted as a plain and
determined middle-aged woman. Teutenberg has refrained neither from carving
bags beneath her eyes nor from indicating the sagging flesh under her jaw.
These details have been rendered without any loss of the sculptural statement
of the head. The same is true of the portrait of Potatau Te Wherowhero, whose
pronounced tattoo follows the forms of his face without disrupting them. It
seems in this case that the sculptor enjoyed the rhythm of the spiral forms of
the tattoo, which are echoed in the animated treatment of his hair, cut into
curly tufts full of movement and life.
Significantly, Teutenberg’s depiction of the Maori is not naively romantic,
like that of Gustavus von Tempsky (1828–68), an army officer during the New
FIGURE 5 Anton Teutenberg, Queen Victoria, 1866, High Court, Auckland. Stone,
260 x 260 x 240 mm Zealand Wars and a fellow Prussian who portrayed in his watercolours glamorous
scenes of battle between resolute soldiers and fierce native warriors. Teutenberg’s
after the building was in use. This suggests that Teutenberg would have carved objectivity is remarkable considering the tensions of that epoch. The 1860s was
these heads contemporaneously with his first work for the Supreme Court. In a difficult period of war between the Maori and the settlers, fought largely over
style the Pitt Street carvings are comparable. The heads include those of Charles the questions of land and sovereignty. In these wars the Maori proved a worthy
and John Wesley, the founders of Methodism, which are situated on the opponent whose fighting prowess won respect from the British army.
dripstones above the central window of the Pitt Street façade. Unfortunately Teutenberg’s portrayal of Potatau shows him as both man and warrior. The
the height at which the carvings are placed does not allow the details to be same is true of his portrait of Paora Tuhare (1825–98), a chief of the Ngati
seen clearly. Also the small scale of the carvings means that they function more Whatua tribe and friend of the Pakeha. While recording Paora’s features without
as ornaments to the building than as individual sculptures. flattery or condescension, Teutenberg was able to look past racial differences to
Once work had been completed on the Supreme Court, Rumsey again the basic humanity of his subject. In doing so, he proved his perception as a
employed Teutenberg for similar carving on his Gothic Revival Post Office in portrait sculptor who could approach his subjects without compromising his
Shortland Street (now demolished), which opened in 1867. As in the earlier democratic spirit.
commissions, he carved portrait heads on the label-stops above the pointed This is verified, too, by an anecdote recorded about his work on the Post
arches of the two-storeyed façade. His rate of pay was £1 a day, an increase over Office. Apparently the carver was found in the act of putting his own features
the 15 shillings he was paid for his carvings on the Supreme Court. The Post on one of the carvings when the contractor interrupted him and demanded

EARLY CARVERS AND MASONS: 1860–1890 — 15

FIGURE 6 Anton Teutenberg, Potatau Te Whero Whero, 1867. From Shortland Street FIGURE 7 Anton Teutenberg, Queen Victoria, 1867. From Shortland Street Post Office,
Post Office, Auckland. Stone, height, 401mm Auckland. Stone, height, 401mm

that his face and not that of the artisan should be recorded for the benefit of purely ornamental. Teutenberg’s creative energies were now directed into the
posterity. At this Teutenberg picked up his mallet and shattered the head with manufacture of jewellery and die-making. One of his best-known works of this
one blow; the contractor’s face which finally took its place was distinguishable kind is the Fire Brigade Association Long Service Medal, for which he made the
by its unflattering expression. With the Post Office commissions Teutenberg’s die in 1886. In 1933, when Teutenberg died at the age of 93, his carvings had
brief career as a professional stone carver came to an end. He is said to have become part of Auckland’s early history. They provide a fascinating example of
remarked that such work was ‘only a hobby for which there was no scope’. This the taste for architectural embellishment, which extended throughout New
observation was certainly true, for architectural tastes changed rapidly to exclude Zealand during the 1860s. The passing of this taste spelt the end of the
ornamental carving of this kind. commissions and the inventive designs to which they gave rise. But it was to
In later years Teutenberg executed the occasional commission, such as the this coincidence of taste and skill that the colony owed its first substantial body
wooden pulpit for St John’s Methodist Church off Ponsonby Road, Auckland, of sculpture. Divorced from architecture, the art was slow to take root in colonial
for which he also carved a Gothic reredos. This kind of work, however, was soil, where emphasis was focused more on economic than artistic objectives.

16
II

Public Statuar y of the V ictorian and Edwardian Periods

As the New Zealand settlements grew steadily during the late nineteenth century the central location of Cathedral Square, the people brought the monument
they took pride in their short but eventful histories. Their awareness of the role close to their daily lives where it became a cause of civic pride.
played by the pioneers of the settlements and of the contribution made by Commissioning of the statue was entrusted to a committee in England that
noted politicians and citizens found public expression in commemorative decided, on the advice of Sir John Simeon, to invite Thomas Woolner (1825–
statuary. The Victorians attached great importance to memorials as a means of 92) to execute the work. Woolner, once a member of the Pre-Raphaelite
commemorating individuals who had made their mark in the public sphere. Brotherhood and later a full member of the Royal Academy, was then enjoying
This extended to the lavish use of statuary for family memorials in the spacious a rising reputation as a sculptor. The Godley statue commission established a
cemeteries that evolved during Queen Victoria’s reign. Victoria herself approved pattern for commemorative statuary which was to remain basically unaltered
one of the most elaborate memorials of the age with the Royal Albert Memorial for over fifty years. Almost invariably statuary was imported from Britain, usually
in London’s Kensington Gardens (1864–76). Its centrepiece is a statue of Prince on the advice of either a committee or respected individual. The sculptor was
Albert. Monuments to individuals became important features of the Victorian an established practitioner of academic persuasion and impeccable qualifications.
and Edwardian townscapes. The single figure, cast in bronze or carved in marble, At first, with no local sculptors available to do the work, it was inevitable that
was set on a high pedestal above the surrounding streets and parks. In its monumental statuary and the standard of taste it represented had to be imported.
aloofness and stasis the monument was at once part of life and remote from it. Although the quantity of public statuary commissioned was not large and the
The first public statue erected in New Zealand, of John Robert Godley in quality not always of the highest order, these monuments merit attention because
Christchurch, was commissioned in 1862 by the Provincial Council of Canterbury of their historical and social interest as well as the influence they exerted on
as a tribute to the prematurely deceased founder of the settlement (Figure 8). subsequent sculpture in New Zealand.
Godley, a High Church Tory and idealist, symbolised the Utopian plans with Woolner’s Godley statue is not only the first public statue imported into
which Canterbury had been founded. It was singularly appropriate, therefore, New Zealand but arguably also the finest. Woolner had not known Godley during
to erect a public statue of Godley which acknowledged his individual achievement his lifetime, but had photographs as well as verbal descriptions of his subject.
and at the same time commemorated the values for which he stood. Such a From this basis he succeeded in creating a dignified image that satisfied Simeon,
monument shows the way in which an open society could pay tribute to an who had been a close personal friend of Godley, as well as the sculptor’s fellow
individual it thought worthy of commemoration. It was no longer the case that artists. They were well pleased with his conception, thinking that he had solved
only monarchs or victorious generals were celebrated in this way. Instead there ‘the difficulty of modern costume in sculpture’. This reference to ‘the difficulty
was a democratic process of raising money from the people through subscription of modern costume’ implies the continuing influence of the neoclassical school
or fund-raising events. By placing the statue in an urban context, in this case in of thought on British sculpture. The influence of John Flaxman (1755–1826)

PUBLIC STATUARY OF THE VICTORIAN AND EDWARDIAN PERIODS — 17

18
 his Godley where the pose is informal, contributing to a natural effect. He shows
Godley walking towards us with his coat casually over one arm and his hat in
the other, as if he had stopped to greet us and removed his hat in a polite
gesture. The pose does not go as far as those used by the French realist painter,
Gustave Courbet (1819–77) in his famous painting The Meeting, 1854. Courbet
drew on popular imagery for his informality and directness. Nevertheless, in a
less forceful way, Woolner has affinities with the realist spirit it embodies. The
Godley statue, one of the sculptor’s earliest full-length portraits, points to the
increasingly realistic direction British sculpture was to take in the latter part of
the century. Then, under French influence, sculptors turned to bronze in their
search for naturalistic modelling, stressing textures and a lively surface. An
important influence here was Aimé-Jules Dalou (1838–1902), in London from
1872 to 1879, who was an exponent of what was termed the New Sculpture.
By arranging Godley’s costume with an eye for rhythm and big masses,
Woolner escaped a feeling of fussiness even where he took delight in details
such as the creases in the waistcoat. The pose, though informal, is elegant. In
particular, the head is an accomplished performance, remarked upon by the
novelist Anthony Trollope when he visited Christchurch in 1873. He thought
the whole statue ‘very noble’ observing: ‘Among modern statues I know no
head that stands better on its shoulders’. The statue was much admired not
only in London, where it was first exhibited prior to its shipment, but also at
Christchurch when it was unveiled in 1867.
With its acquisition of the Godley statue Christchurch had been extremely
fortunate. Later works imported from Britain varied in quality. Their reception,
too, was not always uncritical. The statue of William Sefton Moorhouse, which
was the second public commission for the city, illustrates this (Plate 2). Moorhouse
(1825–81), who had been a Superintendent of Canterbury, was associated
PLATE 2 George Lawson, William Sefton Moorhouse, c.1884, Botanical Gardens,
Christchurch. Bronze, over life size especially with the successful project of linking the town with its harbour by
means of a rail tunnel. Funds for the memorial were raised by public subscription.
and the successful practice of Victorian adherents of the style, such as John George Lawson (1832–1904), a Scottish sculptor resident in London, was selected
Gibson (1790–1866), gave neoclassicism lasting authority. Concerned that to carry out the work. Lawson was a reputable artist who exhibited regularly at
rendering modern costume would impair their works, neoclassical sculptors the Royal and Scottish Academies, though he was a member of neither.
preferred either heroic nudity or draperies modelled on classical lines. Whereas Woolner had managed to satisfy both the requirements of art and
Although Woolner was not a committed opponent of neoclassicism, in portraiture, a difficult task at any time, Lawson was apparently unable to do so,
portraiture he preferred, as did Sir Francis Chantrey (1781–1841) before him, judging by initial dissatisfaction with his portrait. Like Woolner, Lawson had
to use contemporary dress and a more naturalistic approach. This is evident in been asked to work from photographs of a man he had never seen. When the
statue arrived in Christchurch, a hastily called meeting of Moorhouse’s friends
was asked to inspect the statue and then answer two questions: one, whether
FIGURE 8 Thomas Woolner, John Godley, 1863–65, Cathedral Square, Christchurch.
Bronze, height 2972 mm the statue was a reasonable likeness; two, whether it possessed artistic merit.

PUBLIC STATUARY OF THE VICTORIAN AND EDWARDIAN PERIODS — 19

According to a newspaper report in the Press newspaper of August 1885, the Lawson depicted Moorhouse seated in his chair gazing towards the tunnel
answer to the first question was ‘a unanimous no’; to the second, from those with which he was associated. Like Woolner’s Godley, Moorhouse is in
who felt qualified to judge, an equally emphatic negative. But, after this initial contemporary dress, and he is posed informally with arms folded and legs
outcry, supporters of the statue took the opposite view: ‘. . . the statue of the crossed. Sir Francis Chantrey had popularised the casual, seated pose in works
late William Sefton Moorhouse . . . on being viewed by more competent judges, such as his memorial to James Watt (1824) in Birmingham. Whereas Chantrey
has been proclaimed a very fair likeness, and exceedingly good work of art ‘. had simplified details of costume and retained a measure of reserve in the pose,
There the matter rested. As an early instance of colonial connoisseurship, it is Lawson reflects the greater naturalistic interests of the late nineteenth century
entertaining proof of a critical spirit. in his textural treatment of Moorhouse’s dress and full beard. Moorhouse’s
crossed legs add to the informality of the work.
A later statue was commissioned to commemorate the noted statesman
William Rolleston (1831–1903) who, like Moorhouse, had been a Superintendent
of Canterbury and Member of Parliament. Unveiled in 1906, the over-life-size
marble statue (Figure 9), was carried out by the English sculptor Herbert
Hampton. At the time Hampton’s work was considered a good likeness and he
was thought to have ‘caught the expression on the face with notable success’.
Indicative of the sentiments behind the erection of such statuary are the remarks
made at the unveiling by Sir Charles Bowen, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
The Canterbury Times reported him as saying ‘he was quite sure that future
generations would be the better for seeing the memorial to such a man in their
city. It would remind them of the moral and intellectual inheritance they
possessed.’
As a symbol the statue functions well enough but, unlike Woolner’s and
Lawson’s bronzes, Hampton’s marble figure is rigid and now lacking in surface
interest (perhaps because of weathering). Rolleston is shown standing and resting
one arm on a supporting block of marble, designed to look like drapery. Although
the head has some life, the same is not true of the costume. It is possible that his
studio assistants carved large areas of this with more patience than inspiration.
Similar faults mar the monumental marble figure of the noted Governor
and Prime Minister Sir George Grey (Figure 10) erected at the corner of Grey’s
Avenue and Queen Street, Auckland, in 1904. It was commissioned from Francis
Williamson (1833–1920), sculptor to Queen Victoria, who had a wide and
distinguished practice. Williamson was requested to show the Governor in the
prime of life addressing and exhorting an audience, and thus displaying the
oratory for which he was famous. However, the final pose is unimaginative in
conception. In fact it resembles that later used by Hampton in his Rolleston
statue. Both have the figure standing beside a supporting block, one foot forward
the other set slightly back, with one arm at the side and the other raised in

FIGURE 9 Herbert Hampton, William Rolleston, 1905–06, Canterbury Museum Forecourt,

gesture, and the head turned at an angle to the body. To add to the similarity in
Christchurch. Marble, height 2408mm both instances the figure is clad in a three-quarter-length frock coat.

20
 If we did not know the effect aimed at, we would imagine that Sir George
Grey was engaged in nothing more than a light conversation about the weather.
His face is almost expressionless, like the drapery, which is carved with a dull
competence and no feeling for the material. To indicate Grey’s association with
the Maori people the supporting column, behind the figure, is carved with a
Maori design. But this lifeless travesty of Maori woodcarving demonstrates the
gulf between the two cultures (Figure 11). Anything more antithetical to the
virile spirit of Maori carving than this frozen marble form is difficult to imagine.
In addition, the carvings show puzzling departures from Maori practice, despite
the availability of examples to Williamson in London. The lowly position of the
carving can now suggest subordination and conquest of the Maori, though it
was probably intended to represent the cementing of ties between them and
the settlers. The statue was shifted to Albert Park in 1922 where it has become FIGURE 10 Francis Williamson, Sir George Grey, 1901–04, Albert Park, Auckland. Marble,
height 2700mm. Photograph of the unveiling ceremony, Auckland Public Library
a target of vandals and Maori activists. For example, on Waitangi Day in 1987
the head of the statue was broken off as a protest against Grey and what he
had come to represent in terms of recent issues in race relations. Because the
original head was not recovered, a local sculptor Roderick Burgess was asked to
make a replacement. At present other parts of the statue remain in a vandalised
condition.
Fortunately some of the later public portrait statues have more distinction.
This applies to the statue of Sir John Logan Campbell (1817–1912), a pioneer
and benefactor of Auckland, who was accorded the unusual honour of having a
monument erected to him during his lifetime in recognition of his generous gift
of Cornwall Park to the city. The statue was commissioned from Henry Pegram,
R.A. (1862–1937), who also obtained orders for two portrait busts for Parliament
House, Wellington. The monumental full-length statue, unveiled in 1906
(Plate 3), shows Campbell in mayoral robes standing in a stiff, hierarchic stance
on a granite plinth above a rock base that rises from the circular pool to form a
mound. It could be argued that this symbolises the towering character and
achievements of Logan Campbell who was apparently satisfied with the work.
Plumes of water play over the rocks creating an effect of sound and moisture.
The combination of the memorial statue with a fountain is unusual for New
Zealand and gives some interest to the work, as does the park setting. Also of
good quality is the full-length bronze of Richard Seddon, the noted Liberal Prime
Minister, by Sir Thomas Brock, R.A. (1847–1922), prominently located outside
Parliament House in Wellington. Brock, by showing Seddon in typical orator’s
pose, as if emphasising a point by emphatic gesture, has obtained something of
the vitality of his sitter that Williamson and Hampton missed in theirs. This work
was unveiled in 1915. FIGURE 11 Francis Williamson, Sir George Grey, 1901–04, Albert Park, Auckland. Detail

PUBLIC STATUARY OF THE VICTORIAN AND EDWARDIAN PERIODS — 21

 PLATE 3 Henry Pegram, Sir John Logan Campbell, 1904–06, Cornwall Park, Auckland. Bronze, height 2897 mm

Apart from the commemoration of those who contributed to local public Sir John Steell (1804–91), Scotland’s most famous Victorian sculptor, was
affairs, some statues were erected to symbolise cultural and imperial ties. For chosen to model the statue. At the time of the Dunedin commission Steell was
example, public statues in Dunedin, Timaru, Hokitika and Auckland com- nearing the end of a long and successful career, in the course of which he had
memorate the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Appropriately, a great-grandniece of carried out several Burns statues, notably those for New York, Dundee and
the poet unveiled the Dunedin statue in 1887. Scottish colonists, who had strong London. His conception of the poet is a graceful and contemplative one
emotional links with their home country, founded Dunedin and the initial stimulus (Plate 4). He shows a youthful Burns, quill in hand, seated on a tree stump
for the Burns statue came from the Ayrshire Society, a group dedicated to gazing unseeingly ahead, as if lost in thought. In its studied informality, Steell’s
preserving links with that county and keeping up Scottish traditions. Burns recalls works by Chantrey, who had been an admirer of the younger man’s

22
 PLATE 4 Sir John Steell, Robert Burns, 1884–87, Octagon, Dunedin. Bronze, height 2700 mm

sculpture. Steell has an interest in naturalistic aspects, evident (for example) in a more forceful pose, standing with one arm resting on a plough, as if he had
his attention to the bark on the tree stump and the folds of the cloak. But this is paused from labour to write a line of verse. It is hardly accidental that Burns was
complemented by his feeling for major movements, such as the flow of the the only significant poet commemorated by public statues in New Zealand. He
cloak curving from the poet’s left shoulder to right thigh. The head is symmetrical was popular with the people and had a down-to-earth quality that was
and somewhat idealised. appreciated by the colonists and their immediate descendants. This aspect is
Auckland’s Burns statue, by Frederick Pomeroy R.A. (1856–1924), is less illustrated by a story about the Dunedin Burns statue, which is situated in the
idealised than Steell’s and presents us with the rugged image of a man of action. Octagon directly in front of the Anglican cathedral. It is said that an old woman
Pomeroy, who was a student of Dalou at Lambeth Art School, depicts Burns in just arrived from Scotland was moved to declare on seeing it: ‘Ah, Rabbie, ye

PUBLIC STATUARY OF THE VICTORIAN AND EDWARDIAN PERIODS — 23

24
old de’il, as bad as ever, I see; your back to the kirk and your face to a public
house’. Whether by accident or design, to this day Burns faces away from the
cathedral and gazes in the direction of a hotel on the other side of the Octagon.
Despite the popularity of Burns, it was fittingly Queen Victoria herself who
received the most numerous public commemorations, with statues in each of
the four main cities. These works, all commissioned either towards the end of
her long reign or shortly after her death, were tributes to the perceived benefits
achieved under her rule, as well as symbols of empire and imperial ties. On the
occasion of the unveiling of the Auckland statue (Plate 5) in 1899, the New
Zealand Herald made pertinent comment about the significance of the statue of
the Queen, as follows: ‘the statue will remain when all of us have passed away
to remind our children and our children’s children of a wise and virtuous ruler
whom we loved and honoured, and of our attachment to the British monarchy
and our affection for the Motherland.’
In a later passage the same writer drew attention to a different but related
aspect recalling that: ‘The foundations of Auckland province were cemented
with the blood of Maoris slain in battle, and today the foundation on which
Auckland’s statue of the Queen rests is of stone cut and quarried at the instance
of the Maoris in peace and amity, as a token of their love for the great Empress.’
At the unveiling ceremony itself the editor saw the ‘Imperial power’ of the British
race displayed when the Governor-General, ‘attired in afternoon dress’ and
‘accommodated with a cushioned seat’ drew back the Royal Standard of Britain
wreathing the statue and exposed the ‘great white empress’ to the admiring
public of the colony.
The Auckland Queen Victoria was the first of the four statues in the major
cities and the only one erected during the monarch’s lifetime. It was
commissioned from Francis Williamson, who, as a favoured sculptor to the Queen,
was well qualified for the task. His statue, a bronze variant of that commissioned
by the Royal College of Physicians (1887) in London, depicts the Queen standing
FIGURE 12 Alfred Drury, Queen Victoria Memorial, 1902–05, Kent Terrace, Wellington.
and holding a fan and handkerchief. He shows Victoria as elderly but dignified. Bronze, height 3010 mm

Because of the relatively small scale of the work and the modest height of the
pedestal, Victoria appears more accessible and less intimidating than in many her image. Williamson’s approach found favour with the Queen, who gave him
other memorials. Williamson found every part of the Queen’s costume worth sittings and lent him the crown, robe and jewellery to help him achieve
his attention, so we need to be close enough to see the detail. His recording of exactitude. It is a far remove from the ‘severe simplicity’ that John Gibson had
seemingly unimportant trivia, such as the patterns on her dress, contributes to aimed for in his monumental version of Victoria, designed some forty years
her characterisation as a woman as well as a monarch and helps to humanise earlier, in the Houses of Parliament, Westminster. The Christchurch Queen Victoria
statue, another but larger version of the Auckland one, was designed as a Jubilee
memorial for the province. It was approved in 1901, shortly before Victoria’s
PLATE 5 Francis Williamson, Queen Victoria, 1897–99, Albert Park, Auckland. Bronze,
height 1800 mm death, but not completed until 1903. Elaborate and vivid bronze reliefs by

PUBLIC STATUARY OF THE VICTORIAN AND EDWARDIAN PERIODS — 25

Williamson set into the base commemorated the early pioneers of Canterbury, the City of Bradford that he designed to be placed at the top of a flight of steps.
the industries from which the province derived its wealth and the South African Although the statue was ready by December 1903, there were considerable
war. delays in having it cast due to heavy demand on bronze foundries at that time.
Once news of Queen Victoria’s death reached Wellington in January 1901, Writing to the Wellington Town Clerk in 1904 Drury explained the delay as
donations were made to start a memorial fund. This eventually led to the follows: ‘The statue being so great in bulk it is impossible for them _ the founders
_
commissioning of an over-life-size bronze statue of the Queen, dressed in robes to cast more than one such figure at once. Before the death and as a result of
of state and holding the orb and sceptre (Figure 12). At the unveiling ceremony the death of the late Queen they had a tremendous rush of work, so that they
in 1905, recorded in the New Zealand Times, Lord Plunket, the Governor, were only able to begin casting a short time ago.’ It is entertaining to reflect on
commented favourably on the work and choice of site, as follows: ‘I think it is, this feverish manufacture of bronze Victorias to satisfy the demands of loyal
indeed, only fitting that in the capital city of one of the most prosperous and subjects in England and throughout the Empire.
contented portions of the British dominions, there should be erected a worthy Of the panel reliefs on the base The Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi
memorial of the Great Queen of our Empire. I think that it is a very happy (Figure 13) merits attention. For the Waitangi panel Drury undertook research
circumstance that this statue should stand where it does, for it proclaims to the into traditional Maori costume. His composition is divided into two parts, the
anxious weary immigrant, as he arrives upon your shores, that besides the better right hand being occupied by Governor Hobson, his aide-de-camp and the
material prosperity he has been led to expect, he has come among a loyal missionary Henry Williams, the left by a group of Maori chiefs. The costuming
people, and is under the British Constitution, with the freedom which every of the Maori, comprising flax skirts and feather cloaks, is contrasted with Hobson’s
British subject enjoys, and which is the envy of every foreign nation.’ naval uniform and Williams’s cassock for artistic rather than strictly historical
Appropriately, in view of these sentiments, the Queen is shown holding an reasons. (Hobson in fact only wore his full uniform during consultation with the
orb surmounted by a winged figure of ‘Victory’. Beneath the main statue, on chiefs on the day before the signing, but Drury has given the occasion added
the base, are three bronze relief panels. The most significant of these depicts dignity by depicting him in his regalia.) These strangely disparate groups are
the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. The other relief panels on the base symbolise linked by the scroll of the Treaty and the handshake between Williams and one
the achievements of her reign in the arts and in mechanical invention. of the Maori across the table. In the foreground plane, the action of one of the
The sculptor was Alfred Drury (1856–1944), a regular exhibitor at the Royal chiefs, shown naked to the waist with a feather in his hair, who is signing the
Academy of which he was then an Associate, and later a full member. Drury’s is Treaty and leaning over towards Hobson, further links the two groups
a monumental conception with a high degree of feeling for the major volumes compositionally together. Thus the symbolic nature of the Treaty as an act of
of the figure. His Queen is old, stern and haughty, gazing from sunken eyes out trust between two peoples totally different in background and way of life is well
over the windswept streets of Wellington with forbidding disdain. Unlike illustrated in Drury’s composition. While the Treaty did signify the start of British
Williamson’s more human vision of the Queen, Drury’s Victoria is unapproachable. rule in the colony and the end of Maori sovereignty, it also gave to the Maori
The statue is a massive symbol of British power elevated above the material the rights and privileges of British subjects, previously lacking, and guaranteed
world. Yet the statue is not idealised in any obvious way. In fact, one contem- them freedom under British law. The Treaty panel, therefore, should not be seen
porary writer thought the likeness ‘an excellent one’. simply as depicting the imperial power of Victoria, but also as exemplifying the
Drury had learnt his skill as a modeller under Dalou, at South Kensington, justice of her dominion. However, the Maori appear subservient and unequal
where he had been an outstanding student. He designed his massive statue to partners in the transaction.
be seen from below so that the viewer can experience its full effect. Also, from Dunedin’s Queen Victoria statue, a standing marble figure by Herbert
a distance it forms an impressive silhouette against the sky. The sculptor advised Hampton, was, like the Wellington memorial, commissioned after Victoria’s death
the Mayor of Wellington in a letter written in 1903 to have the base for the
statue made exceptionally high, so that, to use his words, ‘this addition will
FIGURE 13 Alfred Drury, The Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Relief Plaque on base of
greatly enhance the beauty of the monument’. In this context it is helpful to
Queen Victoria Memorial, 1902–05, Kent Terrace, Wellington. Bronze, 992 mm x
know that the Wellington Queen Victoria statue is another cast of one made for 810 mm

26
PUBLIC STATUARY OF THE VICTORIAN AND EDWARDIAN PERIODS — 27
 did not. His figure is rigid and the draperies angular in effect. However, as with
his Rolleston, the head is strongly characterised. Hampton’s Victoria, although
stern of feature, is portrayed sympathetically. Compared with Drury’s ruthless
portrait, unsparing of the ravages wrought by age in the sagging flesh, sunken
eyes and drooping lips, Hampton’s appears almost benign. The inclusion of two
life-size bronze allegorical figures of Justice and Wisdom, flanking the pedestal
below the Queen, symbolises the virtues of her reign and give the Dunedin
monument a distinctive aspect.
That no fewer than four major statues of Queen Victoria were erected in
New Zealand, all raised by public subscription, at a cost of several thousands of
pounds each, demonstrates the bonds of affection and allegiance to the Queen
and Britain. Not unimportant, too, was the awareness that Victoria’s reign had
spanned the years in which the New Zealand settlements were founded and
grew to prosperity. Victoria’s image, therefore, gained added symbolic meaning.
In another sense, as examples of British sculptural taste and standards, these
statues are also symbolic. For in New Zealand, throughout Victoria’s reign, there
was great dependence on Britain for professional works of sculpture.
Ornamental statuary for public parks was also imported. For example, when
Helen Boyd, widow of a pottery manufacturer, donated funds in 1898 to purchase
statuary for Auckland’s Albert Park, the commissions went to overseas sculptors.
A local committee approved the acquisition of allegorical figures Spring and
Victory of Peace by Drury and Andrea Lucchesi (1860–1925) respectively. Both
statues depict standing female figures in a classicising style. Of the two, Drury’s
is the finer work. Now located in the Wintergarden, his Spring (Figure 14) is an
idealised female figure contemplating a rose she holds in her right hand. Semi-
draped, she is an allegorical personification of the season, based on classical
prototypes, and stylistically unlike his realistic Queen Victoria. With this statue
Drury demonstrated his range as an artist and his ability to adapt to different
situations. For the occasion he sought to meet the patron’s expectation that the
statuary would be ornamental and diverting to the public. Despite the idealisation
of his figure, Drury managed to give a degree of individuality to the face and
FIGURE 14 Alfred Drury, Spring, 1902, Wintergarden, Auckland. Marble, height
1980 mm
torso; it seems likely that he began by observation from the life model.
Outside the categories of commemorative statues to individuals and
in 1901, but not erected until 1905. A further resemblance occurs because both ornamental statuary, war memorials erected during the Victorian and Edwardian
Hampton’s and Drury’s statues depict the Queen in robes of state holding the periods often included sculpture. But these memorials were normally ordered
orb and sceptre. But Hampton had been requested to depict Victoria as she from a stonemason, who obtained sculpture through trade sources. An early
would have appeared forty years earlier, so as to accord with the image settlers example is the monument at Moutoa Gardens, Wanganui, erected in 1865 to
had of her when Otago was colonised. Whereas Drury discovered a compositional honour the memory of Maori who fell fighting adherents of Hauhauism the
interest in the curving volumes of the Queen’s figure and flowing robes, Hampton previous year. It incorporates a marble, mourning figure bought from a

28
Melbourne firm by Dr Isaac Featherston, Superintendent of Wellington Province.
By far the largest group of early war memorials was erected to commemorate
soldiers who fell during the South African War of 1899–1902. New Zealand
involvement in the war was enthusiastic and full of jingoistic fervour for Britain’s
cause. Men from all parts of the country joined the armed forces. As a
consequence, war casualties affected every community though the actual loss
of life was small. After the war, patriotic monuments to the fallen were soon
erected in prominent city and town locations. Italian craftsmen carved marble
soldiers in battle kit for some of the memorials basing their figures on
photographs or drawings supplied for the purpose.
One of the most elaborate of the South African War memorials was erected
at Dunedin in 1906. This monument incorporates a figure group entitled Amor
di Patria and carved in Italy to the design of Carlo Bergamini (1870–1934), an
Italian mason then working in the city (Figure 15). Situated dramatically on top
of a marble pylon is a life-sized soldier standing guard over a dying companion.
Striking in conception, the group has stylised, heroic figures carved with Italian
grace rather than truth to battlefield conditions. Bergamini also designed the
standing soldier on the South African war memorial at the town of Oamaru, in
North Otago.
This memorial provides an interesting instance of enthusiastic fund raising
by a schoolmaster, described in the local newspaper the Oamaru Mail, of 1905,
as follows: ‘To all intents and purposes the history of the memorial is a history of
Mr. Graves’ labours during six months. He lived on his bicycle, and gave up the
whole of his term holidays and Christmas vacation to the pursuit of the all-
powerful coin which meant the success or failure of the project . . . he was out
in all weathers, and visited all kinds of localities, returning home often in the
small hours of the morning, and on one occasion he had to camp out during
the night at a railway siding, a mishap having befallen his bicycle . . . Mr. Graves’
total expenses were five shillings.’ With dedication of that order it is no wonder
that the Oamaru memorial, featuring a trooper with rifle at the ready position,
on top of a pylon, is out of proportion in its grandeur to the modest size of the
town. FIGURE 15 Carlo Bergamini, Boer War Memorial, 1906, Dunedin. Marble, figures life size

The late Victorian and Edwardian periods were the great eras of public
statuary in New Zealand. It is the memorials erected in this period, most of was the rule during this time, in the last decade of Victoria’s reign we also discover
them of British or European origin, that still dominate public places in New the origins of a modest local sculptural practice. Continuity of taste was ensured
Zealand’s older cities. Even a smaller centre like Rotorua could acquire statuary, because it was mainly based on British standards and was initially in the hands
as happened with the purchase in 1908 of several classical marbles by Charles of British sculptors, either resident in New Zealand or visiting the country.
Francis Summers (1858–1945), an Australian sculptor who worked in Rome.
These were bought for the Rotorua bath house. Although imported sculpture

PUBLIC STATUARY OF THE VICTORIAN AND EDWARDIAN PERIODS — 29

III

The Origins of Local Sculpture

As the country progressed from pioneering conditions to those of a settled, exhibitions at the societies became the main artistic event of the year in the four
growing community, public recognition of the visual arts saw the origins of art main centres and in smaller towns, like Timaru, which followed suit.
schools and galleries. The Dunedin School of Art in Dunedin was first to open in Initially, only a few amateurish sculptures were shown at the art society
1870. Then followed the Canterbury College School of Art, Christchurch, in exhibitions. Many art society exhibitions consisted mainly of watercolours, small
1882, the School of Design, Wellington, in 1886, and the Elam School of Art in size and easy to paint as a pleasant recreational pastime. Sculpture, even at
and Design, Auckland, established in 1889 and opened the following year. Art an amateur level, required more commitment and expense, as well as resources
societies, too, were formed in the main centres at that period. These societies (such as studio and casting facilities) only readily available at the art schools.
soon acquired or leased halls in which group exhibitions could be held. Annual At first the public art galleries, established in the main centres, neither
patronised local sculptors nor gave them the opportunity to see good examples
of overseas sculpture. Of the galleries, Auckland, founded in 1888, was initially
the best provided for, thanks to bequests from Sir George Grey and from a
prominent citizen, James Tannock Mackelvie. Mackelvie had made a small
collection of statuettes, mainly of classical copies, including an ancient head of
Seneca and a draped female figure known as the Statue of Peace, reputedly
found in the ruins of Pompeii. In 1878, Thomas Russell, a successful businessman,
donated plaster casts of antique statuary to the city. These full-size casts included
works like the Apollo Belvedere and the Laocoön described at the time as ‘the
very gems of ancient art now known to the world’. Placed in the museum, they
were available for study by art students. Teaching collections of casts made
from antique statuary were also provided in Dunedin and Christchurch as early
as the 1870s. As a view of the Dunedin School of Art in 1891 shows, these
collections were of use to painters as well as sculptors (Figure 16).
One of the earliest, if not the earliest, patrons of sculpture was John Logan

FIGURE 16 James Kilgour, Dunedin School of Art, c.1891, Hocken Library, Dunedin. Oil
on canvas, 756 x 1093 mm

30
Campbell, who was a founder and benefactor of Auckland. He gave financial Apart from providing facilities for students to learn sculpture, admittedly in
support and patronage to a young American sculptor, Pierce Francis (Frank) a rudimentary fashion, the art schools also provided positions for teachers
Connelly (1841–1932). While resident at Florence in the 1860s, Campbell met interested in practising sculpture themselves. Two of the earliest sculptors to
Connelly and commissioned from him busts of himself, his wife and his deceased work and live in New Zealand for any length of time both taught at art schools
son. They established a close friendship based in part on Logan Campbell’s for a number of years. They were William Leslie Morison and Charles Kidson.
belief in Connelly’s talent. Connelly’s works in marble, though, have little Of the two, less is known of Morison. In fact, his relegation to obscurity is as
distinction and belong to a conventional neoclassical taste. In 1877 Connelly complete as a century of neglect can make it. The known details of his career
travelled to Auckland at the invitation of Logan Campbell. Little is known about can be quickly stated. Of Scottish origin, he came to Wellington in 1887 where
the extent of Connelly’s sculptural work in New Zealand since he seems to have he remained until his death in 1935. He took classes in modelling, casting and
been mainly active as a painter while he was staying in Auckland. By the time terracotta at the School of Design, Wellington, in 1887. But soon afterwards he
Connelly left the city in 1878, his relations with Logan Campbell had deteriorated. set up his own institution known as Morison’s School of Art. This was described
The sculptor had disappointed his patron and cost him a substantial amount of by the Cyclopedia of New Zealand in 1897 as follows: ‘This School was established
money. In 1881, however, Logan Campbell commissioned a marble fountain by Mr. Morison about 1888. It is held in a large room on the second floor of the
from Connelly for erection in Cornwall Park but it was never completed. The National Mutual Buildings. This room contains a fine supply of models and of all
scheme was for an Italian type of fountain complete with allegorical figures, sea appliances used in a modern school of art. Mr. Morison gives instruction in
horses and tritons. every branch, including drawing, painting, modelling and sculpture work.’ How
It was on Connelly’s advice, according to Logan Campbell in his successful this venture was it is difficult to say because little is heard of it after
autobiography, that he opened an art school in 1878 where annual prizes were this date. Of Morison, too, we do not know much except that in 1904 and
awarded in various categories, including modelling. Medals, designed by Anton 1908 he exhibited sketch models of Sir John Logan Campbell and the recently
Teutenberg, were presented to the prizewinners. In a speech at the prize-giving deceased Prime Minister Richard John Seddon at the New Zealand Academy.
ceremony in 1884, reported in the New Zealand Herald, Logan Campbell reflected In 1894 Morison became the first local sculptor commissioned to execute a
upon the geographical resemblance between the Auckland isthmus and that of public statue. That year the Stuart Memorial Committee awarded first prize to
Athens. He looked forward to a time when an antipodean Pheidias (a famous his sketch model of Dr Donald Stuart, Minister of Knox Presbyterian Church,
ancient Greek sculptor) would vie with the European sculptors for artistic Dunedin. The committee had been formed to commemorate the services of
excellence. It was a romantic speculation and one framed typically in terms of this well-loved minister to the Dunedin people. As a fellow Scot, Morison was
European culture. Campbell’s Free School of Art closed when the Elam School sympathetic to his subject. His success with this commission is quite remarkable
of Art and Design opened. when we consider the circumstances. We wonder at the courage of his supporters,
The art schools provided some instruction and support for local sculpture. among them William Mathew Hodgkins, who insisted on ‘a colonial artist’, took
Modelling and casting became a part of the syllabus, reflecting the English Morison’s model on its merits, were undaunted by his comparative lack of facilities
programme of the South Kensington School of Art in London, with which the and lived to see their confidence well justified.
New Zealand art schools developed affiliations. In fact, during the 1890s New Working in his Wellington studio, Morison soon shaped his scale model
Zealand students, such as Frances Hodgkins, were encouraged to sit for the into a figure of uncompromising realism. Stuart is shown seated, wrapped in a
South Kensington examinations. Passes in the examinations became a recognised heavy plaid, clasping his walking stick firmly in one hand (Figure 17). Because
qualification for those planning to teach art. The usual approach for figure work of the absence of foundry facilities in New Zealand the plaster model had to be
was to study details from plaster casts, such as an ear or eye, before progressing shipped to England for casting in bronze. The completed statue was regarded
to the more ambitious task of modelling from life. Unfortunately not many New as a fine likeness and thought to convey the resolute character of Dr Stuart
Zealand students had sufficient perseverance to reach that stage. Most of the extremely well. In conception it is comparable with Lawson’s Moorhouse statue
students were women who preferred painting, bookbinding or needlework to (Plate 2) at Christchurch, erected some ten years before. Like Lawson, Morison
sculpture. uses the crossed legs pose to give an informal air to the portrait. But it is the

THE ORIGINS OF LOCAL SCULPTURE — 31

 powerfully characterised head of Stuart that gives strength to Morison’s work.
With head slightly bowed and brows drawn, Stuart emanates energy. All the
details are modelled with the same sure grasp of essentials and a rugged honesty.
Morison’s statue is acrop equally
monument notfrom left
only to theand right
worthy minister but also to the
initiative of its sculptor. The Italian artist Girolamo Pieri Nerli (1860–1926) met
Morison while he was in Dunedin painting Stuart’s portrait for Otago Girls’
High School. There is a relationship between Nerli’s and Morison’s Stuart portraits
suggesting an exchange of ideas between the two artists. Unfortunately Morison’s
later career is little known at present.
Of Charles Kidson (1867–1908) we are much better informed. Tragically
cut down by illness in his 41st year, Kidson nevertheless had a short but active
career as a sculptor in Christchurch. There is an engaging earnestness about his
life and work that attracts attention. His is the story of a young immigrant
establishing himself in a distant colony, realising by stages his talent for sculpture,
and finally making the step into a professional career as a practising artist. To
read Kidson’s journal of 1907, in which each hour of the working day is accounted
for, is to catch a glimpse of a careful craftsman to whom employment in the arts
was a cherished possession. Although brought up in England, Kidson developed
his art in Christchurch so that his claims to be the first local sculptor have a basis
in fact. His attitudes, too, judging by his childlike wonder at Westminster Abbey
on his return to England in 1903, would appear to be those of a colonial.
The son of a blacksmith who emigrated from Bilston, Staffordshire, to Nelson
in 1885, Kidson began his art education by attending lessons at the Birmingham
School of Art in the evenings, while by day he worked for an engineering firm.
His art studies included freehand drawing, model drawing, geometry and
perspective for which he obtained certificates of proficiency between 1884 and
1888. In 1888, due to illness, it was thought advisable for him to join his parents
in New Zealand, where it was hoped that a more benign climate would restore
his health.
Soon after his arrival, he applied successfully for a teaching position at the
recently established Canterbury College School of Art. He took up regular duties
in 1892 instructing in life drawing, the antique, geometry, perspective, modelling,
carving and repoussé work. He proved a ‘thoroughly capable and efficient
teacher’ according to the Headmaster, G. H. Elliott, in a reference written for
him in 1903. He had a strong bias towards applied art, perhaps a reflection of
his engineering training. After his marriage in 1896, his practical talent enabled
him to make beaten copper ornamental hinges for the doors of his house, and
copper panels for the fireplace. He developed a lasting friendship with Samuel
FIGURE 17 William Morison, Dr Stuart, 1894–97, Queens Gardens, Dunedin. Bronze,
height 2100 mm Hurst Seager (1856–1933), a local architect then teaching at the School of Art,

32
who designed his house and later obtained commissions for him, including the
Kaiapohia Memorial, 1898–99, and the John Grigg Memorial, 1905, his most
important statue.
For twelve years Kidson taught at the School of Art, finding time also to
paint and carry out design work. In 1903 he returned to England for six months,
intending to further his studies. While there, he not only visited major art
collections but also took woodcarving classes at the South Kensington School
of Art and studied modelling at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. This shows
his determination to improve his sculptural knowledge so that he could develop
his work in New Zealand. Certainly his London experience appears to have
acted as a catalyst for his development as a sculptor. On his return to Christchurch,
he undertook a number of major works while retaining his old post at the School
of Art. In 1906, however, he left to begin his full-time but sadly brief career as a
sculptor and craftsman.
In taking this step he hoped to increase his income, certainly not to lead an
obligation-free bohemian life. He was prepared to undertake any kind of work
from making lead-light windows to caddy spoons, fire screens and ornamental
door hinges. Judging by his receipt book, he was paid £87 for work completed
during the last six months of 1906. This would indicate a modest income even
for that time. It is hard to estimate what his prospects would have been for the
long term. In the event he was fully employed until his premature death in
October 1908.
An obituary in the Dominion newspaper referred to him as ‘the well-known
sculptor’ and noted: ‘Although the late Mr. Kidson had done a considerable
amount of colour work it was sculpture that most attracted him.’ This shows
that despite his other activities he was most highly regarded as a sculptor. Kidson
seems to have executed most of his sculpture after his return from England in
1904. To judge from a representative sample, his work was conservative in style
FIGURE 18 Charles Kidson, John Grigg, 1905, Baring Square, Ashburton. Stone, height
and subject. There is portraiture of local dignitaries, such as mayors and of figure 2400 mm

councillors, as well as more intimate pieces such as his Daughter of Eve (Plate 7),
a marble study of a smiling young girl. the eyes. Kidson conveyed something of Seddon’s bluff vitality by setting the
Kidson can make no claims to great talent as a portraitist, but his finished forceful head at an angle on the broad expanse of shoulder. He seems to turn
works bear favourable comparison with many shown at the Royal Academy in towards the viewer.
those years. His approach was craftsmanlike in its sober fidelity to the model. The award of this commission to a local sculptor was in itself remarkable,
An example of his official portraiture was a bust of Richard John Seddon made and was probably due as much to Kidson’s efforts as to ministerial support. In a
for Parliament House after Seddon’s death in 1906. Basing his work on letter drafted to Seddon’s successor as Prime Minister, Joseph Ward, Kidson
photographs, Kidson first made a clay model before carving the final marble expressed his viewpoint as follows: ‘I feel strongly that, if possible, the honour
bust. Although now destroyed, the bust appears from photographs to have of such commissions should go to those who are struggling in our little
been a competent likeness enlivened by some texturing in the beard and around community to make progress in art . . . Should you see your way to giving me

THE ORIGINS OF LOCAL SCULPTURE — 33

the commission it would be a help and an incentive such as you would perhaps the Ashburton Guardian of December 1905 as follows: ‘Great credit is due to Mr.
hardly realize.’ Ward himself seems to have taken little interest in the matter, Kidson for the admirable manner in which the design has been carried out . . .
which was brought to a successful conclusion with support from several members It is most satisfactory that such artistic work could be produced wholly within
of the House of Representatives. the colony.’
Kidson’s success on that occasion was followed by a local commission at Almost as interesting as Grigg himself are the small reliefs on the base of
Christchurch to carry out a marble bust of Sir John Hall, a former mayor of the the monument. These reliefs depict farming activities, namely shearing, stooking
city. A change of viewpoint on such commissions was now evident. This was (Plate 6) and ploughing, activities with significance to Grigg’s life as a farmer at
expressed clearly by C. H. Opie in a congratulatory letter of 1907 to Kidson as his property ‘Longbeach’, but with wider relevance to the Canterbury farming
follows: ‘It is now, I think, generally conceded that we need not send to Europe community as well. Each is a simple composition with one main figure. In each
for what we can get done as well or better here.’ Opie was then chairman of the scene the figure is shown bending down: to adjust the plough, to gather up the
Canterbury College School of Art. The age of imported statuary was now passing, sheaves, to shear the sheep. This repetition suggests that Kidson had a limited
but the standard of taste that it represented remained unchallenged. range of invention. There are limitations, too, in the design and carving of the
This is nowhere more evident than in Kidson’s major public statue, the John figures, especially in the arms and legs that look flat and unconvincing. In these
Grigg memorial at Ashburton, completed in 1905 (Figure 18). Grigg was a shortcomings the gap between the imported memorials and a locally made
pioneer farmer renowned for his successful draining of swampland to develop work such as this is noticeable.
some of the country’s finest pastures. In its pose Kidson’s full-length statue has It is worth considering what Kidson’s achievement might have been if his
more than a passing resemblance to Woolner’s Godley memorial (Figure 3). life had not been cut short in 1908. Would his sculpture have matured into a
Like Godley, Grigg walks forward bareheaded, holding a coat over his arm. In more personal and independent style? Speculation on such issues is difficult,
style, too, Kidson follows Woolner’s example in his balancing of details such as yet there is no reason to believe that he would have broken from British standards
the wrinkling of the skin of the hands and creases in the trousers with the and example. In the arts generally at that time, New Zealand’s finest talents
simplification required for an impressive, general effect. In fact, Kidson’s statue found an outlet not in developing a distinctive local style but in leaving the
is an example of the British public memorial transplanted to colonial soil. colonial situation altogether to identify with the British and European culture
Compared with Godley it appears stiff and provincial but it received praise in with which their ties were so strong.
Even if we turn to one of Kidson’s last and most admired sculptures, his
Daughter of Eve (Plate 7) of 1907, it is clear that despite the sensitivity to subject
and material the conception is far from original. It derives directly from academic
work of the day. In fact, Alfred Drury’s Age of Innocence, of which a version was in
Christchurch at that time, provides a very close parallel. Both are studies of young
girlhood, both are obviously attractive in a vein that borders on the sentimental.
But it says much for Kidson that his work stands comparison with Drury’s, for
Drury was ranked among the finest sculptors in England at that time.
Kidson’s importance lies not in the originality of his art, which was limited,
but in the professional standards he set in some of his best work and represented
in a colonial environment. In addition, he established a precedent for a sculptor
living from the sale of his art and competing successfully for commissions with
British sculptors.

PLATE 6 Charles Kidson, Stooking, 1905, Relief plaque on base of the Grigg statue, PLATE 7 Charles Kidson, Daughter of Eve, 1907, Robert McDougall Art Gallery,
Baring Square, Ashburton. Granite, 550 x 580 mm Christchurch. Marble, height 295 mm

34
THE ORIGINS OF LOCAL SCULPTURE — 35
 During this period, while Kidson and Morison were struggling to establish a
place for local sculptors, two visiting artists, Allen Hutchinson (1855–1929) and
Nelson Illingworth (1862–1926) came to New Zealand and worked there for
several years. Neither was to remain to make a lasting contribution to sculpture
in the country, yet both made studies of the Maori people and found some local
patronage for their work. The first to arrive was Hutchinson, who has been
described as ‘an itinerant sculptor’ because of his travels around the Pacific and
America studying native peoples with an eye to their ethnographical as well as
artistic interest. Illingworth, who was British-born but resident in Australia, came
with a view to obtaining commissions from the New Zealand government.
Allen Hutchinson apparently first visited New Zealand in the 1870s when
he travelled through the Pacific and spent a year in the Chatham Islands. It was
during that period, in all probability, while he was an impressionable young
man, that the artist’s interest in Polynesia developed and led him to undertake
his later studies of racial types in Hawaii and New Zealand. Born in 1855,
Hutchinson, the son of an Anglican clergyman, first joined the Navy, then, after
extensive travels, decided on a career as a sculptor and medallist. In London he
studied under Edouard Lanteri (1849–1917), the famous follower of Rodin and
a master of modelling technique, who played a major role in directing English
sculpture away from classicism towards a more expressive approach.
Hutchinson first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1883 with a terracotta
portrait study of a man’s head that is close in style to Lanteri. The following year
he exhibited a portrait of Bishop Selwyn at the Royal Academy, suggesting a
continuing interest in New Zealand during his London years. Certainly, by 1886,
the young sculptor felt the urge to travel again, and set off to Canada to study
the indigenous people of North America. In the intervening years, before his
return to New Zealand in 1899, Hutchinson spent time in California, Hawaii
and Australia. During this period he developed his studies of racial types, made
with both commercial and artistic motives. He hoped to sell his models to FIGURE 19 Allen Hutchinson, Gottfried Lindauer, 1902, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o
Tamaki. Bronze, height 302 mm
museums and had some success in doing so.
For example, at Hawaii in 1896 he was given a commission by the Bishop
Museum to do a series of six reliefs depicting Hawaiian life and industry. These about this trip, Hutchinson was very much aware of the passing of the traditional
reliefs, according to the Hawaiian Star, showed only ‘absolutely pure natives’ Maori way of life. In an article for the New Zealand Illustrated Magazine in 1900
engaged in traditional occupations such as beating tapa. ‘A great deal of pains’ he wrote: ‘. . . the Maori how changed is he. The whare has given place to the
was taken ‘to secure the correct motion’ and show ‘typical’ Hawaiians of both sawn timber house; the native dress has gone.’ And again: ‘It is sad to see the
sexes and representative ages. decadence of the race in comparing the old generation with the new; this was
Hutchinson came to New Zealand planning to make a similar record of very evident in my contact with the various ages. I noticed how the word of the
Maori. Shortly after his arrival at Auckland in October 1899, he went to Te Kuiti old could be relied upon, how willing they were to suffer the tedious sittings
to record typical Maori types in relief sculptures. Judging by his written remarks and do their part to help me. With the younger ones it was the reverse, they

36
 devouring tooth of time’ carvings and ‘works of skill’ that were irreplaceable
owing to the ‘tide of colonization’. The Polynesian Society, founded in 1892,
also sought to record the legends and life style of the old-time Maori in its
scholarly publications. In literature a similar concern appears in works such as
A. A. Grace’s Tales of a Dying Race of 1901.
Even in the visual arts Hutchinson was not alone. The painter Gottfried
Lindauer (1839–1926) had set out for New Zealand in 1873 with the intention
of making a pictorial record of Maori life. In fact, Lindauer’s greatest patron,
Henry E. Partridge, who formed a large gallery of his Maori paintings, purchased
Hutchinson’s New Zealand studies for his collection. He also commissioned from
him a portrait bust of Lindauer, now in the Auckland Art Gallery (Figure 19).
Hutchinson made six Maori studies, all life-sized, in January 1900. They are
relief sculptures of the head and shoulders of Maori of both sexes shown in
profile and of systematically selected age groups. At one extreme is a portrait of
an old woman (Figure 20) of the Arawa tribe, at the other youths from Taupo
and the Waikato. Unlike some of the Maori studies of the painter Charles F.
Goldie (1870–1947), Hutchinson’s are not sentimental. For instance, in his
portrait Pirimi Te Pahau, the firm jaw and proud demeanour of the head evoke
our admiration not pity, illustrating the sculptor’s belief that the distinctive feature
of Maori was ‘force of character’. Despite the artist’s ethnographical concerns,
the incisive draughtsmanship and confident modelling give Hutchinson’s reliefs
some artistic as well as historical interest.
Apart from these Maori studies, Hutchinson also made a bust of Sir George
Grey, now lost, which he exhibited at the Auckland Society of Arts in 1901,
along with more than 30 other works. Included among these were two panels
entitled Zealandia despatching Troops to fight for the Empire and In Memoriam,
those killed in South Africa indicating that Hutchinson had entered into a memorial
competition. He failed to get regular work even though he achieved some local
FIGURE 20 Allen Hutchinson, Old Woman, Te Arawa, 1900, Bishop Museum, Honolulu. recognition. This included a studio visit from the Governor, Lord Ranfurly, in
Plaster, height 560 mm, width 395 mm
March 1901. After unsuccessful attempts to gain major commissions in Auckland,
Hutchinson left for San Francisco in February 1902.
were unreliable and lacked character.’ Hutchinson quickly concluded that he Shortly after Hutchinson’s departure, Nelson Illingworth visited New Zealand
was in a unique artistic position. He explained: ‘Surely it is a privilege, while we in 1906. He came hoping to obtain a government commission for a bust of the
yet have the opportunity, to hand down to posterity that which still remains, of recently deceased Seddon. To help his cause he brought letters of recom-
what is most vigorous and noblest, in a race which has been called the noblest mendation to Ward. Born in Portsmouth, Illingworth had studied at the Lambeth
savage in the world.’ His phrases spell out the contemporary belief that Maori Art School and worked at the Doulton pottery before emigrating to Australia in
were not only changing through European contact but also verging on extinction. 1892. In Australia he had had some patronage as a portrait sculptor. After arriving
In 1896 Augustus Hamilton began an ambitious record of Maori art for the in Wellington, he soon convinced Ward of the need for a bust of Seddon. He
Governors of the New Zealand Institute, intending to preserve from ‘the had his plaster ready in time for the Christchurch Exhibition in November 1906

THE ORIGINS OF LOCAL SCULPTURE — 37

(Figure 21). The marble, now in the General Assembly Library, Wellington, was
finished in 1907.
Judging by a contemporary account of the work in the magazine Red Funnel,
Illingworth aimed high: ‘In the creation of a bust of Mr. Seddon his subject
inspired him with a desire to transcend his former efforts, to distinguish his
work with a finished excellence, to give it a dignity no less stately than the
noble character of the departed leader.’ The finished marble is admittedly very
carefully executed but lacks forceful characterisation. In this respect Charles
Kidson’s Seddon bust was superior. But it would appear that by commissioning
two Seddon busts the Government was trying to get the best of both worlds.
By accepting the recommendations of Kidson’s supporters, Ward satisfied feelings
about the need to support local talent; yet by also commissioning a bust from
Illingworth he could be sure of at least one thoroughly professional, if uninspired,
portrait to add to the others in Parliament House.
After completing the Seddon bust, Illingworth obtained a government

FIGURE 22 Nelson Illingworth, Tupai, 1907–08, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa

Tongarewa, Wellington. Plaster, height 725 mm

commission to make a portrait bust series of notable Maori. He modelled eight

of these during 1908. In some ways comparable to contemporary paintings by
Goldie, Illingworth’s busts have some documentary value but lack Goldie’s
approach to the old-time, tattooed Maori as a ‘noble relic of a noble race’, to
quote the title of one famous picture. Most of Illingworth’s Maori studies are
prosaic accounts of features, tattoos and ornaments. Unlike Goldie, Illingworth
seems to have had little personal involvement with the Maori people or vision
of their role in New Zealand history. His portrait busts were not thought to be
good likenesses, being unfavourably compared in that respect with Goldie’s.
But the busts vary in quality, and while most of them are appropriately displayed
as museum exhibits, at least one, Tupai (Figure 22), is modelled with authority.
The stern, proud head is set firmly upon a powerful, muscular pair of shoulders
FIGURE 21 Nelson Illingworth Modelling the Seddon Bust, 1907, National Assembly
Library, Wellington. Bust, marble, height 840 mm suggestive of physical strength and prowess as a warrior. In this case Illingworth

38
avoided the clutter of native costume and ornaments that too often distracted
attention from the head.
More ambitious than these works was an elaborate bronze monument,
unveiled at the Papawai Pa in the Wairarapa in 1911, in memory of the chief
Tamahau Mahupuku. Tamahau rose to prominence as an assessor to the Maori
Land Court and was also the Premier of the Kotahitanga Movement’s Maori
Parliament at Papawai. This monument, now damaged, featured three bronze
panels by Illingworth, one representing the chief in his cloak, another a Maori
warrior standing guard beside his wife, the third showing the signing of the
deed for the sale of Lake Wairarapa to the Crown in 1896 (Figure 23). Two of
these panels, though badly broken, are in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa
Tongarewa. One is of Chief Tamahau, the other of the signing of the deed.
Hampered by lack of bronze-casting facilities, Illingworth improvised and
appears to have used a technique of beating out part of the figure compositions
from sheets of metal and then packing the indentations at the back with molten
lead. Perhaps thanks to his unorthodox approach, he achieved a rugged
directness of modelling quite different from his usual, lifeless surfaces. But there
is no finesse in either drawing or composition. In fact, The Signing of the Deed is
compositionally a very rough reworking of Drury’s Treaty of Waitangi panel in
Wellington, which Illingworth certainly knew. The composition has simply been
reversed. Tamahau takes the place of Drury’s chief signing the Treaty of Waitangi,
and Seddon replaces Hobson in a seated position.
FIGURE 23 Nelson Illingworth, The Signing of the Deed of Sale of Lake Wairarapa to the
In 1912 Illingworth returned to Sydney, by his own account in a great hurry.
Crown, 1911, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington. Relief from
Apparently he had been involved in a business venture that failed leaving creditors the Papawai Monument. Bronze, height 1120 mm, width 635 mm

empty-handed. Writing to Augustus Hamilton, then Director of the Dominion

Museum, on 20 November 1912, from Sydney, he remarked: ‘. . . I had to leave He not only obtained the commission for the Grigg statue but also that for the
at two hours notice. I lost everything and just managed to get away with my Seddon bust as well as several other official portrait busts. He had work bought
body safe; some day my late company may pay something in the pound, but I by the Canterbury Society of Arts and by private clients. In addition he had the
am not troubling about that, with the usual Illingworth spirit I start over again.’ support of friends such as Hurst Seager, the architect, and T. E. Taylor, a local
Judging by his activities in New Zealand, Illingworth was something of a sharp Member of Parliament.
dealer with an eye for making quick returns from commissions without too The experience of Allen Hutchinson and Nelson Illingworth was similar.
many scruples about quality in their execution. But, by his visit, he made a small Both achieved a measure of patronage during their stay in New Zealand.
and interesting contribution to the development of professional sculpture in Hutchinson had several buyers for his work including Henry Partridge and Isa
New Zealand. Outhwaite, who presented two of his works to the Auckland City Art Gallery.
Although conditions at this period, around the turn of the century, were These works are now in the Auckland Memorial Museum Te Papa Whakahiku.
difficult for anyone hoping to make a career in sculpture, some patronage was Illingworth also had several commissions from the Government and the Wairarapa
definitely there. This was not large but did suggest growing prospects for Maori. It could be fairly said that it was during this period that the foundation of
sculptors, especially those prepared to supplement their income with teaching a local sculptural practice was laid, a foundation that would be built on in the
or other employment. Kidson, for example, had some success with commissions. following decades.

THE ORIGINS OF LOCAL SCULPTURE — 39

IV

Sculpture Between the W ars: 191 8 –1939

The first generation of sculptors born and trained in New Zealand grew to financial worries. Born at Greymouth, the daughter of a county overseer, she
maturity in the difficult years immediately before the First World War. At that first studied at Wellington where she took lessons at the School of Design. She
time, because of the limited local opportunities and facilities, many young artists was one of a number of women students who studied modelling there but the
left the country to study and live in Europe. It was the age of the expatriates, of only one to achieve a sculptural career. After local success at Wellington
Katherine Mansfield and Frances Hodgkins, who represented some of the finest exhibitions, she left for Europe in 1923 to further her studies at Paris in the circle
talents in literature and painting to emerge from New Zealand. Neither could of Émile-Antoine Bourdelle (1861–1929). Contrary to reasonable expectations,
develop their art in the closed colonial environment. In painting, movements her work was well received there by sculptors of the calibre of Charles Despiau
such as Impressionism were regarded with open scepticism or disbelief by New (1874–1946), who praised her 1933 solo show. But, unlike Frances Hodgkins
Zealanders long after the turn of the century. In politics, too, the country drifted who remained in Europe to ultimately find some success and recognition,
away from the progressive policy of the Liberals towards a conservative Margaret Butler returned to Wellington to face lack of interest and obscurity.
government under William Massey and his Reform Party. She spent her last years in Wellington and Rotorua devoted to a study of the
Although the First World War was a calamity that retarded many artists’ Maori people, the theme of her late work.
careers or ended them prematurely, for sculptors it did provide in its wake a Apathy and neglect cannot disguise the real talent of Margaret Butler or
multitude of war memorial commissions. While many memorial figures were the New Zealand significance of her work. While it is true that she did not
ordered from Italian factories, some were designed and executed locally. The respond to the radical aspects of modern sculpture from Cubism onwards, she
sculpture and memorials depend heavily in style on British and European followed Bourdelle’s example in developing her own form of figurative sculpture
academic examples, as do other commemorative statues of the period. Being based on recent French models. For a sculptor used to a diet of British academic
the most important sculptural commissions of the time, they faithfully reflect work this seems a dramatic development, but far from an illogical one considering
prevailing taste. Locally available British sculpture and sculptors formed this the reputation of Dalou and French realist sculpture in Britain.
taste, which was then reinforced by art school teaching. At Wellington she learnt modelling from Joseph Ellis (c.1880–1941), an Irish
For a young New Zealand sculptor the best escape from this environment sculptor who had taught at the School of Design since 1908. Although not an
was travel and study in Europe. Especially interesting in this context is the career outstanding talent, Ellis was a sound teacher whose students obtained a good
of Margaret Butler (1883–1947), the first New Zealand-born sculptor of technical grounding. He had studied at the Belfast School of Art where he later
significance. Not only did she study in Europe for an extended period, but she taught before emigrating to New Zealand. Ellis was a capable portraitist who
also developed her work on French rather than British principles. She was depicted sitters such as William Massey.
fortunate to be left enough money to pursue her career as a sculptor without From Ellis, who at first strongly influenced her work, Margaret Butler acquired

40
a lasting interest in portraiture. For example, in her bust Sir William Hall-Jones,
she recorded the features literally like her teacher, but modelled details such as
the nose, lips and brow with greater sensitivity. By the time she completed her
Hall-Jones bust in 1921, having nothing more to learn in Wellington, she exhibited
for the last time at the Art Society before leaving for Europe the following year.
At thirty-eight she was no longer young but it seems that family circumstances
and her physical disability may have delayed her decision to study overseas. Her
unmarried sister Mary accompanied her.
According to Butler’s own account, ill health prevented her from undertaking
any sculpture in Europe until 1926. She was frail by nature and crippled with a
clubfoot. But judging from the letters of Frances Hodgkins who met the sisters
in France they enjoyed the social life. She wrote to her mother in 1924: ‘The
Butlers are in the thick of all the Nice festivities — trust the high-spirited Mary
for that — They are mighty good sorts and don’t take life too seriously — Peggy’s
art needs training — but my experience of New Zealanders is that they don’t
care about hard work — they are all out for a good time — who can blame
them?’ This opinion may well have been coloured by Frances Hodgkins’s own
straitened circumstances compared to the relatively comfortable financial position
of the Butlers. But in a letter in May 1924 she refers to Margaret Butler’s ill
health as follows: ‘Peggy had been very ill — a sort of nervous breakdown —
she looked a wreck the day I saw her — white and thin — the doctor had been
treating her wrongly.’
After this difficult start to her European studies, she entered the circle of
Bourdelle in Paris. She described herself as his student in the 1928 catalogue for
the Société des Artistes Français where she exhibited her bust of William Hall-
Jones. Under Bourdelle’s personal guidance her style of modelling became more
fluid and expressive. There is a feeling for overall mass and a new sense of unity. FIGURE 24 Margaret Butler, The Dreamer, c.1932, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa
An example is the fine bronze The Dreamer, c.1932 (Figure 24), a study of a Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand. (B28230) Plaster, 464 x 348 x 186 mm

young girl in reverie. The composition is subtle and rhythmic. The girl is seated
with one leg distended lethargically, the other drawn up under the drooping Appropriately Butler used as a model a blind girl called Esta who posed for her
head and arms to form a flowing compact form. Details are secondary to the on several occasions.
total formal arrangement. This is especially noticeable in the back view where With works such as this, Margaret Butler reached a level of sculptural
torso, hair and arms are distinguishable yet bound organically together in a understanding unequalled by any of her New Zealand contemporaries. Her
curving, down-flowing design. The surfaces are varied to break up the fall of portraiture, too, developed in this impressionistic style. An example is her bust
light so that the movement of forms is complemented by the flow of light and Rosalie, 1930, a study of an aged model who had often posed in Parisian studios.
dark. This impressionist dimension recalls Rodin, as does the theme of her work, She conveys the character of her model’s careworn face, not by a painstaking
which has some affinities with the French master’s famous work The Thinker. In rendering of details but by a bold use of the medium to suggest the major
both sculptures there is an emphasis on the inner world of thought and the forms. Light and the shadows it casts play an important role in suggesting sunken
subconscious, though in Butler’s work there is also a subtle erotic overtone. cheeks and wrinkles under the eyes.

SCULPTURE BETWEEN THE WARS: 1918–1939 — 41

42
 After some seven years of sculptural practice in Paris, where she exhibited work featuring a Maori model, her Maori Madonna, in which she tried to
at the Salon des Tuileries annually, Margaret Butler returned to Wellington in introduce a local dimension to devotional imagery for the Catholic Church.
1934. Her reasons for doing so are unknown. The highlight of her Paris career This, too, was conceived as a bust with a haunting melancholic presence.
was a solo show at the Galerie Hébrand in June 1933, only a year before her She was almost forgotten when she died in 1947, coincidentally the same
departure. The exhibition consisted of some twenty works and was reviewed in year as Frances Hodgkins. The writer Eileen Duggan, in her Evening Post tribute
the newspaper Le Temps. The reviewer described her as having a ‘real talent for at the time, saw in Margaret Butler ‘the frustration of an artist whose body
sculpture’ and noted the breadth and freedom of her modelling. could not cope with the imperiousness of her gift’. Yet she overcame her natural
Shortly after returning to New Zealand, she held a Wellington exhibition disabilities to be acclaimed as a sculptor in France — an important measure of
that was opened by the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe. In his address he her achievement. Unfortunately she appears to have had no influence on
noted that while art in New Zealand had not reached the high English level, in Wellington sculpture and there is no reference to her having had pupils or taken
Margaret Butler the country had produced ‘a really great sculptor’. He went on classes. In her will she left her unsold sculptures to the National Art Gallery,
to express the hope that sculpture, an art given little attention in New Zealand, Wellington. They are now in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
would receive, ‘a much-needed impetus from Miss Margaret Butler’s successful Younger than Margaret Butler, but drawn like her to study and live overseas,
work and example’. His hopes, however, were not well founded. Her retiring was the sculptor Francis (Guy) Lynch (1895–1967). Although details of his career
personality attracted little public attention. Soon, too, the onset of the Second are far from complete, some facts can be established. Born in Melbourne, he
World War deflected interest away from the arts. came to Auckland with his family before the First World War. According to William
Representative of her late works are two studies of a Maori dancer, Miriama Moore in his The Story of Australian Art, Lynch served with the New Zealand
Heketa, modelled in 1938. One entitled La Nouvelle Zélande (Figure 25) is a Expeditionary Force and was at Gallipoli. After the war he studied in London
bust; the other Girl with Pois is a full-length study of her model in traditional and received guidance from Benjamin Clemens who taught at the Royal College
costume. Reaching beyond the works of artists who saw Maori purely as exotic of Art. Lynch later returned to Auckland where he obtained an important
subjects, Butler aimed at a sculptural treatment. She wanted to achieve more commission for the Devonport War Memorial, unveiled in April 1924 (Plate 8).
than a documentary recording of features and costume. Judging by this work, a life-size bronze of a soldier in battledress, Lynch had
Her bust La Nouvelle Zélande, for example, is not simply a portrait of an acquired competence in a naturalistic style of modelling. He modelled his figure
attractive Maori girl. Although the features are strongly characterised, the formal from the life, attempting to capture a typical rather than heroic image of a
design is equally important. Frontal and symmetrical, the bust is built from a soldier. This was in contrast to the stiff, expressionless marble soldiers imported
basis of the softly curving volumes of the breasts that are echoed in the masses from Italy for many Australasian memorials. Lynch’s soldier is a man of action
of hair framing the face. From the side and back views, the flowing mane of hair with bootlaces undone and a uniform that looks lived in rather than sartorially
is a dynamic sculptural form that undulates with a majestic rhythm. Her perfect. He turns to look back in sorrow at his fallen comrades as he prepares to
conception draws on the European convention of characterising a country by a evacuate his position. Lynch made a second cast of this figure for the Masterton
symbolic female figure. Rather than using a classical figure, she has chosen a War Memorial, which suggests that it met with approval from the New Zealand
Maori woman to give a distinctive and authentic aspect to the idea. Further, her public.
figure projects a strong image of women in a way that is comparable with the Unable to find sufficient work as a sculptor in Auckland, Lynch shifted back
goddess paintings of Rita Angus. She felt sufficiently pleased with this work to to Australia. Late in 1924, he exhibited a plaster cast called The Satyr at Sydney
send it to Paris where it was shown in the 1938 Salon des Tuileries. It was also in a show by ‘The Younger Group of Australian Artists’. Now cast in bronze this
exhibited at the New Zealand Centennial Exhibition in 1940, held at Wellington, work is located in the Sydney Botanic Gardens. Depicting a seated satyr, the
where its nationalistic dimension was especially relevant. Butler made one further sculpture was controversial at the time because of its ‘pagan’ values. Lynch
studied with the noted sculptor Rayner Hoff during the mid-1920s at East Sydney
Technical College. Although his work received critical attention in Sydney, Lynch
FIGURE 25 Margaret Butler, La Nouvelle Zélande, 1938, Museum of New Zealand
Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand. (B32702) Bronze, 540 x 460 x 340 mm shifted to London in the 1930s where according to Moore he was ‘making

SCULPTURE BETWEEN THE WARS: 1918–1939 — 43

 Stylistically Trethewey based his early sculpture on the only models available
to him, those from the British academic tradition. His mature works, however,
are closer in spirit to the pseudo-grandeur of the social realist monuments erected
in Europe during the 1930s. Social realism is now associated with the Fascist
governments in Italy and Germany even though it was international in scope
and was practised by the American artists like Paul Manship (1885–1966).
Significantly, in this context, Trethewey’s major works were patriotic memorials
for those who fell in the First World War and symbolic groups erected to celebrate
the New Zealand Centennial in 1940.
After leaving school in 1906, Trethewey studied at the Canterbury College
School of Art where his instructor was Frederick George Gurnsey (1868–1953),
a fine decorative carver who had trained at the Central School of Arts and Crafts
in London and also in Edinburgh. Gurnsey not only taught but also practised as
a carver in Christchurch where he executed many major commissions, including
decorative lions on the Bridge of Remembrance and the Gothic reredos for the
chapel of St Michael and St George (1947–49) in the Christchurch Anglican
Cathedral. From Gurnsey, Trethewey acquired a thorough knowledge of carving
techniques but not of modelling. To rectify this he went to Wellington in 1914
to study under Joseph Ellis who, at that time, was the only qualified modelling
instructor in the country. Both Gurnsey and Ellis were competent technical
teachers but had little to offer Trethewey in terms of a stylistic approach for his
own work.
Trethewey first exhibited at the Canterbury Society of Arts in 1918. He
achieved success the following year when one of his works, The Bomb Thrower,
Gallipoli, was bought by the Society, though the work now appears to be lost.
Perhaps due to his experience with that work, he was awarded the commission
for the Kaiapoi War Memorial, a full-length marble statue of a soldier, completed
in 1922. His subject — described in the Kaiapoi Record as a ‘soldier . . . resting
PLATE 8 Francis (Guy) Lynch, Devonport War Memorial, 1919–24, Auckland. Bronze,
life size after a desperate charge’ — was received enthusiastically by the public. The
mayor of Kaiapoi wrote in a letter to the artist: ‘It was our attention to have a
good progress’. Lynch’s later work remains to be studied, but it seems he made memorial . . . distinctly New Zealand in character, and in a form which would
no lasting impression in London. impress upon the onlooker the greatness of the work done and the sacrifices by
Very different is the career of William Thomas Trethewey (1892–1956), who our brave men. Your conception of the New Zealand Digger is forceful and
was born in Christchurch. Of the same generation as the expatriates Butler and characteristic, and both in features and in pose, the figure is full of individuality.
Lynch, but unlike them, he was to spend his entire life in New Zealand. Although The modelling has won the praise of judges and is marked by faithfulness to
less gifted than Margaret Butler, he made a greater local reputation. He became detail and technical excellence of workmanship.’
the first locally born and trained sculptor to establish a successful local practice. Judged by these criteria, Trethewey’s monument is certainly successful.
This said, it must be admitted at once that Trethewey’s work sometimes has an Battered, with arm bandaged, the Digger leans in exhaustion against a pile of
awkwardness of conception that betrays the provincial origins of his art. wreckage, a symbol of courage in adversity. The conception is brutally realistic

44
PLATE 9 William T. Trethewey, Dr. Margaret Cruickshank, 1922–23, marble, Seddon FIGURE 26 William T. Trethewey, Captain Cook, 1931–32, Victoria Square, Christchurch.
Square, Waimate. Height 2700 mm Marble, height 2745 mm

and the style of carving in sympathy with it, even if the pose of the Digger is won community praise for her role as a selfless caregiver who had died ministering
somewhat stiff. His conception can be compared with Lynch’s Devonport soldier to her patients in the influenza epidemic of 1918. Trethewey stressed her
whose unkempt appearance gave an impression of realism based on first-hand Christianity by the Bible she holds in her prominent hands. She is depicted clad
experience in the trenches. in an academic gown to indicate her exceptional status as a qualified doctor at
Trethewey’s later statue of Dr Margaret Cruickshank, erected in 1923 at a time when few women took up the profession. Sometimes called the ‘Florence
Waimate where she had practised medicine, has an effect of simplicity and Nightingale of the South’, Cruickshank embodied moral values that lent public
strength (Plate 9). The Cruickshank is noteworthy because it is one of the rare support to her commemoration by a statue.
monuments to a woman (other than Queen Victoria) commissioned in New Like the Kaiapoi memorial, it was carved from one block of Carrara marble.
Zealand. As the first woman doctor to practise in New Zealand, Cruickshank The shape of the original block is still noticeable in the upright stance of the

SCULPTURE BETWEEN THE WARS: 1918–1939 — 45

 lady doctor, whose pose suggests an unyielding devotion to duty. Trethewey’s
drawing is uncertain — especially in the arms, where the proportions are incorrect
— but these faults went unnoticed in Waimate by friends and relatives of the
doctor, who complimented the artist on the accuracy of his likeness and the
‘splendid workmanship’. Despite its faults, the Cruickshank was an impressive
achievement for a young local sculptor without the advantages of overseas study.
These early carvings led to what is arguably Trethewey’s most competent
work of public statuary, the Captain Cook in Christchurch, completed in 1932
(Figure 26). Here, aided in his composition by an eighteenth-century engraving,
Trethewey depicted the famous navigator in naval attire leaning on a capstan, a
telescope in his right hand and gazing thoughtfully into the distance. The statue
is almost identical in pose and detail to the famous bronze of 1914 by Sir Thomas
Brock that stands near Admiralty Arch in London. Making allowances for the
different materials, the closeness of style is striking. But Brock manages to give
a feeling of tense vitality to his figure that Trethewey’s lacks. Whereas Trethewey’s
Cook leans against the capstan in a graceful pose, Brock’s stands in front of it
like a man ready for action. Yet, considering Trethewey’s provincial training, his
Cook statue is a close approximation to the British academic style he imitated,
and technically a fine performance.
In 1936 Trethewey completed a full-length figure of the Maori statesman
Sir Maui Pomare (1876–1930) for Manukorihi Marae, New Plymouth. This was
an unusual commission by Maori for a European type of monument which stands
somewhat incongruously next to the carved meeting house Te-Ikaroa-a-Maui,
carved in traditional style for Pomare’s commemoration and opened at the same
time as the statue was unveiled. Trethewey presents Pomare as a man at ease in
a bicultural world, striding forward dressed in a suit overlaid by a Maori cloak.
He holds a scroll in his hand and appears ready to speak in his role as Member
of Parliament on behalf of his people. Not surprisingly there were regrets
expressed in the souvenir booklet that a monument so far removed from Maori
culture should have been commissioned in the first place. Trethewey’s statue
reveals the gulf between Maori and Pakeha cultures, rather than suggesting an
accommodation between them. In the marae setting it has a Surrealist dimension
which time has enhanced rather than diminished.
Some time after completing the Cook statue, Trethewey undertook a more
ambitious commission for a group of monumental figures to form the
Christchurch Citizens’ War Memorial (Figure 27). Plans for a memorial had been

FIGURE 27 William T. Trethewey, Christchurch Citizens’ War Memorial, 1937–38,

Cathedral Square, Christchurch. Bronze, total height with cross 16 metres

46
instigated as early as 1919, but due to indecision and lack of finance and other
problems no positive action was taken until 1933. The memorial was to be erected
on land owned by the Christchurch Cathedral Chapter, who advised: ‘If statuary
is included, the Chapter would wish that it should be of an inspiring character,
and that the main ideas should be those of youth, energy, high endeavour and
purpose, aspiration, sacrifice, victory (in the sense not of conquest of enemies
but rather of achievement and attainment); and also of resurrection or
immortality, and of peace’. It was a daunting programme for any artist.
Trethewey’s winning design involved allegorical figures including Sacrifice,
a centrally placed mourning figure with arms outspread, Justice, a blindfolded
figure holding scales, Valour, personified by St George in armour, and above
them all a soaring female winged figure of Victory breaking the sword of battle
‘in order that all feeling of triumph over the vanquished may be dispersed’. The
group of bronze figures, standing before a monumental cross over fifteen metres
high, was unveiled on 9 June 1937, ominously close to the fresh outbreak of
hostilities. Trethewey’s figures are impressively large: his Victory, for example, is
five metres high (Plate 10). The allegorical figures are somewhat uniform, having
a family likeness that is reinforced by their even modelling and texturing. Overall
the effect is solemn and impressive. Each figure is a unit retaining its identity to
some extent at the expense of the whole. However, the large, central figure of
Victory, with her outstretched arms breaking the sword of battle, has a striking
pose and gives the group a focus. The allegorical female figure was appropriate
to a memorial such as this because it could embody the idea of military triumph
while distancing it from the harsh realities of the recent war. It also acknowledged
the role of women in the war as active participants.
But there is a gulf between the intended symbolism of some figures and
their hollow embodiments. Valour, for example, remains a posed figure clad in
fancy dress. Here Trethewey used the conventional figure of St George clad in
armour so popular in British war memorials. In a New Zealand memorial St
PLATE 10 William T. Trethewey, Christchurch Citizens’ War Memorial, 1937–38, Cathedral
George seems less appropriate even though the allegorical meaning is very Square, Christchurch. Detail of Victory

accessible. Trethewey lacked the imaginative or emotional insight needed to

breathe fresh life and conviction into the figure. The overall effect of the memorial legendary discovery of New Zealand by Kupe, navigator of the first Maori canoe.
is like some giant tableau cast in bronze. This is partly caused by the way the Entitled The Coming of the Maori (Figure 28), it was an attempt to endow the
figures face the front, as if posing for an audience on a stage, even though the event with epic overtones. Kupe stands resolutely in the prow of his canoe. He
memorial is free-standing and can be walked around. and his wife are heroic figures with physically powerful bodies that relate back
Trethewey’s last major works, undertaken for the New Zealand Centennial to the idealised nudes of Classical Greece. Beside Kupe is Hine, his Amazon-like
Exhibition in 1940, were in a similar vein. He modelled groups of allegorical wife, bared to the waist, who gesticulates with outstretched arm to the horizon
figures illustrating important episodes in the country’s history. The most elaborate where she sights land. Next to them an old tohunga reflects on the momentous
and only surviving example of these is a monumental group depicting the import of their landfall. At the Wellington exhibition in 1940 the group was

SCULPTURE BETWEEN THE WARS: 1918–1939 — 47

 For many years the group remained in the plaster and in a temporary location
at the Wellington Railway Station. In 1999 a trust was established to have the
work cast in bronze and it was erected on the Wellington foreshore near the
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in January 2000. Today the group
can be seen to capture appropriate bicultural ideas acknowledging the founding
and settlement of the country by Maori and celebrating their prowess and
achievement. Trethewey expressed the hope, recorded in a newspaper clipping,
that ‘it could be cast in bronze as a permanent memorial to the Maori people,
who played so great a part for good and ill in the settlement of this country, and
who were dispossessed by the Pakehas’. It is gratifying that his wish has been
fulfilled.
Trethewey’s other groups of statuary for the occasion included Pioneer Men
and Pioneer Women (Figure 29) as well as a monumental frieze, thirty metres
long, across the tower block of the exhibition buildings, featuring a procession
of figures, symbolic of ‘achievement, prosperity and national life’. At the centre
of the frieze was a figure of Progress set in front of a sunburst pattern. Figures
from New Zealand’s history were to the left side of the frieze, including pioneers,
traders and Maori, while to the right were figures depicting the industrial and
cultural achievements of a more recent era. In the themes, as in Trethewey’s
rendering of them, we discover reflections of patriotic fervour fostered by the
centennial. He contrasted the groups of Pioneer Men and Women by using gender
stereotypes. The male group of father and son stressed physical labour, with the
boy holding an axe to symbolise the exertion of clearing the bush for settlement,
and the father stripped to the waist ready for hard work. The female group was
conceived rather like a secular madonna with the mother seated on a throne-
like chair holding a baby on her knee, while her daughter stands at her side.
This emphasis on maternity and the role of women in nurturing a new generation
of citizens was typical of the time and can be found in German, Italian and
Soviet memorials. In celebrating the pioneers New Zealand was showing an
awareness of its history and the progress made since colonial times. Appropriately

FIGURE 28 William T. Trethewey, The Coming of the Maori, 1939–40, New Zealand Trethewey gave the figures a heroic dimension by making them stoic and
Centennial Exhibition, Wellington. Plaster, height 6710 mm. Installation photograph
monumental. They are conceived as people who made sacrifices for the good
of those who followed them and who set an example of high moral values.
mounted on a special pedestal shaped like a canoe prow. There the group stood Because of the large amount of work involved, Trethewey used assistants, among
above the reflecting waters of an ornamental pool where Trethewey’s dramatic them Alison Duff and Chrystabel Aitken.
group found an apt stage setting for its histrionic grandeur. Its frontality and After the Second World War Trethewey’s practice declined. A number of
conception closely resemble his Christchurch Citizens’ War Memorial. Indeed smaller commissions followed, such as the Nelson Centennial Memorial
the figure of Kupe holding his spear closely resembles Valour from that memorial, completed in 1946, but they added nothing new. At various times throughout
though it is arguably more expressive. his career, Trethewey attempted small-scale sculptures including torsos, portraits

48
and fanciful subjects with titles such as Cleopatra’s Slave and The Buccaneer. He
was not very successful at achieving a reputation in fine arts circles, perhaps
because his audience was not the cultivated literati but the general public to
whom his monuments possessed that most important of qualities, intelligibility.
He died in 1956 at a period when his art must have seemed an embarrassing
anachronism to younger sculptors. The hope once fondly expressed that he
would become another Mackennal was not to be realised. Unlike the noted
Australian academic sculptor Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal (1863–1931),
Trethewey never acquired a professional training in Britain, much less
membership of the Royal Academy. His art remained very much a provincial
one with strictly local relevance.
Despite Trethewey’s professional success, his career was somewhat
overshadowed by the achievements of Richard Oliver Gross (1882–1964), an
English-born sculptor who came to New Zealand in 1914, and for the next forty
years executed public sculptural commissions. Like Trethewey, Gross was primarily
a sculptor of public monuments rather than small-scale pieces. Both men adopted

PLATE 11 Richard Gross, Cambridge War Memorial, 1923, Cambridge. Marble, height of
figure, 2700 mm

a conservative approach to style and technique, and both were professionals

who tried to make a living from their work. But Gross, who had benefited from
study at the Camberwell School of Art under Albert Toft (1862–1949), had a
superior training. His sculpture is free from the awkwardness of conception that
sometimes mars Trethewey’s early carving. It is more confident in conception
and at best has greater claims to artistic merit.
Between them Gross and Trethewey accounted for the majority of public
statuary commissioned between the wars. Living in Auckland, Gross

FIGURE 29 William T. Trethewey’s Model of Pioneer Women for the National Centennial
predominated in the North Island while Trethewey, based in Christchurch,
Exhibition, Wellington, 1939 dominated in the South.

SCULPTURE BETWEEN THE WARS: 1918–1939 — 49

 As a group, the works have some consistent features. In each the central
figure is nude or semi-nude, and with one exception it is a male nude. For Gross
the male nude remained the highest form of sculptural expression and this
justified its use in his major sculptures of the following decade, such as the
Holland Memorial, Bolton Street Cemetery, Wellington, 1937 (Figures 32 and
33) and the Domain Gates Athlete, Auckland, 1936 (Plate 12). In each work,
too, the central nude embodies an abstract ideal, for example, Sacrifice in the
Cambridge Memorial and Endeavour in the Auckland Grammar School Memorial.
His nudes show a basis in life study as a preliminary step to an idealised
rendering of the figure. In each case, Gross worked from the life while modelling
the maquette. His model for the Grammar School statue was his son, Leo, who
remembers posing. This approach corresponds with that advocated by Gross’s
teacher, Albert Toft, who wrote in his book Modelling and Sculpture: ‘. . . there is
only one course open if we desire to attain the Ideal, and that is to study, with
infinite care, closely and conscientiously the Real, and Natural.’ Starting with
the life study, Gross designed nude figures embodying his ideas. For example,
in the Auckland Grammar School Memorial the youth standing on a globe is on
the tips of his toes, has one hand extended upwards, the other tensed and his
head cast back looking towards the sky. The whole figure reaches heavenwards
to evoke the idea of Endeavour in sculptural form. As in this example and the
Auckland Domain Gates Athlete, Gross sometimes favoured a mobile airborne
figure reaching upwards to escape the bonds of gravity. Such figures matched
the abstract ideas found in his works where mobility and freedom were important.
Like Toft, Gross firmly believed in academic sculpture. Toft, revering the
classical art of ancient Greece with its focus on the male nude, used several
Greek examples as standards of excellence in his book on sculpture. In sharing

PLATE 12 Richard Gross, Athlete, 1936, Domain Gates, Auckland. Bronze, height
this view Gross was not alone at the time, since noted European sculptors such
2745 mm as Carl Milles (1875–1955) based their sculpture on similar principles. Accordingly,
it is misleading to see Gross’s approach as anachronistic. Instead it should be
Before coming to Auckland, Gross did architectural carving in South Africa. judged on its own terms, not on those of an abstract aesthetic canon.
He came to New Zealand intending to farm but instead set up a studio in Gross was familiar with trends in modern sculpture though little was to be
Newmarket, an inner city suburb. From the outset he was successful in obtaining seen in New Zealand between the wars. He even acknowledged its liberating
public commissions, usually in collaboration with architects such as William role. But he argued in a 1937 address entitled ‘Art and how the Sculptor views
Gummer (1885–1966). These included two life-size figures for the National Bank, It’ that ‘the old methods still had much to teach’. Gross was no innovator, nor a
Auckland, 1922, a marble figure for the Cambridge War Memorial, 1923 (Plate highly inventive sculptor. Most of his figures have reminiscences of other works,
11), a bronze statue for the Auckland Grammar School War Memorial, 1924, especially those by British academic sculptors, such as Hamo Thornycroft (1850–
and the bronze equestrian group and relief plaques for the Wellington Citizens’
War Memorial, 1932 (Figures 30 and 31). Through these commissions Gross FIGURE 30 Richard Gross, Wellington Citizens’ War Memorial, 1932, Wellington. Bronze
established an extensive sculptural practice for New Zealand. and marble, total height 20 metres

50
SCULPTURE BETWEEN THE WARS: 1918–1939 — 51
 (Figure 30). As the most important work of its kind in New Zealand and as a
representative example of Gross’s sculpture at its best, it merits closer
consideration.
Public subscription had made funds available by 1926, when a competition
for the memorial was held and won by Gross in conjunction with the architects
Grierson, Aimer and Draffin of Auckland. The memorial consists basically of a
reliquary chapel surmounted by a pylon with an equestrian group on top. Gross
described the meaning of his equestrian group in the Wellington Memorial Booklet
published in 1932 as follows: it ‘is the figure of victorious youth holding the
victor’s wreath; but who in order to rise above mundane or material things has
mounted the winged horse of inspiration to seek something finer and more
ethereal: Pegasus spurning underfoot the victor’s spoils of war, and rising into
the heavens enables his rider to emerge from the deluge of blood and tears,
and to receive the great spiritual assurance of peace’. Gross entitled this group
The Will to Peace (Figure 31). To evoke aspiration Gross modelled a nude youth
mounted on a steed with one leg raised as if to take flight. Gross tensed the
boy’s body and raised his right arm and head to give a soaring effect. This he
aided by making the statue’s base rise up in sympathy with the movement of
horse and youth.
With this work Gross reached a milestone in his career. He went to England
in 1929 to model the full-size equestrian group and have it cast. Before it was
shipped to Wellington, Gross exhibited the group at the Royal Academy where

FIGURE 31 Richard Gross, The Will to Peace, exhibited at Royal Academy, London, critics commented on it favourably. One of these, Frank Rutter, wrote: ‘To
before installation on Wellington Citizens’ War Memorial symbolize “Peace”, in its essence a negative idea, is a difficult task for painter or
sculptor; but “The Will to Peace” is a positive aspiration, and aspiration is clearly
1925) and George Frederick Watts (1817–1904). An obvious example of expressed in the soaring lines of Mr. Gross’s statue.’ Using Watts’s Physical Energy
derivation occurs in his major work, the equestrian group of the Wellington group as a model, Gross changed the original design by bringing the point of
Citizens’ War Memorial (commonly known as the Cenotaph), that is remarkably balance further forward. He also increased the forward momentum by the
similar to Watts’s Physical Energy statue in Kensington Gardens, London. Nor exuberant gesture of the youth and the upward tilt of the base.
was he always successful in striking a satisfactory balance between the ideal and Less spectacular than the Will to Peace but of importance in the memorial
real in his works. For example, in the Cambridge War Memorial his half-naked complex are the two large relief sculptures flanking the entrance door to the
Digger suggests physical exhaustion and despair rather than sacrifice. chapel. The left panel illustrates the Sacrifice of Work; a young boy takes the
But as a marble and bronze technician Gross had no local equal. In 1924 he plough as his older brother heeds the call to duty; a young woman relegates
became the first Auckland sculptor to build his own bronze foundry for small her infant to a younger sister, so that she can serve as a Red Cross nurse. The
casts. Employing studio assistants to help execute his commissions, he took a right panel shows the Sacrifice of Human Ties; mother and father farewell their
truly professional approach. Because much of his sculpture was for architectural son; a young married woman with her children farewell their father as the
settings, he had to work closely with architects. This applies to his war memorial trumpet, blown by a solider to the left, calls him to duty.
commissions in particular, where architect and sculptor often submitted the Compared to the equestrian group, these reliefs are more narrative in
winning designs, as was the case with the Wellington Citizens’ War Memorial character: the figures are dressed in contemporary costume, and greater attention

52
is paid to descriptive detail. It is as if the Will to Peace is a poetic expression, the
relief sculptures prose. Here Gross displays considerable skill in his designs. For
example, in the Sacrifice of Human Ties the regimented, repetitious shapes of
the soldiers marching in order are contrasted with the varied outlines of the
soldier farewelling his wife and children. Around this family group there is an
expanse of ominously bare background serving both to accentuate the group
and to stress the soldier’s sacrifice to duty.
The reliefs express very well the lines of the poet Rupert Brooke, inscribed
above the chapel door:

These laid the world away; poured out the red

Sweet wine of youth; gave up the years to be
Of work and joy, and that unhoped serene,
That men call age; and those who would have been
Their sons, they gave, their immortality.

The Wellington Citizens’ War Memorial was dedicated in April 1932, but
for Gross, who was entrusted with work on the reliquary casket, his association
with the monument was not over. In fact, due to additions made after the
Second World War, Gross was involved with further sculpture there until 1959.
In the Wellington Citizens’ War Memorial Gross managed to strike a balance
between his ideal and its realisation. But this balance was not always struck as
his memorial to Labour Party leader Henry Holland (1868–1933) illustrates (Figure
32). Taking his usual approach, Gross attempted to commemorate the politician
by a symbolical conception. On a rectangular pedestal he placed a nude figure
of a young man, face upturned to the sky, holding flowers in one hand, fruits in
the other. He was to represent the spiritual aspirations of man and his rightful
enjoyment of the fruits of the earth. On either side are two crouching figures in
attitudes expressing the material hardships and superstitious fears of mankind.
Members of the Labour Party at that time, perhaps in a mood of euphoria at
their rise to power, approved this unlikely conception. It was unveiled in October
1937.
Unfortunately Gross’s finished marble is not totally convincing. The nude
youth appears self-conscious, as if unsure of the symbolism he is meant to convey.
Also there is an unhappy mixture of realistic detail and ideal symbolism. It is
easy to understand the critical reaction to the statue at the time. There was also
a public controversy over Gross’s bronze athlete set on a pylon at the entrance

FIGURE 32 Richard Gross, The Henry Holland Memorial, 1937, Bolton Street Cemetery,
Wellington. Marble, height of central figure 1830 mm

SCULPTURE BETWEEN THE WARS: 1918–1939 — 53

 this is a heroic image paying tribute to the values of the past rather than the
present. Gross’s rangatira stands in a traditional mat with a huia feather in his
hair. The figure is designed to embody Sir John Logan Campbell’s desire to
create, in his words, ‘a permanent record of his admiration of the achievements
and character of the great Maori people.’
Recognition came to Gross in the form of the award of the CMG and
membership of the Royal Society of British Sculptors. For many years he was
President of the Auckland Society of Arts and a Member of the Mackelvie Trust.
In the latter capacity he was responsible for advising on the acquisition of modern
English bronzes by Jacob Epstein and Henry Moore for the Auckland City Art
Gallery in 1947.
At the time of his death in December 1964, Gross was a respected
conservative who had lost touch with contemporary developments in sculpture.
He had no followers, perhaps because the values he represented ceased to be
viable in the changing sculptural climate of post-war Auckland. Although Gross
is largely forgotten today, it must be realised that to him more than any one
else belongs the credit for building a professional image for New Zealand
sculpture. He was a sound craftsman, a ceaseless worker and an active spokesman
for sculpture over a period of fifty years. As a sculptor of war memorials he was
able to respond to popular sentiments and translate them into enduring
monuments of stone and bronze. The basis of his art lay in his English background
and training, although he was also able to absorb ideas from contemporary
European sculpture when they were compatible with his taste. In fact, with the
exception of Margaret Butler who modified her style under the influence of
Bourdelle in Paris, the years between the wars witness, in the main, a further
FIGURE 33 Richard Gross, The Henry Holland Memorial, 1937, detail extension of British influence on local sculpture.
Although these years were unsettled and difficult ones, they were not devoid
to the Auckland Domain (Plate 12), which was approved by the City Council in of opportunity for sculptors. In addition to subscribing to war memorials, the
1934. This figure was controversial because of its supposedly corrupting nudity, general public also donated funds to commemorate prominent individuals, such
not because of its artistic merits or lack of them. Gross’s figure captures the as the Margaret Cruickshank statue in Waimate. Private bequests allowed other
spirit of the nude figures of athletes, based on classical prototypes, found in commissions such as Christchurch’s Captain Cook statue. The New Zealand
Italian and German stadiums in the 1930s. It is a celebration of physicality and Labour Party commissioned the Holland memorial, and later the Labour
vigour, the body beautiful so beloved by Fascist theorists of the time who wanted Government ordered several works including the bust of Sir Apirana Ngata,
to recapture the ideal forms of classical Greece in life and art. For Gross it was 1945, in Parliament House, Wellington. Alexander Fraser (1877–1953) who
the most complete sculptural realisation of his interest in the ideal male nude. taught at Wellington School of Design modelled this bust. Centennial Exhibition
Although Gross continued to carry out public commissions during and after statuary must also be included in the category of government sponsorship.
the Second World War, his main contribution belongs to the years between the Public institutions, such as the National Gallery in Wellington and the Canterbury
wars. The Maori Warrior, One Tree Hill, Auckland, completed in 1940 but unveiled Society of Arts in Christchurch, also bought several sculptures by local artists
in 1948, was among his last major works. Like Trethewey’s Coming of the Maori, including Trethewey and Margaret Butler.

54
V
The La T robe Scheme:
Sculpture and the Art Schools: 192 0 –1960

Shortly after the First World War, new staff was appointed to teach modelling the new superintendent made sure that each of the main art schools had a
and sculpture at the art schools in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin. These qualified modelling instructor. The new staff held diplomas from the Royal College
appointments were instigated by the new superintendent of technical education, of Art and all remained in New Zealand to make contributions as teachers and
William Sanderson La Trobe (1870–1943), as part of a programme designed to sculptors. No women appear to have been appointed under this scheme.
bring qualified staff to all departments of the art schools. La Trobe’s association The new staff comprised Francis A. Shurrock (1887–1977) at Christchurch,
with art education began in 1904 when he was appointed director of the appointed in 1924, Robert N. Field (1899–1987) at Dunedin, appointed in 1925,
Wellington Technical School, a position he was to hold for fourteen years. During and William H. Wright (1886–1943) at Auckland, who was appointed in 1926.
this period, in which he pioneered New Zealand’s first technical day school, La Before attending the Royal College of Art, all three had trained in provincial
Trobe was in charge not only of art training but also of vocational courses in English art schools. Shurrock studied at Chester School of Art, Field at Bromley
subjects such as engineering and homecraft. Consequently he saw art training and Southend-on-Sea and Wright at Nottingham. Of the three the youngest
as a branch of technical education requiring, in the same way as engineering or and most adventurous was Field who, unlike the others, had studied at the
carpentry, the development of specialised skills. Royal College after the war. At that time, with William Rothenstein as principal,
To ensure a high standard of art instruction La Trobe, as superintendent, a new spirit of adventure entered the institution. Rothenstein appointed staff
advised the Department of Education, which now controlled the art schools, to such as Leon Underwood and Eric Kennington who challenged academic
advertise vacancies for art school staff in Britain, insisting on qualifications from methods of teaching. Henry Moore later said that Rothenstein brought an entirely
recognised institutions, preferably the Royal College of Art, London. La Trobe new outlook to the college.
wanted to eliminate amateur teaching methods, widen out vocational training Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth were students at the same time as
to include some academic subjects and make it unnecessary for art teachers to Field. He was able to see and admire their works as well as those by Henri
go overseas for proper training. His policy effectively strengthened the English Gaudier-Brzeska and Ossip Zadkine among others. He and his fellow students
art school influence when an alternative might have been timely. For sculpture, questioned the traditional approach to sculpture, looking for alternatives in the
though, any professional instruction was better than none. La Trobe’s policy art of Egypt, Mexico, Africa and Polynesia. By contrast, Wright and Shurrock
resulted in markedly better opportunities for students to learn sculptural adhered to the academic principles of their revered instructor at the Royal
techniques. College, Edouard Lanteri (1848–1917) then at the end of his long, influential
When La Trobe became superintendent, Joseph Ellis was the only qualified teaching career.
modelling instructor in the country. Significantly, La Trobe appointed him to From Lanteri, Wright and Shurrock acquired an excellent grounding in the
the Wellington School of Design while he was its director. Within a few years technical side of modelling and casting. Lanteri, in a testimonial written in 1917,

THE LA TROBE SCHEME: SCULPTURE AND THE ART SCHOOLS: 1920–1960 — 55

described Wright as ‘one of the best students’ he had ever taught. Wright and Shurrock, like Wright, was conventional in his teaching methods, which were
Shurrock passed on such skills to students unsympathetic to academic principles based on Lanteri’s handbook. While interested and sympathetic to students, he
but willing to put the technical knowledge to use in making their own work. By was reluctant to accept ‘modernist’ sculptural developments. In Wellington
contrast, the less orthodox Field was interested in teaching direct stone carving Joseph Ellis represented similar standards at the School of Design. His students
to his Dunedin students. This procedure eliminated the preliminary studies and began by copying models of birds, animals and fish, before advancing to life
safeguards of an academic approach. modelling.
Unfortunately the teaching conditions that confronted the sculptors on their Field’s approach at Dunedin was rather different. He adopted a less formal
arrival in New Zealand were uniformly dismal. Field found that the Dunedin method of teaching, encouraging students to experiment with both painting
School of Art, reduced to the status of a department in the Technical College, and sculptural styles and techniques. With the help of his friend and fellow
had only five or six students. The main quarters of the Art School were teacher at the Art School, W. H. Allen, also a graduate of the Royal College, he
inconveniently situated in a room at the top of three flights of stairs: a little attempted to build up the student numbers and inject enthusiasm into his classes.
additional space was provided in the basement. Apart from the remains of a Soon after his arrival, having gathered a few keen students around him, Field
plaster cast collection featuring the Venus de Milo and a battered Discobolos, formed the Six-and-Four Club. This club has been described as ‘a first expression
there was no indication that sculpture had ever been taught. of modern art in Otago’. The club derived its name from the original composition
At Christchurch, Shurrock, thinking he was to teach adults, found instead of the group, six girls and four boys. It was a talented gathering, including
he had to teach ten long periods per week, half to children in the twelve-to- several who were to make a contribution to art in New Zealand. The following
thirteen age groups. The Canterbury College School of Art was more like a recollection by Mrs Field written for the author in 1972 gives an idea of the
secondary school than an English art school. Classes were held in one room in spirit behind the club: ‘Each week these students had a project to produce a
an old Gothic Revival building. Conditions for Wright at Auckland cannot have piece of work — given theme — and many of them would come to our
been very different. But he was fortunate in that the new Director, A. J. C. Fisher Anderson’s Bay home and work on stone or at painting, all Saturday afternoon,
(1896–1959), a fellow graduate of the Royal College, was appreciative of his then meet in the evening for mutual evaluation of work done.’
qualifications and a firm supporter of his approach. Club members held group exhibitions from time to time in order to present
Despite these discouraging circumstances, all three set to work improving their work to the public. At the Six-and-Four Club and the Art School, Field
the situation. At Auckland, Wright quickly developed the sculpture facilities so encouraged students to carve with local materials, such as Oamaru stone. By
that students could model and cast full-length figures from the life model. Soon setting an example of direct carving he soon captured the imagination of his
his senior students’ work was attracting favourable attention. For example, in students who eagerly experimented in the basement room of the Art School.
1934 an Art in New Zealand reviewer described the Art School’s modelling section Chips from their exertions piled high on the floor, and even a reprimand from a
as ‘outstanding’. As a further endorsement the Auckland City Art Gallery twice clergyman, who disapproved of such activity taking place on Anzac Day, failed
acquired works by Wright’s students for its permanent collection. This was a to quell their enthusiasm. Direct carving came into fashion in Europe at this
dramatic change from the situation in 1921 when one of the Elam Art School period as a reaction against the revisions and refinements of modelling. Its
managers complained about the absence of modelling in the curriculum. directness gave an authenticity to the work and meant that there was no
At Christchurch, Shurrock, restricted by cramped quarters, found it necessary intermediary between the sculpture and its maker. The comparative clumsiness
to teach modelling and carving in the same room used for painting and of the carving was in tune with the growing appreciation of alternative traditions
printmaking. Over the years only a few of his mature students were interested of art such as the African, Egyptian, Assyrian, Oceanic and Mexican. For sculptors
in sculpture specifically. But these included Molly Macalister, Alison Duff, Alan like Henry Moore and Eric Gill the British Museum, with its great collections of
Ingham and W. R. (Jim) Allen, all of whom were later to make careers as sculptors. non-Western sculpture, became a place of study.
At first Shurrock made his modelling students develop reliefs from their designs
of rabbits, dogs, birds and sprays of foliage. More advanced students could
FIGURE 34 William Wright, Louise Tilsey, 1929, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki.
then do sculpture in the round modelled from the life or copied from the antique. Bronze, height 345 mm

56
THE LA TROBE SCHEME: SCULPTURE AND THE ART SCHOOLS: 1920–1960 — 57
 At first Field’s experimental approach to painting and sculpture found little
sympathy with the Dunedin public. A typically conservative selection committee
of the day, having failed to see any merits in ‘modernist’ art, rejected a painting
he had submitted for the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition in 1925. That
exhibition included a number of sculptures from Britain, France and Australia.
Potentially it could have been an important force for generating a new awareness
of modern sculpture overseas. Unfortunately this was not to be. The selection
was conservative and suggested nothing of contemporary developments.
Apart from their involvement with art teaching, Shurrock, Field and Wright
were also active as public speakers and writers about art. Shurrock in the 1930s
was an earnest advocate of art for the people. He hoped to encourage a wider
participation of the public in what he described as the joy of making. By public
talks on sculpture the three artists helped to create a greater awareness of the
art and a more questioning approach.
But more important was the example set by their sculptural practice. Wright
was active as a modeller throughout his teaching career; Shurrock also did a
considerable amount of modelling and carving, as did Field. Although there
was not a strong demand for their sculpture, the artists were able to exhibit as
working members of the art societies to which they belonged. Wright also held
a one-man show of his works at the Auckland City Art Gallery in 1931. Shurrock
and Field also exhibited with the Christchurch Group, an informal society of
artists who tried to generate a new and more experimental kind of artistic
expression.
Of the three, Wright was the most accomplished as an academic modeller.
Prior to his arrival in Auckland he had achieved success when the Glasgow Art
Gallery purchased one of his figure studies, Caprice, 1919. In Auckland, finding
little scope for figurative compositions, he concentrated almost exclusively on
the modelled portrait bust. He drew sitters from his family, from students or
from acquaintances at the Elam School of Art, such as Louise Tilsey who taught
lettering there. In part this was because his sitters were available and free.
Although conservative, Wright’s busts have the virtues of careful design, correct
drawing and fastidiously exact modelling. Viewed as a whole they form a coherent
group that begins with the Louise Tilsey (Figure 34), exhibited in 1929, and
draws to a close with the Monna Malcolm, 1942.
These portraits make no radical departure from Lanteri’s style, suggesting
that his pupil found little reason to question his approach or the premises on

PLATE 13 William H. Wright, Molly Woolcott, 1930, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki.
Bronze, height 750 mm

58
which it was based. Compared with Epstein, Wright appears conservative.
However, he had no inclination to follow what he regarded as ‘the grotesque
phase’ of Epstein’s work embodied in carvings such as Rima, 1925, and Genesis,
1931. He shared the popular abhorrence of such extremism that could find no
place in his art. In this respect his outlook can be compared with that of Shurrock
and Ellis who also were conservative. Today it may seem strange that the upheaval
caused by the Cubist artists could have left a gifted sculptor like Wright unmoved.
But his years at the Royal College from 1912 to 1917 were years of war and
disrupted communications. Furthermore, in sculpture the modernists did not
achieve the same impact as Braque and Picasso did in painting. Despite the
work of Epstein and Gaudier-Brzeska, who practised in London and reflected in
their sculpture the influence of primitive art and new ideas of form, there was
little revision of attitudes to sculpture in Britain until after the war. In fact Wright
admired Auguste Rodin more than any other sculptor and as a portraitist sought
to emulate him rather than his own contemporaries.
The Vorticist movement, to which Gaudier-Brzeska belonged, never gained
a large following among sculptors. To a successful academic student like Wright,
such experimentation would have appeared as a dangerous undermining of his
own training and qualifications. His exceptional success in academic disciplines,
such as life modelling, would have made it doubly difficult for him to accept art
forms in which they had little or no importance. Unlike Field, who responded to
the more experimental aspects of Epstein’s art, Wright accepted only his more
conventional portraits in which he could discern a link with the style of modelling FIGURE 35 Francis Shurrock modelling Rewi Alley, Christchurch, 1937

he had been taught by Lanteri.

Perhaps the earliest, and certainly one of the finest, of Wright’s New Zealand portraits at that time, is a less refined and more direct modeller. Whereas Wright
portraits is the Louise Tilsey, 1929 (Figure 34). Using a very narrow base for this was most successful with portraits of attractive young women, Shurrock’s
portrait, Wright kept his conception simple and his modelling restrained and forceful approach was suited more to male character studies. Shurrock’s first
unobtrusive. The whole force of our attention falls on the head, where his New Zealand portraits, his James Shelley and Archibald Nicoll, both exhibited in
modelling is sensitive and satisfying. Similar in conception is his portrait Eleanor 1925, are powerful characterisations, as is his later Rewi Alley modelled in 1937
Heatherington, modelled the following year. Wright’s design sense is apparent (Figure 35).
in the shaping of the girl’s hair into a pyramidal form echoing, in reverse, the In his portrait of Shelley, then professor of education at Canterbury College,
shape of her shoulders and bust. This illustrates his belief that ‘balance, rhythm Shurrock displays his sobriety in the careful, descriptive modelling of the head,
and pattern’ are to be expected as much in a successful portrait as in an and of such items as the collar and tie. In the Nicoll the drawn brows, scowling
imaginative composition. His half-length portrait of a dancer, Molly Woolcott, lips and protuberant nose give an unflattering but forceful idea of the character
1930, shows his concern for these values (Plate 13). The young woman is shown of the man who was a dominant personality in art circles. Nicoll (1886–1953),
in pensive mood fingering her necklace. Here the arms are arranged decoratively a well-known painter, was director of the Canterbury College School of Art
across the bust to produce an elegant composition. The sculptor’s command of from 1920 to 1928. Unlike Wright, Shurrock never had much sensitivity in his
anatomy is revealed in his fluent and delicate modelling of the hands and face. modelling. His surfaces tend to be heavy and dull even though his work is
Compared to Wright, Shurrock, who also made a number of modelled technically excellent. Nor did he have Wright’s skill as a designer and

THE LA TROBE SCHEME: SCULPTURE AND THE ART SCHOOLS: 1920–1960 — 59

 FIGURE 36 Francis Shurrock, Christopher Perkins, 1932, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin. Bronze, height 445 mm

draughtsman. Instead his portraiture usually depends on its honest direct statement: ‘We have now separated art and work, cut them right asunder and
approach for interest. But, as one critic pointed out, it could be ‘vividly descriptive, made foolishness of both.’
bitingly so on occasion’. Shurrock himself had been accused of being unfit to carry out a commission
Shurrock’s attitude, expressed in a series of independent and thoughtful on the grounds that he was not an artist, only a craftsman. Rejecting this
articles for the left-wing publication, Tomorrow, was that labour and craftsmanship accusation he wrote: ‘It is a terrible thing we have in our midst, this artificial
should be the basis of art. Like Eric Gill, Shurrock saw no distinction between idea of art, this low opinion of labour.’ In adopting this outlook, Shurrock was in
the artist and any other kind of labourer who did a good job. He wrote: ‘all tune with political ideas of the 1930s when the Labour Government established
those who are engaged in work worth doing are artists in that they do their the Welfare State. Also he was attempting to justify a place for the arts in a
work well, and all art is founded on labour.’ Like Gill, too, Shurrock was opposed predominantly working-class society, one just emerging from the Depression.
to the separation of art from work, and agreed wholeheartedly with the Gill’s Although much of Shurrock’s portraiture is prosaic there is one notable

60
exception — his bust of Christopher Perkins, 1932 (Figure 36). Shurrock regarded lunch I put the proposition to him and he quite liked the idea, provided he
this as his finest work. Unlike his other portrait busts, this one retains in its fresh, didn’t have to sit for it . . . I had a maximum time of five hours.’ Thus his Perkins
direct modelling the feeling of a sketch. The strong twist of Perkins’s head bust is like a study modelled with energy and enthusiasm rather than a finished
generates a movement not found in Shurrock’s other portraits. Perkins (1891– portrait. Shurrock believed he had produced a work worthy of his old teacher
1968), who was a painter, a lively thinker and a controversial character in art Lanteri. In his letter he observed: ‘I believe Lanteri would have been very happy
circles because of his critical views, inspired Shurrock to throw aside his cautious to see the result, indeed it could pass as an original Lanteri.’
approach and conceive the work as a whole. The bust was modelled in an Such thoughts were far from Robert Field’s mind when making his early
afternoon during one of Perkins’s brief visits to Christchurch. Shurrock described sculptures. He first exhibited at the Otago Art Society in 1927 with two small
the circumstances in a 1971 letter to the writer: ‘Ever since I first saw Perkins I pieces; one a carving in Oamaru stone entitled Cupid Lost in Thought, the other
wanted to model a head or bust life-size. I had the preparations all ready . . . at a modelled figure called Grief (Figure 37). In both works he departed from the

FIGURE 37 Robert N. Field, Grief, 1927, Private collection. Plaster, height 150 mm

THE LA TROBE SCHEME: SCULPTURE AND THE ART SCHOOLS: 1920–1960 — 61

 academic approach of Wright and Shurrock. In both, too, he thought about
how to express his ideas three-dimensionally without copying nature. He based
neither work on a specific model nor made much preliminary drawing. His novel
approach caught the attention of an Otago Daily Times reviewer who referred
disapprovingly to the sculptures as ‘remarkably modernist’ works.
Of the two pieces the smaller and in some ways more successful is the little
plaster figure Grief. Although it is small enough to be hand-held and closely
inspected, there is almost no detail in its deceptively simple form. Instead our
attention is taken by the artist’s skilful evocation of a strong emotion by means
of his expressive figure. Despite the small dimensions, Field conceived his
sculpture in monumental terms. From the front he created a powerful movement
beginning with the bowed head and the downward thrust of the arms that he
joined together between the thighs to create a triangular shape of considerable
power. From the back he made a less clearly pronounced movement from the
division of the buttocks and depression of the backbone. In its general statement
of heavy unbroken mass Field’s figure can be compared with Henry Moore’s
early stone carvings.
Despite an unfavourable critical response to these works, Field continued
experimenting with direct carving in local stone. His subjects included figure
compositions, portraits and animal studies. In these carvings Field worked to
the shape of the block, often allowing the stone itself to suggest the contours of
his figures. Among the most successful of the early portrait carvings is his Head
of Tilly Frankel, 1930 (Figure 38). Field carved this work directly into Oamaru
stone by first cutting with a pointed chisel, getting as close as possible to the
final forms, and then using a claw chisel to establish the main planes of the
head. This was his usual method. He took care to respect his materials so that
the head appears to emerge naturally from the block of stone not to be imposed
upon it. Field left visible chisel marks to help enliven the surface of the stone
and show the role of his hand in the making. This texture also invites us to
touch the surfaces and gain a tactile appreciation of the forms. Truth to material
had gained almost cult status in Europe at this period, as witnessed in the carvings
of artists like Brancusi and Hepworth. These artists credited the hand with playing
a thinking role in the creation of their works so that there was a close relationship
between process and material.
FIGURE 38 Robert N. Field, Head of Tilly Frankel, c.1930, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o
Tamaki. Oamaru stone, height 235 mm When Field exhibited the work at the 1931 Group Show, in Christchurch, a
reviewer remarked on its ‘architectural values’. Compared with Trethewey’s
marble portraits of the time pointed from plaster models, Field’s work was
revolutionary. To that period also belongs Field’s portrait of Francis Shurrock
(Figure 39), carved in the latter’s Christchurch studio. The two sculptors, so

62
unlike in attitude, were then in close contact and exchanged ideas about
modelling and carving. Field’s portrait is a study of the structural planes of the
head that are emphasised by the sharp contours made where they intersect. As
a character study the carving is also successful, despite this formal emphasis, for
the cast of the head and drawn brows suggest very well Shurrock’s nervous
energy. Contrasted with modelled portraiture of the era by Shurrock or Wright,
Field’s carving is radically simplified in its reductive treatment of the planes of
the head and consequently feels more solid. Its technical limitations give the
portrait a lack of artifice that enhance its authenticity and contribute to its novelty.
Not surprisingly, direct carving was rarely used for traditional portraiture.
The importance of these early Field carvings is that they introduced new
sculptural ideas to Dunedin and Christchurch art circles. In fact, Field closely
reflected contemporary movements in English sculpture up to 1930. In January
1933 he returned to England for two years to refresh his ideas and to study new
techniques. Before his departure he had come to the conclusion that one of the
reasons for the comparative backwardness of New Zealanders in sculptural
appreciation was lack of familiarity with three-dimensional form, even at craft
level. He felt sure that the introduction of pottery in schools and adult education
programmes would make an important difference.
Stimulated by this idea he spent part of his time in England studying pottery
techniques at Camberwell School of Art. During 1934 Field visited the Unit One
exhibition in London where he was able to see some of the most advanced
works by British sculptors and painters. At that exhibition, recent works by Henry
Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and Paul Nash helped him to see the
direction British art was taking. But the completely non-representational work
in that show was not sympathetic to his own taste. He was more attuned to the
Art Deco works of John Skeaping with which his carvings of foals, lambs and
fawns have much in common. Shurrock shared this interest.
Perhaps in response to Unit One Field proceeded to carve one of his finest
works, a small study of a woman entitled Wahine (Plate 14). The stone, a piece
of Cornish serpentine, suggested a seated figure that he developed into a
monumental image of a Polynesian woman arranging her hair. Compared to
the work of Moore and Hepworth at that time, Field’s carving is very compact
and there is no penetration completely through the stone. From the front Wahine
resembles the Maori heitiki in arrangement, but stylistically it is close to the
spirit of Moore in the treatment of the limbs as heavy, simplified masses. Field
appears to have been the first sculptor practising in New Zealand to allow
‘primitivist’ elements to enter his style.
FIGURE 39 Robert N. Field, Francis Shurrock, 1930, Private collection, Dunedin. Oamaru
There is an impression of slow, inevitable movement. There is also a brooding stone, height 368 mm

THE LA TROBE SCHEME: SCULPTURE AND THE ART SCHOOLS: 1920–1960 — 63

64
introspection in the features that adds to the feeling of lethargy emanating works undertaken by any of the La Trobe sculptors it deserves detailed attention.
from the carving. Unlike his contemporary, Christopher Perkins, who came to Wright won the commission in a closed competition with Richard Gross. The
New Zealand seeking a Polynesian paradise, Field made no serious attempt to sculpture was financed by funds from the estate of Alexander Watson, who had
render the special features of the land or the people. This has led one writer to left money specifically for public statuary. Wright submitted a scheme to the
question whether Wahine is indeed a Maori figure. Its heaviness and gravitas, Auckland City Council that he described in a letter as follows: ‘I would suggest
however — which contribute to the figure appearing conceptually rooted in two figures in bronze, symbolising young New Zealand advancing towards
the earth and its locality — tend to endorse rather than contradict the Maori maturity. A becoming of Age.’ The group was to form the central feature of a
reading. Such qualities were sought after in much European figurative sculpture scheme that would eventually include statues of personages concerned with
of the period. the history of New Zealand.
Unfortunately for New Zealand sculpture, after his return to Dunedin in This conservative scheme gave no thought to the distinctive origins of
1935 Field gradually gave up stone carving. He concentrated for a period on Auckland as a Pacific city of combined Polynesian and European peoples, though
pottery teaching, implementing a programme of basic training in form. In the at the time this omission was less controversial than it would be today. The city
process his sculptural practice declined, apart from some terracotta portraits of council decided, with the assistance of a fine arts sub-committee, to accept
members of the family. Various factors, including a young family, difficulties at Wright’s scheme and ask him to make a model. When the model had been
the Art School, as well as conversion to a strict religious observance of Moral completed it was favourably received, as the following Mayor’s report shows: ‘I
Rearmament, combined to weaken the creative drive so remarkable between have seen the model and have been deeply impressed by it . . . three life-size
1925 and 1935. But with his stone carving Field had anticipated the direction bronze figures of a symbolic nature, the one in the centre represents Auckland
that was to be taken after the Second World War by a younger generation of finding its strength. On the right Wisdom is offering a bay leaf to the figure
New Zealand-born sculptors. For them, also, the example of Moore and representing Auckland. On the left a figure representing the Fertility of the Soil
Hepworth was to be of vital importance and a key to a new world of formal is offering a cornucopia. The conception appeals to me.’
ideas. This conception became the final one. Working from life models, Wright
Although teaching made it difficult for the art school sculptors to carry out enlarged the figures to life size in less than eight months (Plate 15). His sculptural
commissions, except on a small scale, they did receive over the years a certain intention was reported in the New Zealand Herald of June 1939 as being ‘to
amount of patronage. Wright, for example, had several works bought by the pose the figures in suspended slow movement, such as may be seen in a Greek
Auckland City Art Gallery as well as one purchased by the National Art Gallery in frieze’. The lines of the drapery were to be ‘severe’ and the garments ‘rather
Wellington. In addition, he was commissioned by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Greek in style but not strictly so’. Consequently, Auckland’s Centennial was
Auckland to execute a bronze portrait bust of Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier commemorated by figures in pseudo-Grecian garb acting out a symbolic
for St Patrick’s Cathedral, to celebrate the centenary of the founding of the ceremony redolent of a culture far distant in time and space. The transfer of
church in New Zealand. This was installed in April 1938. Shurrock also had a European values to a new land could never have found a more complete
number of public commissions, notably a commemorative relief of William expression. As a symbol of cultural dependence, the statuary had a singular
Massey at Wellington, 1930, a full-length statue of James FitzGerald for aptness for the occasion, in view of the effort that had been made over the span
Christchurch, 1939, and sculptures for the Dunedin Centennial Memorial, 1957. of one hundred years to introduce British and European tastes to New Zealand.
Apart from some statues of Madonnas for cemetery memorials, Field appears to Viewed from behind a spacious pond, the figures have a dignity and grace that
have been less successful in this way. is effective and decorative.
Wright also received an important commission for statuary to commemorate Owing to the efforts of the La Trobe scheme sculptors, the years between
the Centennial of Auckland, celebrated in 1940. As one of the most ambitious the wars were important ones at the art schools. Their presence ensured
professional instruction and encouragement for students with an interest in
sculpture, while their own sculptural practice, though limited, also set an
PLATE 14 Robert N. Field, Wahine, 1934, Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Cornish
serpentine, 150 x 130 x 120 mm example. The closer geographical relationship between Dunedin and

THE LA TROBE SCHEME: SCULPTURE AND THE ART SCHOOLS: 1920–1960 — 65

PLATE 15 William H. Wright, Auckland Centennial Memorial, 1938–39, Auckland Domain. Bronze, height 2020 x width 630 x length 3080 mm

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 Shurrock taught at Canterbury until his retirement in 1949; Field resigned
his Dunedin position in 1945 and moved to Auckland, where he taught art at a
secondary school; Wright died prematurely at Auckland in 1943. Several of the
positions they vacated went to men of similar background who taught sculpture
into the following decade. For example, John Kavanagh (1903–1984), a
distinguished portraitist (see Figure 40), was appointed to Elam in 1950,
succeeding Monna Malcolm who had filled the position after Wright’s death. A
Royal College of Art graduate and Prix de Rome winner, Kavanagh proved
unsympathetic to modernist sculpture. He remained at Elam until his retirement
in 1968 and appeared an isolated figure, whose reasons for coming to the
Antipodes were hard to fathom. A good example of his New Zealand work is
the bust of Dr Douglas Robb completed in 1957. He influenced a number of
practitioners notably Anthony Stones (b. 1934) who studied portraiture with
him in the late 1960s. Stones has carried out a number of important public
commissions in New Zealand including Lord Freyberg, 1981, Auckland, and Jean
Batten, 1989, Auckland International Airport. He now lives in England where he
is vice-president of the Society of Portrait Sculptors.
Eric John Doudney (1905–87), who replaced Shurrock at Canterbury in
1950, proved somewhat conservative, indeed ineffectual, in his teaching
methods. He had worked on various civic and religious commissions in Britain
and retained a strong decorative dimension in his New Zealand works, such as
a striking carved fireplace for his own home. Doudney spent considerable periods
FIGURE 40 John Kavanagh Modelling a Portrait Bust, Auckland, 1971 of time in Northern Italy, where he made a study of the interrelationship between
sculpture and architecture. He retired in 1971. By the 1950s the La Trobe scheme
Christchurch, which allowed Field and Shurrock to work and exhibit together, had outlived its usefulness. It remained for a younger generation of New Zealand-
provided a more stimulating environment than elsewhere. Many of the more born sculptors to breathe new life into the art schools in the 1960s, by
important, younger generation of painters and sculptors, including Colin overthrowing old teaching methods and allowing more experimentation.
McCahon, M. T. Woollaston, Doris Lusk, Rita Angus, Molly Macalister and Alison
Duff, developed their ideas in that environment.
At Auckland and Wellington the situation was less favourable. Wright seems
to have been isolated from other sculptors and deprived of the stimulus this
might have given him. His academic instruction did not have a stimulating
effect and few of his students continued with sculpture after leaving art school.
At Wellington, Joseph Ellis was more influential in the early part of his career
than later. By the time illness led to his retirement in 1939 he appears to have
been out of touch with his students. Alexander Fraser who succeeded him was
both a fine craftsman and a competent portrait modeller. However, he was
conservative in approach and continued academic principles into the post-war
period when they were no longer influential.

THE LA TROBE SCHEME: SCULPTURE AND THE ART SCHOOLS: 1920–1960 — 67

VI

Post-War Sculpture: 1945 –65

The year of New Zealand’s centennial, 1940, saw a recognition and com- reactionary, while to arrive at something of comparable power independently
memoration of achievements in literature and the arts. For the visual arts this would have required real genius. This the New Zealand sculptors did not
was manifested in the Centennial Exhibition of New Zealand Art and the possess.
publication of Eric McCormick’s volume, Letters and Art in New Zealand, as part Their achievement was to be in breaking with the academic approach,
of a commemorative series. In the exhibition, however, sculpture formed a small adopting a more questioning stance, and educating a reluctant public to accept
part. In the introduction to the Centennial Exhibition catalogue, A. H. McLintock modern sculpture. In the latter respect an increasing demand for sculpture
summarised the history of art in the Dominion, omitting any specific reference suitable for commercial and domestic settings played a role in making it relevant.
to sculpture. McCormick, too, excluded any mention of sculpture from a The magazine Home and Building gave regular coverage to events of sculptural
discussion of the visual arts in his influential book. His silence reveals his lack of interest while also promoting the placing of small sculptures in a typical
any real awareness of a sculptural tradition in New Zealand. household environment.
It was in literature, not the visual arts, that McCormick sensed the strongest Two of the first locally born and trained sculptors to make a contribution
local development in the work of writers such as Frank Sargeson, who drew on after the war were Alison Duff (1914–2000) and Molly Macalister (1920–1979).
local patterns of life and distinctive characteristics of speech. Phoenix, a publication They were both pupils of Francis Shurrock at the Canterbury College School of
by a group of Auckland students, also expressed a feeling of national identity Art. He also taught Chrystabel Aitken, a gifted sculptor, who exhibited with the
among young local writers such as Charles Brasch, Allen Curnow and A. R. D. Christchurch Group. Both Duff and Macalister certainly owed a debt to Shurrock’s
Fairburn. The successful launching in 1947 of Landfall, a quarterly devoted to infectious enthusiasm and sound grounding in techniques, even though neither
local writing, was further evidence of literary strength that far surpassed that of adhered to his rather conservative ideas of sculpture. They continued the tradition
the visual arts, especially sculpture. of important contributions by talented women to the arts in New Zealand. One
Deprived of a local sculptural tradition capable of capturing the imagination thinks in literature of Katherine Mansfield, in painting of Frances Hodgkins, and
of either artists or their public, sculptors of the post-war years faced a difficult in poetry of Eileen Duggan and Ursula Bethell. Though trained before the war,
task. New directions had to be discovered and followed. But the freeing of Duff and Macalister reached maturity in the 1940s and 1950s when they helped
sculpture from its almost total bondage to British academic principles was not sculpture become more experimental and expressive. To some extent their work
easy to accomplish. That the younger generation of sculptors were also to be was an extension of the direction taken by Robert Field in the late 1920s.
influenced by trends in British sculpture was perhaps inevitable. The ideas of Born in Invercargill, Alison Duff went to the Canterbury School of Art in
Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, especially the former, emerged with 1934, where she studied for three years, obtaining her Diploma in 1936. Molly
overpowering strength after the war. To ignore them would have been Macalister, also born in Invercargill, attended classes at Canterbury from 1936

68
to 1939. At first divided between painting and sculpture, under Shurrock’s tuition
she soon showed ability as a carver. One of her student works, a cat carved in
Oamaru stone (Figure 41), datable 1938–39, has stylistic features found in her
later sculpture. It is a simple, solid form with a minimum of detail. The block of
stone is not penetrated at any point. As with much of her work, the figurative
interest is important despite the formal emphasis.
Duff, unlike Macalister, extended her training on Shurrock’s advice by
attending East Sydney Technical College from 1936 to 1938. Her teachers there
included Rayner Hoff (1894–1937) and Lyndon Dadswell (1908–1986). Teaching
at that time, under Hoff’s influence, was rather conservative. Dadswell, however,
was more experimental in his approach and showed an awareness of
contemporary developments in British sculpture. Inspired by reproductions of
carvings by Moore and Hepworth, Duff experimented on her own with direct
carving in stone and wood.
Apart from a brief period in 1939, working with Trethewey on the Centennial
Exhibition sculptures in Wellington, she spent the next ten years in Australia
where she held teaching positions at Hobart and East Sydney Technical College.
Her Australian work was predominantly direct carving in stone and wood. An
example is Osiris, 1944, carved in wood by candlelight to assist in softening
transitions between the forms. She tried to retain a feeling for the original shape
of the wood. The finished work appears an uneasy compromise between
naturalistic details in the face and abstraction in the torso. The chisel markings
left on the surface give some textural interest but are too regular to be effective.
At this stage Duff rarely achieved a satisfactory balance between the formal and
figurative aspects of her art.
Her most ambitious carving made after her return to New Zealand in the
early 1950s was entitled Manaia (Figure 42). Manaia is a woodcarving, just
under two metres high, carved in native kauri timber salvaged from a swamp.
In Maori art the manaia is an image with the characteristics of both man and
bird. But Alison Duff’s Manaia, despite its Maori name, is stylistically close to
British carving. It is overtly an antipodean reworking of Henry Moore’s
woodcarvings. The holes pierced through the wood, forming the stylised legs
FIGURE 41 Molly Macalister, Cat, 1938–39, Private collection. Oamaru stone,
at the lower extremity and indicating a gap between the arm and torso above, height 410 mm

recall Moore’s use of form-penetrating openings in his carved figures of the

1930s. Comparatively Duff’s treatment is unduly naturalistic in parts and lacks actually accomplished. Wood sculpture of this size and type had rarely if ever
Moore’s imaginative use of form and space freed from representation. Viewed been carved before in New Zealand outside the traditional Maori context.
as an abstract form, Manaia is pleasing enough but the rhythms are mechanical Therefore it is paradoxical that the sculptor could envisage a subject such as
and the work somewhat angular. Manaia, carrying through the Maori connotations of the birdman in the stylised
Manaia was more important for what was attempted than for what was beaked head and anthropomorphic body, without influence from Polynesian

POST-WAR SCULPTURE: 1945–65 — 69

FIGURE 42 Alison Duff, Manaia, 1954, Hocken Library, Dunedin. Kauri, height 1830 mm

carving. It does, however, indicate the extent of Alison Duff’s indebtedness to in one of her earliest stone carvings, Sleeping Child, of 1940. Here the shape of
British sculpture at that period. the stone determined the crouched pose. Like an embryo, the child is enclosed
While Alison Duff was in Australia, Molly Macalister, not attempting a full- as if in a stony womb, enhancing the organic feeling of the carving. Although it
time career in sculpture, worked for a time at the Otago Museum making is an independent conception, Sleeping Child can be compared with works such
dioramas before shifting to Auckland in 1943. After her marriage she managed as Barbara Hepworth’s Infant of 1929. But the ultimate source of this kind of
to combine domestic duties with a small sculptural practice. Her early sculptures
present several consistent characteristics. They are predominantly figurative,
PLATE 16 Molly Macalister, Head, 1941–42, Private collection, Auckland. Jarrah,
economical in drawing, closed and solid in form. These characteristics appear height 190 mm

70
POST-WAR SCULPTURE: 1945–65 — 71
 the viewer and evoking the Maori concept of mana and the power of a person
who possesses it to command awe and respect.
But despite its quality, much of Macalister’s early work is eclectic and
derivative, mainly from contemporary British sculpture. Female Figure c.1948–
49, for example, is a wooden torso reminiscent of carvings by Gaudier-Brzeska
and Eric Gill. She allows the wood grain to follow the forms, stressing their
gently curving volumes. Her portraiture of the late 1940s, such as Digby Nelson,
1947, owes a debt to Jacob Epstein. But portraiture was not a major interest,
nor was Epstein to be an enduring influence.
The 1940s was a decade of comparative isolation for Macalister. But with
the arrival of a number of young sculptors in Auckland in the early 1950s the
modern movement gathered momentum. In addition to Duff, Alan Ingham
(1920–1994) and W. R. (Jim) Allen (b. 1922) came to the city at that time.
Between them they contributed to a sense of vitality in Auckland sculpture.
Ingham and Allen had also studied with Shurrock at the Canterbury College
School of Art. Both furthered their studies in Britain after the war. Their influence,
however, was to be of a markedly different character. Whereas Ingham worked
in Auckland for only a short period before leaving to live in Australia, Allen
remained longer to exert a strong influence as a teacher.
Of the two, Ingham was slightly older. Born in Christchurch in 1920, he
was not at first interested in sculpture until he was introduced to Russell Clark
(1905–66), a painter and commercial artist who married his sister. Although
sculpture was a minor interest for Russell Clark in the 1930s when Ingham first

FIGURE 43 Alan Ingham, Bookend, 1941, Private collection, Christchurch. Wood,

knew him, there were some examples of woodcarving in the artist’s Dunedin
height, 445 mm studio, which made an impression, as did drawings displayed there. An example
of Clark’s carving at that time is Tohunga, 1940–41, a sharply stylised work in
carving in Britain is the work of Henri Gaudier-Brzeska whose animal studies in the Art Deco manner, then influencing his approach to commercial art.
particular have a similar closed, organic feeling for form. Significantly, Ingham’s early sculpture was to be wood carving inspired by Clark’s
A slightly later carving of 1941–42, Head (Plate 16), is a fine conception example.
with a hint of influence from tribal masks though it is hard to detect much From 1939 to 1941 Ingham attended evening classes at the Canterbury
interest in ‘primitivist’ sources for her ideas. There is a simplicity and strength College School of Art, where Shurrock taught him. But he was also able to
about the carving due to the sculptor’s concentration on broad planes in the develop his carving in the daytime by working on details for a model Maori
brow, nose and cheeks. Details are kept to a minimum. The eyes are reduced to canoe at the Canterbury Museum. His own carvings were in a different style,
oval indentations, while the hair is roughly textured to contrast with the smooth one based on the example of the Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic
˘ ´ (1883–1962),
finish of the face. This work illustrates Macalister’s conception of sculpture, later whose work he had seen in a book and admired. An early work, dated 1941, is
expressed as follows in an article for Home and Building in 1956: ‘What we have a carved bookend with a woman’s head in profile (Figure 43). It is simple in
to look for in a piece of sculpture is not a dead copy of another kind of life, but conception, but Ingham has extracted some interest from the downward
a life that is an entirely new creation, giving the work a power and presence movement of the head seen in profile.
that is unique.’ Certainly this carving has an undeniable presence, impressing After the war Ingham studied at East Sydney Technical College under

72
 to an exhibition by Dominion artists, held at New Zealand House in 1951. In
style his sculpture inevitably came heavily under Moore’s influence. An example
of his work while with Moore is Head, 1952, a small carving in Poliphant stone.
At that time Moore was making a number of pieces, such as Warrior’s Head,
1953, which interested Ingham. But the closest parallel with Ingham’s work is
found in Moore’s earliest heads, such as Head of a Woman, 1926. Ingham has,
however, introduced a distinctive lightness into the design of the face with the
gently curving lines of the neck and brow.
His bronzes of that period, too, were derivative of Moore, pointing to one
of the great disadvantages of working with a master of exceptional stature, that
of stylistic and artistic subservience. This was to remain a lasting problem for
Ingham. Many British sculptors of the period found themselves in a similar
situation, among them Anthony Caro, a fellow assistant with Ingham. Caro was
one of the few to break away and find a personal expression.
While with Moore, Ingham corresponded with Russell Clark, who was so
enthusiastic about Moore’s works that he arranged through him for the purchase
of a fine watercolour, entitled Family Group in 1951. In this connection Moore
wrote to Russell Clark from Hoglands on August 7th 1951: ‘Dear Mr. Clark, This
is only a note to tell you that your letter with a draft for £25 came while we were
away on holiday. Thank you very much. . . . I liked the choice you made . . .
when I do my next lot of drawings I will talk it over with Alan and between us
we will try to find the kind of drawing you would choose. I am glad you got the
photographs Alan sent and if anything is reproduced in the New Zealand
“Listener” I shall be very pleased.’
FIGURE 44 Russell Clark’s Studio, Christchurch, circa 1954. Photograph Clark’s purchase was not the first work by Moore to enter a New Zealand
collection. The Mackelvie Trust had purchased a small bronze, Two Seated Women
Dadswell. In 1947 a travelling exhibition of works by Moore made a power ful and a Child, 1945, for the Auckland City Art Gallery in 1948. Later, in 1954, a
impression and stimulated a desire to study in England. Having completed his drawing was donated to the same collection and this was followed by the
diploma in 1948, he travelled to London where he studied for a few months at purchase of an early bronze. During 1953 a touring exhibition of British drawings
the Central School of Art before accepting a position as an assistant to Moore. provided an opportunity for New Zealanders to see one of Moore’s shelter
His work for Moore ranged from helping with casting — he remembered making drawings. By these means Moore’s art was made known in the country. Clark,
a cast of one of the Helmet Heads — to enlarging maquettes into full-size then teaching at the Canterbury College School of Art, was in a position to
sculptures. The most important of these was the King and Queen group of 1952– familiarise his students with Moore’s style.
53. These years with Moore were extremely rewarding ones for Ingham, who A strong reinforcement of this influence came with Ingham’s return to New
found the sculptor ‘a magnificent man to work with’. With Moore he learnt the Zealand in 1953. His decision to return was due to a desire to break with Moore
basic skills of bronze casting. He made a kiln for Moore to bake out moulds, after and start an independent career. He arrived back in Christchurch in December
having been given a ‘carte blanche’ to do so, provided costs were kept low. and worked for a period with Clark. Clark responded to contact with Ingham
While working for Moore he managed to make a few small bronzes that he and began a group of works influenced by Moore’s sculpture. One of the earliest
exhibited at the Royal Academy and with the London Group. He also contributed of these, datable to Ingham’s stay in Christchurch, is Two Figures, 1953–54

POST-WAR SCULPTURE: 1945–65 — 73

 FIGURE 45 Russell Clark, Two Figures, 1953–54, Private collection, Christchurch. Concrete, height 591 mm

(Figure 45). It is reminiscent of Moore’s Family Group bronzes of 1945–47 with Influenced by the stone Head Ingham brought back with him, which he was
the small heads, long necks and wide shoulders, as well as the complex later to own, Clark began a series of heads in local marbles. An example is Girl
interlocking of the figures typical of that series. Clark, however, fails to achieve with Ponytail, c.1955–58 (Figure 46), which is an individual variation of the theme.
the extreme economy of Moore’s treatment; for example, he rendered details Here Clark’s strong design sense is apparent in the profile, where the wedge-like
such as ears, eyes and nose naturalistically compared with Moore’s inventive shape of the ponytail balances the features. The distinctive Moorean space
use of knobs and split-head forms. penetration is treated naturalistically as the gap between the hair and head. In

74
the features, too, Clark reverts to his own more literal approach to form.
While with Clark in Christchurch, Ingham carved a small Girl’s Head (Figure
47), in Oamaru stone. The long, tapering neck gives an effect of elegance in
profile as well as setting off the compositional lines of the head. The head is
conceived in a series of elliptical movements. At the back, the projecting hair
repeats the form that fascinated Clark for so long in his own carvings. Another
carving he made in Christchurch was an irregular form pierced by a hole looking
like a belated version of the exercise Hepworth and Moore carried out in 1931–
32. But discouraged by lack of opportunity in Christchurch, Ingham left for
Auckland in the winter of 1954 hoping to find enough work to make a living.
By then W. R. (Jim) Allen was also in New Zealand, having returned from
London. Allen, born in Wellington in 1922, had studied at the Canterbury College
School of Art from 1946 to 1948 where he had won recognition as an outstanding
student. In 1948 he was awarded a £1,000 scholarship by the Association of
FIGURE 46 Russell Clark, Girl with Ponytail, c.1955–58, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa
New Zealand Art Societies to study at the Royal College of Art in London. Allen Tongarewa, Wellington. Marble, 250 x 135 x 385 mm
attended the Royal College from 1949 to 1952 when he graduated with a first-
class diploma in sculpture.
At the Royal College Allen found that his ideas of sculpture, based on
Shurrock’s academic example, were regarded as old-fashioned. Under the
influence of teachers such as Frank Dobson (1888–1963), who set an example
by his own childlike eagerness to learn even at a mature age, Allen responded to
new ideas. One of the strongest forces at the College was Henry Moore who,
though not an official teacher, paid visits to the sculpture rooms at regular
intervals.
On graduation, Allen decided to return to New Zealand. His work of this
period, such as Female Nude, 1951 (Plate 17), is figurative but modernist in the
manner of Dobson. He was hoping to find employment as a professional sculptor
but in this he was to be disappointed. Instead he accepted a position as field
officer in the Art and Craft Branch of the Department of Education, thereby
beginning his influential teaching career. Later his subsequent position as liaison
organiser brought him to Auckland in 1955. This period saw Allen developing
his experimental approach to teaching allowing considerable freedom of activity
and encouraging individual initiative. In a letter to Gordon Tovey, his superior
at Wellington, he wrote in May 1954: ‘If we accept the fact that personal
development — environment and conditions — is the desirable philosophic
course, we are at odds with a system which endeavours to submerge the
individual to a point of mass utility and experience. This system by its nature
bluntens or kills the very attributes, personality and imaginative, constructive
FIGURE 47 Alan Ingham, Girl’s Head, 1953, Private collection, Sydney. Oamaru stone,
thought, which it would claim to foster.’ height 165 mm

POST-WAR SCULPTURE: 1945–65 — 75

76
 Allen became highly critical of conventional methods of teaching sculpture,
as well as predictable solutions to sculptural projects. Each work was a response
to different circumstances and thus required an individual solution. While
teaching, Allen was unable to produce much of his own sculpture and some of
what he did he later destroyed. His teaching, however, is important because it
indicates the start of his break with any one set of rules or approach to problem
solving. Allen was active in sculpture education at various levels including adult
education classes. For example, in 1954 he took a lively Summer School at the
Auckland City Art Gallery.
At that time the Auckland City Art Gallery under the guidance of its first
professional director, Eric Westbrook, took a leading role in art education.
Westbrook, with a background as exhibitions officer for the Arts Council of Great
Britain, was appointed to the position in March 1952. He enlivened the gallery
by modernising the buildings, appointing new staff, arranging exhibitions of
contemporary New Zealand painting and sculpture, and fostering the use of
the gallery for art classes and musical recitals. It was due mainly to his
encouragement that Alan Ingham, who had known him in England, decided to
move to Auckland.
At Auckland, Ingham set up a studio at Birkdale (Figure 48) where he built
a bronze foundry. His intention was to make a living by combining his own
sculptural practice with commissions for casting from other sculptors and
commercial firms. With the help of a young sculptor, John Kingston (b. 1932),
he had the primitive foundry ready for use by October 1954. It consisted of a
furnace in an old shed made with two deep pits lined with firebricks, and a
rough brick oven for baking the moulds. It was a makeshift arrangement and
not entirely safe as was demonstrated when a crucible blew up violently the first
time it was tested. Although it was not the first bronze foundry for sculpture in
Auckland, since Richard Gross had been operating one for years, it seems to FIGURE 48 Alan Ingham in his Studio, Auckland, 1954

have acted as a catalyst for a renewed interest in bronze as a material that has
continued to the present. Unlike Gross who did not offer facilities to Auckland could easily be accommodated in a family home. Russell Clark and Alison Duff
sculptors, Ingham cast their work for a small fee. Later Ron Ranby, Gross’s also had several bronzes cast at Ingham’s foundry. Despite their support, the
assistant, was to make casts for Macalister and other Auckland sculptors. venture proved economically unrealistic. Within a year Ingham was forced to
Thanks to support from Westbrook, Ingham received commissions to cast seek more regular employment in Australia.
several works for the Auckland City Art Gallery’s permanent collection. Also he Ingham’s most ambitious work at Auckland was a standing figure for which,
cast a small group, Birds, 1954 (Plate 18), for Macalister who was now able to following Moore’s practice, he made a small maquette thirty-three centimetres
experiment with working in bronze as a medium. A tabletop sculpture, Birds high, which was later enlarged to a plaster over two metres high, now destroyed.
Standing Figure, 1955, is known from the maquette (Figure 49) and photographs.
The wide, trapezoid shape of the torso, shallow and hollowed at the back, the
PLATE 17 W. R. (Jim) Allen, Female Nude, 1951, University of Auckland. Stone, height
1100 mm, depth 450 mm separated, mound-like projections of the breasts, even the design and fall of the

POST-WAR SCULPTURE: 1945–65 — 77

skirt can be paralleled in works such as Moore’s Seated Figure, 1952, or Standing
Figure No. 3, 1952. It must have been an impressive revelation of the power of
modern figurative sculpture when it was shown as the centrepiece of an ambitious
exhibition of contemporary New Zealand sculpture, held at the Auckland City
Art Gallery in June 1955.
That there could be an exhibition devoted exclusively to sculpture was itself
innovatory in New Zealand; that enough contemporary sculpture could be
gathered together to fill an entire room of the Auckland City Art Gallery was
unprecedented (Figure 50). No clearer proof of the growth of sculpture in
Auckland during the early 1950s could be given. The exhibition should be seen
both as a recognition of that growth and as an attempt to assess achievement
at that point.
Several characteristics emerge from a survey of the exhibition. The majority
of works shown were figurative and stylistically derivative from modern British
sculptors, Moore in particular. Older artists in the show, such as Gross, however,
continued in the earlier academic style. Some of the works, including examples
by Ingham, Macalister and Allen, were over life-size, indicating a search for
greater monumentality. But there was little evidence of personal styles, and
anyone hoping for the emergence of a distinctive local identity must have been
disappointed. It was the quantity of serious sculpture, as well as the manifest
concern for understanding contemporary developments, that deserve
recognition.

FIGURE 49 Alan Ingham, Standing Figure, c.1954, Private collection, Sydney. Plaster
maquette, height 330 mm

There was also the beginning of a critical swing away from the kind of
representational modelling typified by Gross. Writing in Landfall, Michael
Nicholson, a painter, remarked on Macalister’s search for a style and noted the
comparative originality of Allen’s Sculpture 1, 1955. But he criticised Gross’s
sculpture, saying that it ‘revealed the sterility of an intelligence which has not
begun to penetrate the sensual façade’. Unkind though this observation was, it
did point to a radical change of values. Unlike Gross’s exhibit, a bust of a Maori
woman, Allen’s Sculpture 1 was a formal exercise based on the human figure
PLATE 18 Molly Macalister, Birds, 1954, Private collection, Auckland. Bronze,
height 203 mm but simplified to a box-like trunk, standing on two wedges and surmounted by

78
an ovoid form to serve as a head. It was essentially a study in contrasting forms,
justifying its existence in sculptural terms alone. Allen’s work was the most
independent in the exhibition.
Retrospectively the timing of this exhibition, just before the departure of
Westbrook and Ingham for Melbourne, seems to sum up and mark the close of
a short but vital epoch. Both Westbrook and Ingham, the former as spokesman
and patron who bought works for the Auckland collection, the latter as influential
practitioner and bronze founder, contributed much to an improved climate for
local sculpture. Due to Westbrook, exhibitions of this kind were made possible
and given wide publicity. Sculptors had gained a new feeling of unity as well as
a public image. His successor Peter Tomory, appointed director in 1956,
continued the momentum by encouraging the purchase of sculpture by artists
like Maillol, Epstein and Hepworth.
Tomory organised the exhibition of sculpture by Moore that toured New
Zealand the following year, causing unprecedented controversy and interest.
Crowds poured into galleries throughout the country to be outraged, puzzled
or enlightened. For the general public Moore may still have been a novelty
whereas for sculptors he was, by that date, a familiar and almost oppressive
influence whose giant shadow lay across the path to personal expression.
Although some were deeply concerned about Moore’s ubiquitous influence,
others, notably Clark, were willing to accept and work within it. Because Clark
was extremely active as a sculptor during the late 1950s, his adaptation of
Moorean forms for public commissions ensured further exposure and dissemi-
nation of the style. Hepworth, too, remained an influential figure and the
acquisition of her bronze Torso II by the Auckland City Art Gallery in 1963 caused
a public outcry.
Clark was very successful at obtaining public commissions for Government
buildings as well as for commercial firms. His sculptures were sometimes
FIGURE 50 Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture Show, Auckland City Art Gallery,
commissioned for architectural settings because architects were increasingly
1955
aware of modern sculpture and its potential to complement their buildings.
Typical of Clark’s works are the Timaru Post Office sculpture, 1957, the Auckland Figures of the late 1930s by Moore or to Barbara Hepworth’s similar pieces of
Bledisloe Place Anchor Stones, 1958–59 (Figure 51), and the Haywright’s the 1950s. Hepworth, in fact, designed a stringed piece entitled Winged Figure,
Shopping Centre Family Group, 1960, at Christchurch. All these works involve 1962, after Clark’s work was completed, which was planned for a similar function,
quite conscious derivations from contemporary English sculptors, Moore in to operate on a flat wall providing ornamental relief and a play of shadow as the
particular, though Hepworth and later Lynn Chadwick influenced Clark as well. light changes direction. This similarity of solution points to Clark’s close identity
The Timaru sculpture is a stringed abstract, designed to suggest the idea of with the aesthetic behind Hepworth’s work. Unfortunately, owing to a
communications by means of telegraphic wire. Although this concept was miscalculation, Clark failed to achieve the correct scale for his sculpture. It appears
unfamiliar in Timaru, where the sculpture was quickly and derisively labelled diminutive and out of proportion.
the Ear, a student of sculpture has no difficulty in tracing its origin to the Stringed A similar failing is apparent to a lesser extent in the Anchor Stones (Figure

POST-WAR SCULPTURE: 1945–65 — 79

 FIGURE 51 Russell Clark, Anchor Stones, 1959, Bledisloe Place, Auckland. Hinuera stone, height 1850 x depth 1400
x width 2100 mm

51), which are relatively small compared with the architecture behind them. In the design. It is good example of a satisfactory working relationship between a
this instance Clark followed Moore’s example by making maquettes, then modernist architect and sculptor. Buildings of this kind required public sculpture
enlarging them to full size. This can be a dangerous process, as Hepworth has to give them a sense of human scale and a better integration with the city
pointed out, because enlargement requires alterations if the final work is to environment. Clark was among the first New Zealand sculptors to meet this
operate successfully. Gordon Wilson, the architect of the Bledisloe Building, who need.
had designed a modernist structure with minimal decoration, commissioned The finished sculpture is an interesting example of influence from Moore
the sculpture from Clark. He also suggested the use of the stones as the basis of and Hepworth. Ostensibly the models for the design were two historic Maori

80
anchor stones that are, in reality, boulders shaped by the passage of water into
rounded, irregular forms, such as Moore sometimes used as the basis for his
work. But Clark modified the anchor stones extensively. Whereas the original
Tainui stone rests horizontally over a chief’s grave, in his sculpture Clark changed
the form and stood it upright. He modified the Matahoura stone, too, by giving
it sharp contours instead of the original’s worn profiles. The original stone is
now in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
The completed sculpture has a calculated balance of curving and straight
contours reminiscent of Moore’s Time/Life carvings of 1952, as well as Hepworth’s
works of the late 1950s. At the final stage, Clark was asked to incise a double
spiral on the Tainui stone to give it a visible reference to Maori culture. Clark’s
modification of the original stone shapes was directed by preconceived ideas
about abstract sculpture derived from Moore and Hepworth. His Family Group,
1960, too, is unthinkable without Moore, though Clark has flattened and
sharpened his forms in a somewhat mannered and personal way. While lacking
originality, Clark helped introduce the public to what were then controversial
ideas of sculptural form.
Despite attempts to develop an alternative to Moore, he continued to be
influential into the following decade. Jim Allen’s monumental Conversation Piece,
1965 (Plate 19), formerly at Pakuranga Shopping Centre, Auckland, but now
destroyed, had more than a trace of Moore’s late Figure Pieces with their rugged
textures and high degree of abstraction. Also, the pedestal was very close to
that of Moore’s Reclining Figure on Pedestal, 1959–60. It was designed so that
children could play on and around the sculpture, interacting with it in an outdoor
setting (Figure 52). One of the most accomplished of the younger sculptors,
Greer Twiss (b. 1937), who trained at the Elam School of Fine Arts, also referenced
Moore in his bronze fountain at Karangahape Road, Auckland, completed in
1969 (Plate 24). This work has reminiscences of Moore’s Seated Figures Against
a Curving Wall of 1956–57.
But by that time, there had been a widening of the range of styles influencing
local sculptors. One important development was an awareness of contemporary
Italian sculpture. A student of Marino Marini, Anne Severs (b. 1931) worked
and exhibited after 1957 in Auckland, where she became friendly with Macalister.
She had an important figurative work entitled Prisoner, 1959, bought for the
Auckland City Art Gallery. It was arguably the first major modernist sculpture by
a New Zealander to enter the collection. Severs, who had studied with Marini
from 1952 to 1953, gave impetus to an interest in Italian sculpture. This was
furthered by a major exhibition, Contemporary Italian Sculpture, which toured
PLATE 19 W. R. (Jim) Allen, Conversation Piece, 1965, Pakuranga Shopping Centre,
the main centres in 1965–6. Works by Emilio Greco, Giacomo Manzù and Marino Auckland (destroyed). Concrete, height 3050 mm

POST-WAR SCULPTURE: 1945–65 — 81

FIGURE 52 W. R. (Jim) Allen, Conversation Piece, 1965, Pakuranga Shopping Centre,
Auckland (destroyed)

Marini were included. The influence of these sculptors is found in the figurative
work of Severs, Macalister, Duff and Twiss among others and provided a needed
alternative to Moore. Further reinforcement of the Italian influence came with
the arrival in Christchurch in 1962 of Ria Bancroft (1907–93), a figurative sculptor
who had studied at the Florence Academy.
The most significant response to Italian sculpture came in the later works of
Macalister. At first her friendship with Anne Severs provided her with some direct
stimulus to modify her approach, then a trip to Europe in 1962 allowed her to
see recent original sculptures at first hand. She made figurative works in cast
concrete and bronze with pronounced surface textures, recalling those of
contemporary Italian pieces. Standing Figure, 1959 (Plate 20), is a good example
of her work of this kind. It is a male figure that emerges from a base that is
unshaped as if to suggest the creative process happening as we watch. The
roughed-in head is small in scale so that the emphasis goes on the trunk and
arms that hang down beside it. A shallow incision in the centre of the torso
helps shape and structure it in a manner also found in Severs’s works, which
were an undoubted point of reference.
In works like Standing Figure, 1959, and related sculptures such as Bird
Watcher, 1961, Macalister focused on the nude figure as seen inside the Western
tradition but was more interested in the expressive aspects than the ideal. The

PLATE 20 Molly Macalister, Standing Figure, 1959, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki.
Concrete, height 1035 mm

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mannerisms of Moore were replaced by more naturalistic figures seemingly based
on life study. Her portraits of this same period also echo the approach of Manzù
and Marini, who looked back to pre-classical sources such as Etruscan art for
strength and simplicity. The Italian artists suggested ways of making modelled
sculpture for a wide audience that were up-to-date, yet still accessible. This
suited Macalister’s essentially conservative but non-academic approach.
Macalister’s career culminated with her monumental bronze of a Maori
Warrior, the first public statue in Auckland by a woman (Figure 53). She received
the commission in 1964 but the work was only unveiled in 1967. It could be
cast in bronze locally thanks to the expertise of Ron Ranby, a former studio
assistant of Gross. In 1956 Ranby had established D.M.S. Foundries whose name,
standing for Designers, Moulders and Sculptors, indicated Ranby’s willingness
to undertake sculptural as well as commercial work. He helped not only
Macalister and Duff but also other sculptors like Twiss to cast bronzes at
affordable prices.
Macalister aimed for an effect of nobility, strength and calm. To the extent
that her concept was controversial, it was because the figure negated violence
instead of embodying it as some councillors had expected. The conventional
warrior ready for battle was realised instead by Lyndon Smith (b. 1927) in his
1969 bronze for the Auckland Savings Bank, a work now relocated in Aotea
Square. Macalister concentrated on the cloak as an all-important mass of drapery
that contributes unity to the figure. The warrior’s head appears forceful rather
than aggressive while his mere is held down against his side in a non-
confrontational manner. Sculptural interest derives from the few folds of the
drapery that give volume and form to the conception.
While the statue seemed daring to some Auckland viewers, it depends on
several well-known sculptural antecedents. Of these Rodin’s Balzac appears as a
likely reference point in the radical way that the novelist was conceived, clad in
a dressing gown that drapes his body rather as Macalister’s cloak covers that of
her warrior. In both cases all other detail is subordinated to that grand effect.
But Macalister also knew Manzù’s series of bronze figures of cardinals in which
FIGURE 53 Molly Macalister, Maori Warrior, 1964–66, Queen Elizabeth II Square,
heavy robes with a few deep folds provide the primary interest. The face of the Auckland. Bronze, height 3225 mm

warrior also has resemblances in its conception to the broad, simplified modelling
of features by Marini and Manzù in their figures. It has very different connotations Shortly after finishing Maori Warrior, Macalister undertook another public
to the usual statues on a pedestal found in city locations. Instead of com- sculpture, this time for the Hamilton City Council. The work was to celebrate
memorating an individual, it pays tribute to a people and their culture. In 1979 the city’s centennial in 1964. Her finished bronze, Little Bull, 1967, resembles
the statue was relocated on a lower pedestal that diminishes the intended the earlier work in its emphasis on one major form to which all detail is
effect of grandeur previously achieved when the figure had towered above subordinate. However, Little Bull is intended as a play sculpture for children, so
the viewer. that its safe contours without sharp edges have functional as well as conceptual

POST-WAR SCULPTURE: 1945–65 — 83

 whose natural sense of form helped people relate to her work. She made a
major contribution towards public acceptance of modern sculpture and helped
educate a new generation to think of it as relevant to their lives.
Comparatively speaking, the later development of Alison Duff was more
private, more idiosyncratic and consequently less known. Unlike Macalister, Duff
became reclusive, rarely appearing in public. Perhaps because she did not seek
important public commissions, her reputation contracted rather than expanded
after the 1960s. Her best-known works are portrait busts of the writer Frank
Sargeson, 1962, and the mountaineer and adventurer Sir Edmund Hillary, 1961.
The Sargeson is a half-length figure showing the writer in animation as if engaged
in a lively discussion (Figure 54). Duff’s knowledge of the sitter comes through
in the informality of the pose with its understandable emphasis on the mental
rather than the physical attributes of the writer. By contrast the Hillary bust,
made in four variant versions, has a broad blocky approach to the modelling
and a pronounced emphasis on the sitter’s square jaw that rests directly on the
plinth. This conception helps convey the informal, outdoors nature of a man
known for his deeds of physical strength and courage. It has points in common
with Macalister’s portrait busts of the same period that Duff would have seen.
In her portraits Duff depicted people she either knew or respected. She was
uninterested in official commissions.
Duff also enlarged her range of work to include mobiles made of steel and
brass with rods and hooks to assist suspension and movement. Some of her
FIGURE 54 Alison Duff, Frank Sargeson, 1962, Auckland Public Library. Bronze,
height 500 mm sculptures of birds are of this type and are designed to be placed in a garden.
Others are tabletop works like Bird Flying Over Water, 1960, which successfully
justification. The work is placed close to the ground to make it accessible to captures the impression of flight (Figure 55). They also show her interest in
small children. Macalister’s choice of subject can be seen as suited to a city that native flora and fauna. The thematic and conservationist dimensions of these
depends on its rural hinterland for its existence. Thematically it provides a link sculptures echo Don Binney’s better-known bird paintings of the same period.
back to her early carvings of animals done in the 1930s. It was the kind of Duff was interested not only in the kinetic potential of her work but also in
subject she felt most comfortable with, and she commented at the time that sound effects allowed by having the moving parts strike one another in the
she ‘felt most enthusiastic about this work right from the start’. wind. She continued to work on into the 1990s outside the sculptural mainstream
Molly Macalister’s last sculptures before her premature death in 1979 were until her death in March 2000. Together with Molly Macalister, she epitomises
more abstract. She began to feel that she needed to develop her art in new the spirit of professionalism and commitment in sculpture that emerged in New
directions and experimented without a clear sense of direction. Examples include Zealand in the 1940s and 1950s and laid the foundations of much subsequent
the small bronze made for State Insurance, Auckland, in 1971, and a suspended practice.
multi-piece work for the Takapuna City Council in 1973. In retrospect, these decades were ones of change for sculpture. Not only
As a person Macalister was engaging and sociable. Making her home and did artists like Clark, Macalister and Duff reflect new ideas and trends both
studio open to visits from other artists, writers and friends, she helped a great thematically and technically, but also they widened the range of work available
deal in creating an enhanced profile for sculpture in the community. While not to the public and made it more relevant to the local context. The use of materials
an innovator, or in any sense an avant-garde artist, she was a talented sculptor such as indigenous timber and local marbles and stone helped relate their work

84
more directly to the New Zealand situation. Sculptors like Duff and Macalister
mixed with writers, painters and critics who were concerned with shaping a
culture that had its roots in local life and experience. Their work started to have
a place in the community that was more relevant and meaningful to the general
public than had been the case previously. Commissions for shopping malls and
government buildings brought everyday life and sculpture together in a way
more relevant for New Zealanders. Tabletop works allowed private patrons to
become collectors of sculpture as well as painting. Gallery directors like Eric
Westbrook created a supportive climate by organising exhibitions of local and
international sculpture that attracted attention, controversy and debate. All these
factors contributed to a coming of age in New Zealand sculpture. FIGURE 55 Alison Duff, Bird Flying Over Water, Private collection. Steel, height 300 mm

POST-WAR SCULPTURE: 1945–65 — 85

VII

Figurative Sculpture Post-1960

Some of the more influential critics, among them Peter Tomory, date the Technical College in 1933–34. He subsequently worked with the sculptor Alfred
beginnings of sculpture in New Zealand to the 1960s. This is only true, however, Southwick before gaining a scholarship to attend the Central School of Arts and
of the beginnings of more modern or contemporary styles. Practice in New Crafts, London. While at Central he was taught medal design, which became a
Zealand had lagged far behind that of Europe and the United States, partly out lifelong passion and a field in which he enjoyed an international reputation. He
of ignorance of what was going on in the Northern Hemisphere, but partly also attended life classes, drew, painted and both modelled and carved figure
because of the conservatism of ideas surrounding sculpture in the art schools compositions. At Central, too, he was to learn bronze casting and die making.
and art societies. This situation began to change quite rapidly in the 1960s with There appears to have been some influence from the art and theory of Eric Gill,
the improvement of communications due to international air travel and with especially in his practice of blurring boundaries between fine and applied art.
the arrival of a number of new sculptors in the country, especially in Auckland. Beadle always preferred figurative art to abstraction. He recalled in 1977: ‘I
The increasing availability of magazines on contemporary art also helped to have for most of my life been a figurative sculptor . . . I soon came to the
inform local artists about current overseas work. During these years dealer conclusion that I was not destined to continue working in the abstract.’
galleries opened in Auckland and elsewhere, providing outlets for local artists to At the outbreak of war, Beadle joined the Royal Navy, serving in the Home,
sell and promote their work. Gradually patrons emerged who were knowl- Mediterranean and Pacific fleets. He served as a submariner and in that capacity
edgeable about contemporary painting and sculpture. Critical support from went to Australia in 1944. At war’s end, having no desire to go back to England,
writers like Hamish Keith and Peter Cape also helped to publicise the visual arts he turned to teaching art. Between 1947 and 1960 he held various art school
to a wider community. It was in this favourable environment that sculpture positions at East Sydney, Strathfield, Newcastle and Adelaide.
became more practised and more in touch with ordinary people. As a teacher, Beadle gave his students a sound technical training so that
Among the most prominent sculptors to emerge in these years was Paul they could realise their own ideas. At each art school he questioned established
Beadle (1917–92). Born and trained in Britain, he had spent the years from practice and put the courses on a more professional basis. Active in fostering
1944 to 1960 in Australia before shifting to Auckland. Bohemian in type, Beadle artistic growth in the wider community as well, he helped found the Society of
was a large bearded figure whose shorts and sandals became something of a Sculptors and Associates in Sydney in 1951. The society’s aims included: ‘to
trademark. His contribution to the visual arts as practitioner, administrator and advance the understanding of sculpture’. Far from being elitist, the Society
spokesperson was wide in scope and impact and his genial personality helped attracted a wide audience by holding events such as an open-air sculpture
establish him quickly in his new environment. There his work underwent rapid exhibition. At Newcastle, Beadle played a large part in establishing the war
change and evolution. memorial cultural centre, which included the art gallery of which he was the
Beadle dated his interest in sculpture to a period he spent at Cambridge first honorary director. During these years, Beadle carved directly in stone or

86
wood and modelled in clay and cast in cement. His work was figurative with a of expression. The starting point for the new work was supposedly a commission
solid yet elegant look rather like that of Gill or Frank Dobson. His portrait for a chess set. This forced him to think small and to change the parameters of
sculptures of the period have similar characteristics in their simple forms and his art. He recalled in an interview with Gil Docking in 1968: ‘The commission
decorative design. came to nothing as such but it started me working on a lot of small figures —
In 1961 Beadle was attracted to the post of chair at the Elam School of Fine and fitting one’s ideas into the conception of a chess set was a tremendous
Arts because it had a distinguished history dating back to 1890 and was a discipline. This is really the beginning of the type of work I am doing today.’
university-based institution. There was an established sculpture section with Beadle saw his bronzes as ‘a long-delayed development of a personal style
qualified if somewhat conservative staff. Beadle had a great deal to do in and outlook’. By using sheets, rods and balls of wax, he was able to achieve a
modernising the school, employing fresh staff and supervising the completion creative process that he likened to drawing. It allowed his fertile imagination
of a new studio complex. He also took part in the cultural life of the city, serving full sway. The lost wax casting could be done at the D.M.S. foundry with the
as president of the Auckland Society of Arts and the New Zealand Society of skilled help of Ron Ranby. But he still had to prepare the moulds and do the
Industrial Designers, among other duties. time-consuming finishing. He was greatly supported in such activities by his
Beadle’s move to Auckland changed his sculpture radically. He moved from wife Betty Cutcher, herself a sculptor, potter and medallist.
making solid carvings to small, perforated bronzes full of movement, anecdote, Undoubtedly his changed environment in Auckland contributed to the new
wit and humour. He found a way of working which allowed him a new freedom approach, as did his escape from conventional routine. He enjoyed the freedom

FIGURE 56 Paul Beadle, Bus Stop, 1969, Private collection. Bronze, 115 x 245 x 115 mm

FIGURATIVE SCULPTURE POST-1960 — 87

of the academic lifestyle as it was then, seeing the world with humour and a
twinkle in his eye. Perhaps the smallness of Auckland and the few artists working
in sculpture helped him to forget about what was fashionable and to adopt an
approach that some saw as conservative or even frivolous. He was approaching
his fifties when he made this stylistic change. Because it was late in his career,
he worked with renewed zeal.
His bronzes deal with a new range of subject matter which can be divided
broadly into scenes of everyday life, myth and some religious items. Beadle saw
his focus as mankind. In the Docking interview he remarked: ‘I see Man as a
rather funny little fellow — it is me too — and I accept, if not understand, most
of his faults . . . I have got much more faith in Man than in some of the things he
has concocted to have faith in — like democracy and the church.’
Beadle drew widely from diverse sources for the formal inspiration of his
art. On the one hand there were the Ashanti gold weights, some of which he
collected, with their spontaneity, their humour and their appealing sexual
frankness. On the other hand there was medieval religious art such as church
candlesticks and stained-glass windows and illuminated initials of manuscripts.
All was grist to his mill and was absorbed before being translated into his own
unique language.
Clearly the vitality of Beadle’s work came from his own observation of the
world, not from borrowings from other artists. Sculptures like Bus Stop, 1969
(Figure 56), depend on characterisation of the figures in their poses and actions
for a striking effect. Sometimes he would act out the poses and expressions in
front of a mirror to gain authenticity. In this work the young mother who stands
in resignation, feet apart waiting, while children clutch at her dress and cling to
her shoulder, typifies an everyday situation with which we can identify. The frieze-
like line of figures has an animated play between silhouetted shapes of figures,
hats, street lamps, arms and legs. He designed the open areas, as well as the
shadows they created, to achieve the best contrast between them and his figures.
Some of Beadle’s best bronzes are spherical or circular. In some he used the
sprue required to pour the bronze as a spindle on which the sculpture stands or
as an axis on which it can be turned. Movement is the essence of these works,
as is metamorphosis and change. The sphere takes on the symbolic connotation
of the world — a connotation very appropriate for Beadle whose little bronze
figures represent humanity. A good example of this type is the University of
Auckland Mace, 1969 (Figures 57 and 58). Beadle designed it to be turned so
that the figures symbolising the then ten faculties can be seen in sequence.
Beadle made a self-portrait for the mace showing him at work to personify the
FIGURE 57 Paul Beadle, University of Auckland Mace, 1969, University of Auckland
Fine Arts. (detail). Bronze on wooden staff, total height 1000 mm, bronze 260 x 130 mm

88
 PLATE 21 Paul Beadle, Dial a Vice or Virtue, 1978, Private collection, Auckland. Bronze,
242 x 175 mm

Beadle also evoked the cyclical in his sculptures, implying the passage of
time as well as the repetition of human frailties with their inevitable consequences.
Dial A Vice or Virtue, 1978 (Plate 21), recalls an old-style telephone. You can spin
the sculpture to target your vice as you might have dialled a number to reach a
telephone listing. Biblical subjects also offered him scope for his gentle moralising.
In some of his bronzes Beadle used found objects as a starting point, as in The
Beadle Family at Ilkley, 1978, where he used a toy wooden bench, once part of a
child’s doll’s house, as a support for the bronze seated figures.
With his bronzes Beadle achieved success rare for a sculptor both in Australia
FIGURE 58 Paul Beadle, University of Auckland Mace, 1969, University of Auckland
(detail) and New Zealand. His solo exhibitions regularly sold well because their

FIGURATIVE SCULPTURE POST-1960 — 89

accessibility contrasted starkly with much modernist art of the 1960s and 1970s. subjects. His submitted designs, including a one cent coin depicting a rifleman
Not surprisingly for such an idiosyncratic artist, Beadle had few followers in bird, a five cent tuatara coin and a twenty cent with a striking motif of a white
Auckland. His teaching encouraged students to develop their own styles, not heron, were accessible and of high artistic quality. He was careful not to make
copy his. For example, his The Relief of Algiers, 1942 (Plate 22), shows a North illustrations, preferring stylised images set against a plain background in the
African brothel in which a variety of sexual encounters take place. At once classical tradition. To his disappointment the government did not select his
humorous and satiric, it draws on his war service experiences and demonstrates designs. In 1972, however, he was commissioned by the New Zealand Treasury
his virtuosity in modelling small figures with character and flair. Mature work to design the commemorative dollars and to produce Victory and Commemo-
such as this was individual and inimitable — it was also outside the sculptural rative medals for the tenth Commonwealth Games held at Christchurch. He
mainstream of the time. also designed a dollar coin reverse to commemorate the Royal Visit in 1981. In
While he was in Auckland, Beadle also made medals and designed coins. this area he set new standards that have been rarely equalled since.
His most important undertaking was to design reverses for the New Zealand Of sculptors who emerged in the 1960s, few achieved the success of the
decimal currency in 1967. Beadle made numerous full-size studies to test motifs Auckland artist Greer Twiss (b. 1937) whose career as practitioner and teacher
associated with New Zealand flora and fauna as well as historical and emblematic has spanned over forty years. Much younger than Beadle and unlike him born
in New Zealand, Twiss developed what has been called an indigenous art that
was really a vernacular expression of what he knew and observed in life around
him. The early part of his career coincided with the later part of Beadle’s, providing
an interesting comparison. Like Beadle’s his early work has an underlying wit
and observation of the world around him. Like Beadle, too, he usually retained
a figurative aspect to his sculptures so that they rarely become totally abstract
or inaccessible to the average viewer. Also, never being completely in tune with
modernism or the ideals it embraced, his work can be conservative and
idiosyncratic by turn. His early sculptures are small bronzes providing a further
point in common with the older artist.
Born in Auckland, Twiss studied at Elam from 1956 to 1959, before Beadle’s
arrival, when its teaching methods were conservative especially in sculpture.
His lecturer was John Kavanagh who instilled a classical training with emphasis
on life modelling. While Kavanagh disliked modern sculpture, he allowed his
pupil to look at British sculptors such as Henry Moore, Kenneth Armitage and
Reg Butler who continued the figurative tradition. Twiss’s responses to these
artists can be seen in his early art school works.
When Kavanagh was on study leave in 1958, Twiss worked with Lyndon
Smith (b. 1927), who had been an outstanding student at Elam from 1954 to
1957. Smith, a fine technician, experimented with bronze casting, sparking an
interest in Twiss who went on to make small bronzes and lead figures himself.
Smith’s own sculpture, conservative in character and figurative in type, is
epitomised by his Maori Warrior, 1969, in Aotea Square, Auckland. However,
his most important work is a monumental bronze of mother and children for
the Hall of Memories, National War Memorial, Wellington, completed in 1962.
PLATE 22 Paul Beadle, The Relief of Algiers, 1942, 1973, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o
Tamaki. Bronze, 200 x 195 mm Smith’s simplified generic figures have echoes of Moore and Marini. In

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FIGURE 59 Greer Twiss, Athletes, Group 1, 1964, Private collection, Auckland. Bronze,
height 270 mm

comparison Twiss was more experimental and individualistic.

In 1965 Twiss was awarded a grant to study bronze-casting techniques in
Britain and Europe, allowing him to see what was happening in London as well
as to see the works of sculptors such as Greco and Marini in Italy. Twiss studied
the lost-wax process, a technique he used to good effect in his early bronzes.
He was to write in 1976: ‘My images are small and complex. I need a strong
material capable of taking fine detail and having a degree of permanence. Bronze
has all these qualities.’
His mid-1960s bronzes of athletes and protest marchers comprise some of
his best-known and best-loved works. Small in scale, accessible in subject as
well as local and topical in references, these sculptures brought to his audience
qualities they could both identify with and admire (Figure 59). The athletes
evoke New Zealand’s great era of middle-distance running when Peter Snell
held world records and jogging became a popular activity. By using a small
PLATE 23 Greer Twiss, Marchers, 1967, Private collection, Auckland. Bronze and paint,
base, Twiss was able to suggest movement, direction and unstoppable force. In 1130 x 640 x 600 mm

FIGURATIVE SCULPTURE POST-1960 — 91

92
no sense illustrative, Twiss’s figures recall antique statues of gladiators and athletes
as much as contemporary works by Alberto Giacometti. The protest marchers
capture a group dynamic with individual figures clustered and merged together
to evoke a collective purpose (Plate 23). Making an appearance in some
sculptures are slogans such as ‘The Bomb Will Maim’ or ‘Vote for Freedom’.
They spell out messages of social concern. Twiss captured a mood relevant to
an era when freedom of expression took the form of demonstrations, placard
waving and public marches through the streets. But, as an artist, he is as much
concerned with the dramatic action as with the message. In contrast to Beadle’s
subjects, Twiss’s are more contemporary and local in their meaning.
In 1966 Twiss was appointed to a lecturing position at Elam, thus beginning
a teaching career that was to span four decades. He became one of the new
team of younger artists appointed under Beadle and was to play a part in
revitalising the sculpture section. As a teacher, his sense of enquiry and his ability
FIGURE 60 Greer Twiss, Frozen Frame, 1968, Private collection, Auckland. Bronze and
to improvise proved helpful, even if at times his fiery temper would lead to aluminium, 310 x 610 x 310 mm

angry outbursts if things went wrong or his standards were not met. Importantly,
teaching gave him the financial resources to pursue his sculpture somewhat artist. In both cases the parts of figures function as if attached to an implied
independent of commercial considerations. whole figure, which the viewer must imagine. In both, too, the artists use cast
Prominent among his 1960s Auckland bronzes is the Karangahape Road shadows to create space while defining a light source. In Twiss’s work the device
Fountain, 1967–1969 (Plate 24). Designed for a small park, it is set back from is unrealistic because his figures, unlike Hanly’s painted ones, occupy real space
the street in a low-lying, accessible position. The life-size seated figures gaze and can cast real shadows that contradict the ones fabricated by the sculptor.
out at their surroundings, helping to relate man-made and natural features of But this is the kind of paradox that Twiss likes.
the environment, while the abstract disc-like forms echo one another as well as These works bring a return of the female figure to his work with, at times,
the bluestone circular base on which the work is sited. By perforating the disks, an erotic overtone. While there are some echoes of Greco’s bikini figures of
Twiss followed Moore and Hepworth in using this device to integrate the 1957–59, the mood is closer to British Pop Art of the 1960s which Twiss saw at
sculptural forms with the surrounding space. Taking into account the strong first hand in London. He began to use fibreglass with bright, painted colours,
winds of the site, he restricted the water to a trickle down the sculpture. At the later recalling: ‘In London I had seen a lot of painted and fibre-glass works and
time of the commission he remarked that he wanted to ‘get away from the these, plus the interest in colour that I started to develop in Italy, came together
conventional idea of a fountain as a piece of sculpture set in a pool.’ in 1969. I couldn’t afford to make large bronzes, but fibre-glass in those days
While making the fountain, Twiss’s ideas evolved and his method of working was not excessively expensive and became a medium that I explored for a while.’
changed. He began to use fibreglass and to introduce colour into his new pieces. The smooth, anonymous painted surface gave a brash, contemporary feel not
Of these the Bikini Girls of 1968 and the fragments of figures used in the Frozen previously seen in Twiss’s work or in that of other New Zealand sculptors. At
Frames series of 1968–1969 are characteristic (Figure 60). His bikini-clad figures one stroke he seemed to have closed the gap with painting and made sculpture,
can be compared with the painter Pat Hanly’s Figures in Light series of 1964. too, seem exciting and up-to-the-minute. It was a period of great creativity
Common to both artists is the presentation of cropped figures: in Hanly’s works, evidenced by over one hundred works in the Frozen Frames series. But few sold
either leaving or entering the space; in Twiss’s, sliced at points dictated by the and many were recycled, so that not many survive.
By setting his figures on a base plate and framing them as if frozen by the
camera, Twiss was able to generate a series of works where perceptual problems
PLATE 24 Greer Twiss, The Karangahape Road Fountain, 1967–69, Auckland. Bronze,
height, 2445 mm play games with the viewer. The strangeness of some of these works in which

FIGURATIVE SCULPTURE POST-1960 — 93

pairs of legs, for example, are cut off by the imagined frame, contributed to
their lack of popularity with viewers. There is never a story to give a narrative
meaning. Changes of scale help to disorient the viewer and contribute to the
idiosyncratic nature of these works. What happens is that increasingly the tensions
and spatial relations central to the works seem at odds with the figurative
components.
As part of his 1968 Frozen Frames show Twiss included a multiple — that is,
a replicated work designed to satisfy what has been called a ‘socialist concern
to make his work freely available to everyone’. In the catalogue notes, he stated
that the multiple was an attempt to get around the expensive and exclusive
nature of sculpture. He claimed that it was ‘a mass produced work, economically
accessible to all, leaving the collector in the position of accepting the work for
what it is, rather than for its rarity’. But he was criticised at the time for degrading
the status of art work by undermining its unique properties.
With his Intersections show of 1972, Twiss moved from modelled sculpture
towards assemblage. He began to use found objects, body casts and casts from
found objects. The artist usually arranged the elements on a steel plate that
defines the limits of his composition. An example is V.W. Split, 1974, where a
cast of a hand holds a tensed string onto a square plate. The string defines the
angles of the cut made through a cast of a toy Volkswagen, dividing it in two
PLATE 25 Greer Twiss, Touch, 1972, University of Auckland. Bronze and paint,
halves. The work becomes an arranged event with puzzling dimensions both 160 x 170 x 140 mm

literally and conceptually. Anecdotally, the work suggests a ‘happening’ of some

kind, but not a real event because the discrepancy of scale between hand and and occupy the space like an installation. This effect is almost achieved with
car is too great for consistency of that sort. Other pieces like Coil, 1972, incorporate Siteworks, 1977, a commission for the opening of the Rotorua Art Gallery, where
rope, as does Hang, 1972, which includes cast hands that cling or hold like Twiss designed the work to relate closely to the space. There is an accompanying
extensions of the sculptor’s body. This applies also to Touch, 1972 (Plate 25). increase in scale to allow our participation. We no longer look at the sculpture
In a few brief years Twiss’s work had changed radically because he had revised but are actively involved with it because we share the same floor space. This
his ideas about sculpture. He moved a long way from the work of Beadle. No applies to Link, 1976 (Plate 26), where the sculptor used both floor and walls.
doubt the reasons for these changes are complex. But it seems reasonable to see Twiss’s Tripod sculptures of 1980 continued a preoccupation with work issues
some response to visiting lecturers at Elam, among them the abstract sculptors yet retained a puzzling rejection of function by their unusual proportions, for
Adrian Hall (b. 1943), John Panting (1940–74) and Stephen Furlonger (b. 1939). example being too high to use, or by carrying elements such as blocks or wedges
All three had studied in the 1960s at the Royal College of Art. In particular, Hall’s that have no practical use.
preference for found materials like bricks, steel, wood and rope in his sculpture The mid-1980s saw Twiss continue making assembled sculptures which
interested Twiss. His own use of assemblage, found objects, steel plate, rope, combined cast elements, found objects and supports such as scaffolding or
metal clamps and rings coincides with Hall’s time in Auckland. Hall drew attention planks. Gradually the process of making the sculptures became more casual,
to the materials and processes of sculpture in a provocative way. even eccentric, with combinations of elements that are almost surreal. At the
During the 1970s Twiss abandoned the figure almost entirely, except for same time the mood of the work darkens, an aspect that is reinforced by the
allusions to its presence. His Sight/Site Works of 1976 and Barriers are assembled use of lead as a material. The artist himself finds lead congenial: ‘I actually think
pieces in steel and bronze. These sculptures spread across the floor to control it is a lovely material, it’s got a lot of life to it which I think is marvellous.’ An

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example from this period is No Sun, No Rain, No Radiation, 1986, made after the
artist’s house had burnt down. It incorporates casts of family memorabilia such
as a teddy bear and a toy plane that survived the fire. A tent-like shelter, made
of lead, suggests the paradox of this material, which has both protective qualities
as a radiation shield, while being poisonous.
Since 1990 Twiss’s work has changed further. He has made two large
installations, both of which involved galvanised steel as a material and included
the use of sound. The first, Decoys and Delusions, 1993 (Figure 61), an installation
of unprecedented scale for Twiss, was large enough to occupy the main space
of the Fisher Gallery, Pakuranga. Twiss used his theatrical and illusionistic skills
to create an environment in which nothing was what it appeared to be. Twenty-
nine lead ducks provided a clue to the deception in which initial impressions
were contradicted. By using different conventions in various parts of the work
— for example, tin cut-out trees alongside real trestles — Twiss asked questions
about what we perceive as real or not real. The second, A Right Royal Summer, FIGURE 61 Greer Twiss, Decoys and Delusions, 1993, Installation, Fisher Gallery,
Auckland. Galvanised iron, lead, audiotape, site specific

1995, was installed initially at the Artis Gallery, Parnell. This ambitious work had
a theme that can be related to republican aspirations and involved figurative
elements again, like Queen Victoria and Rangitoto Island, as well as bird song
and a Gilbert and Sullivan soundtrack. It showed the continuing inventiveness
and unpredictability of Twiss as a contemporary sculptor.
While Greer Twiss emerges as a major force in figurative sculpture in the
years after 1960, he had no true followers. Like Beadle, he was too idiosyncratic
and lacking in political correctness to be a useful role model for students. Indeed
Twiss encouraged individuality in those he taught. Yet, in contrast to Beadle
Twiss is a more varied practitioner who takes risks and has a range that extends
from small bronzes to large constructions. Never comfortable, his work reflects
the sweeping changes that overtook sculpture from the 1960s onwards. He is a
strong enough talent to question what was happening and to extract what he
wanted from it. For others, that proved more difficult. However, Twiss is but
one of a number of talented artists who have used traditional materials and
ways of working since that time. Other important practitioners include Paul
Dibble (b. 1943) and Terry Stringer (b. 1946).
Like Twiss, Dibble trained at the Elam School of Fine Arts under Kavanagh
and Allen. He grew up in Thames, a small town on the Coromandel Peninsula,
where he had only the local war memorial to introduce him to public sculpture.
At Elam in the years 1964–67, he learnt the basic techniques of bronze casting,
PLATE 26 Greer Twiss, Link, 1976, University of Auckland. Steel and lead,
1525 x 2340 mm and later he was able to set up his own foundry at his studio in Palmerston

FIGURATIVE SCULPTURE POST-1960 — 95

North. Dibble has become most associated with works in bronze, though after
leaving art school he experimented with a diverse range of materials such as
feathers and timber in his installations. He has always retained a strong interest
in natural forms in his sculpture, but his focus in recent years has been on the
human figure.
Since 1986 Dibble has established his reputation with a series of whimsical
bronzes (Plate 27) in which stylised female nude figures are shown alone or
juxtaposed with other elements, often of a still-life aspect or drawn from nature
(Plate 28). In one example a truncated figure on a shallow pedestal engages in
a neo-surrealist dialogue with an outsize bronze leaf mounted on a base beside
it. The nudes Dibble uses are often postmodernist quotes or pastiches of figures
from well-known examples of European sculpture or painting. He expects the
viewer to make the connection. Dibble frequently employs this kind of referencing
so that his figures function as signs of imported culture.
Despite their accessible imagery, Dibble’s sculptures are in no sense
naturalistic or narrative in the way they work. Like Twiss, Dibble blocks a literal
interpretation of his sculpture by preferring to set up an open-ended relationship
between sculptural elements. For example, his introduction of Maori motifs like
the koru into his bronzes can allow consideration of the debate about bicultural
issues or the ownership of cultural property. While engaging with such issues
and the options available for a contemporary sculptor in New Zealand, Dibble’s
bronzes belong very much to the European tradition. Their scale and feel recall
French modernists like Aristide Maillol (1861–1944), whose bronze nudes are
quoted in his work.
Dibble’s work suggests full three-dimensional depth and completeness of
form but does not deliver it. Instead, most of his figures are made like a relief,
being essentially thin and flat rather than full and round as their contours imply.
He delights in perforating his sculpture to reveal its shallowness and to draw
attention to the knife-edge contours that establish the divide between front
and back views.
The mannerisms of Dibble’s figures such as small heads and large thighs or
arms can recall Picasso of his neoclassical period in the 1920s. The lushness and
indeed sensuality of his figures are unusual for New Zealand, where prudery
and restraint normally hold sway. While Dibble’s sculptures lack the range and
diversity of ideas found in those of Twiss, they have a confidence and charm
that make them sought after for public spaces and private collections. By moving

PLATE 27 Paul Dibble, Under the Hula Moon, 1998, Private collection. Bronze,
2400 x 1120 x 450 mm

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his scale up to over life-size, Dibble has dramatised the inherent formal beauty
of his works and given them greater impact.
Like Dibble, Terry Stringer (b. 1946) works mainly with the figure in bronze.
He, too, retains strong links to the classical tradition of Western sculpture by
alluding to the forms and conventions of antique draped figures, torsos and
monumental heads. Stringer is a cool, reflective artist whose imagery has the
formal resolution that comes with calculation and thought. Yet beneath the
simplified contours and the decorative shapes and lines of his works there is an
inherent intensity of feeling.
Stringer achieves an imagery that is always accessible in terms of form,
despite his tendency to fragment, to slice and to rearrange the sculptural parts
of his figures. Compared with Twiss in his Frozen Frames series, Stringer seems
less radical in the way he crops his figures because they always make a coherent
image. Whereas Twiss cut his figures ruthlessly where they intersected his sight
line or base plate, Stringer arranges his parts of figures to make a composition
that works as an entity. They always achieve a balance on the plinth. Alternatively,
when he crops a face, he arranges it like a photographic close-up to be self-
sufficient. A hand, as in Behold, 1993, is balanced on the severed wrist to create
a sense of stability and poise.
Despite his faceting of forms in some works, Stringer is not a committed
Cubist, as he has been called, but rather someone who looks back to a range of
approaches and styles. For example, he is interested in classical antique art and
literature, as he shows by his allusions to antique prototypes with their timeless
sculptural forms. Stringer’s references to Cubist sculpture and painting derive
as much from nostalgia for early modernism as from any attempt to make his
figures look contemporary. By using faceting, he could hollow out the surfaces
of his figures to allow space to enter the works as a sculptural element freed
from representation. This is true of Schoolgirl, 1983 (Plate 29), where the facets
and movable parts of the figure also create movement. A parallel can be made
with Alexander Archipenko’s figure sculptures. Stringer was initially attracted
to the possibilities of interchange between the conventions of painting and
those of sculpture that his type of Cubism allowed. In some cases he painted
his works illusionistically with cast shadows, making it hard to tell where painting
left off and sculpture began. Ultimately he found the Cubist look formulaic and
discarded it.
Like Twiss and Dibble, Stringer studied at Elam under Kavanagh. In 1966,

PLATE 28 Paul Dibble, Snapshot, 1997, Private collection. Bronze, 1020 x 240 x 240 mm

FIGURATIVE SCULPTURE POST-1960 — 97

 his final year, he had Twiss as a teacher. Twiss was important as a precursor who
showed the possibilities for a young sculptor wanting to focus on the figure.
Also influential was Macalister who taught at Elam for a term. Consequently
Stringer had a solid training in traditional modelling and casting of the figure.
He has continued to draw from the nude model since leaving art school, a
practice that gives assurance to his work. His life drawings in coloured pencil or
conté have a naturalistic aspect with the emphasis on contour. Stringer is usually
more concerned with the model as motif rather than as an individual.
Consequently it is rare for him to execute a sculpture such as Grand Study,
1989, where the figure seems naturalistic, an effect enhanced in this case by
painting over the bronze to give a flesh tint. Normally his application of colour
is judicious and restrained.
Stringer achieved prominence early in his career with his success in the
competition to design a fountain for Aotea Square, Auckland, in 1979. His
winning design, rather like a bronze mountain, is uncharacteristic of his sculpture.
It provides a plain, bland surface for the trickle of water that flows down its
bronze sides. However, it does have a robust quality that is necessary in a public
situation with heavy pedestrian traffic. The Aotea Fountain remains an exception
for Stringer, who normally works in the domestic not the public arena.
From the 1980s Stringer frequently turned to still-life subjects, especially
everyday objects displayed on a table. Traditionally, painters have explored still
life more frequently than sculptors, a point worth noting considering Stringer’s
interest in the two-dimensional qualities of his art. In these still lifes Stringer
employed a Cubist-like faceting to squeeze the forms into a space shallower
than they would normally occupy. He tilted his bronze tables upwards to create
space rather like a relief, giving them a pronounced pictorial effect. By using
exaggerated perspective, he made the objects seem to recede rapidly from the
eye. The viewer is thus made aware of the illusionistic conventions in play and
to take part in the game. The artist emphasised the domestic connotations of
such works by exhibiting some of them in his suburban villa before he sold the
house and moved to an apartment. A good example is Table in Two Planes,
1987 (Plate 30).
Perhaps more developed are Stringer’s heads and figures executed in the
late 1980s and 1990s, where he has avoided the faceting to produce works that
are cropped or sliced to give an intensified presence. In sculptures like Pacific
Mask, 1988, the cutting of the head at chin and forehead level helps produce a

PLATE 29 Terry Stringer, Schoolgirl, 1983, Collection B. Grossman, Auckland. Bronze,

height 1200 mm

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PLATE 30 Terry Stringer, Table in Two Planes, 1987, Collection J. Gibbs Trust, Auckland. PLATE 31 Terry Stringer, Seize the Day While You May, 1998, Collection artist. Bronze,
Bronze, height 1400 mm height 1500 mm

stable, seemingly timeless image, reminiscent both of classical Roman colossal the mirror and their value as projections of hidden dimensions of people.
heads of emperors and the monolithic carvings of Easter Island. Much ancient Because it is largely self-contained, Stringer’s work makes few demands on
art has been ravaged by time so that only the most durable fragments remain. its surrounding space. His sculpture fits easily into a domestic context, where its
From these, as in Stringer’s heads, we can construct an even larger whole by formal refinement and carefully worked surfaces give a pleasingly decorative
using our imagination to complete the figure. Seize the Day While You May, effect. Stringer does not much deal with specific regional themes or motifs in
1998 (Plate 31), is an excellent recent example. his art. He rarely introduces obvious Pacific or national references as Dibble
The incompleteness of Stringer’s bronze figures reduces the more trivial does. Nor does he address topical local issues of the kind found in works by
aspects of representation. It also largely eliminates the old-fashioned dimensions Twiss. Instead, he believes that his art naturally partakes of the region where it
of the complete figure. By placing the focus on form and feeling in response to is produced with its constraints and freedoms. Because his art crosses national
what is there and what is implied Stringer allows scope for interpretation. His boundaries, he has a market in California and elsewhere outside New Zealand.
use of the mask to project the underlying character points to his interest in In October 2000, Stringer opened his own sculpture park just north of
layers of meaning. He has dwelt, too, on the shadowy elusive forms reflected in Whangaparaoa Peninsula where he displays his work in a rural setting. Called

FIGURATIVE SCULPTURE POST-1960 — 99

PLATE 32 Denis O’Connor, High Court Triptych, 1990, Auckland. Mt Somers stone, height 500 mm, width 1700 mm (each section)

Zealandia, this park allows Stringer to showcase his sculpture to a wide public
with both a commercial and an educational function.
Another sculptor who can be mentioned with this group, despite his
individual characteristics and conceptual concerns, is Denis O’Connor (b. 1947).
While O’Connor has a feeling for abstract design, it is often possible to find a
strong figurative dimension in his art. This becomes clear in his literal carving of
distinct objects or parts of the figure that take on a concrete character. His early
carvings were often made up of figure fragments or still-life objects superficially
not unlike those found in Terry Stringer’s works. But whereas Stringer prefers
bronze, O’Connor has gravitated to stone. In both artists there is a pronounced
commitment to exploring the traditional values of these materials so richly
imbued with the traditions of ornamental sculpture.
O’Connor, who studied at the Wellington School of Design, began as a
potter modelling his forms from white porcelain and a rich iron-saturated Waiheke
Island clay. His clay tablets already contained symbolic references to the myths
and trades of the pioneer inhabitants of the Hauraki Gulf. While Frances Hodgkins
Fellow at the University of Otago in 1985, he made a shift to stone, using white
limestone to make immaculate narrative works that juxtaposed natural forms,
man-made utensils and fragments of human figures, especially hands. His
carvings seemed closer to the heraldic traditions of stonemasonry than to
contemporary sculptural practice, but this appearance was subversive in intent.
Incised Roman letters and classical texts were succeeded by eccentric logos and
private majuscules full of poetic allusions. In his recent works, O’Connor
introduces found objects of an arte povera type to undermine the associations
with commemorative art.
O’Connor’s first major exhibition entitled Songs of the Gulf was shown in
1984 and 1985 at the Auckland City Art Gallery and the Dowse Art Museum,
Lower Hutt, at a stage when he was making a transition from clay to stone and
was becoming aware of the historical background to his art, noting: ‘I trace the
roots of my own image-making down a long line of Irish stone-carvers.’ The
PLATE 33 Denis O’Connor, UA (Out of, from), 1994, Private collection. Oiled slate,
ingredients of his mature style were present in these works, where he emphasised 1874 x 1460 mm

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shallow-relief modelling and clear contours set against smooth backgrounds.
With his symbolic imagery of bells, tools and birds, often laminated together in
ironic dovetailing, he extended the metaphoric and narrative potential of his
art in fresh visionary ways. A later example of his public stone reliefs in an
architectural setting is his triptych for the Auckland High Court, 1990 (Plate
32). In this work there is a sense of continuity with Teutenberg’s carvings for
the adjacent Victorian building, as well as the realisation that O’Connor’s
symbolic forms of jug, boat and feather belong very much to the contemporary
world.
More recently, he has made dense black slate and marble reliefs on a grander
scale. He has carved many commissioned public works as well as his 13 Stemmata
series of 1994 (Plate 33), and the Lachrimae series of 1997, made after a sojourn
in France as a Moët & Chandon Fellow. Here O’Connor introduces a new
minimalist austerity to enhance the dramatic potential of his work. He has also
added electric backlighting to his sculptural vocabulary. Whereas his earlier
PLATE 34 Bronwynne Cornish, The Dreamer, 1989, Private collection, Whangarei. Clay,
allusions drew on folk histories and local traditions, now his preoccupations sand and plants, 3000 x 2000 mm

have broadened to embrace themes of immigration, patriation, sacrifice and

loss. Personal identity, cultural identity and naming emerge as central concerns. training in Florence, being conservative in form and somewhat sentimental in
His art draws inner strength from what he has described as ‘a deepening mood. Her Mother Teresa, 1977, depends heavily on Italian images of the
conversation’ with the ghosts of his own genealogy. O’Connor’s sculpture Madonna for its conception. The downcast head and hands clasped in prayer
continues to develop in response to the challenges posed by such universal and create a devout but hackneyed image that borders on the maudlin. Her bronze
contemporary issues. panels for the tabernacle screen doors of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament,
Among contemporary New Zealand sculptors, Bronwynne Cornish (b. 1945) Christchurch, 1975–77, depicting the dead and resurrected Christ are among
is one of the few apart from Denis O’Connor to use clay as a medium. She her best works. Their Italian lineage is apparent in the conception of both panels
studied initially with the potter, Helen Mason, who developed her skills in and in the tactile modelling of the figures in deep relief. They relate to the
handling the material, from which she has made works both on an intimate and Italian tradition of the idealised nude figure of Christ and, while appealing, are
monumental scale. Her bigger pieces are made in sections so that they can be distant from the major concerns of contemporary sculpture at that period.
assembled into a larger whole, a technique that links her with other practitioners Compared with Russell Clark, her exact contemporary, Bancroft appears more
such as Christine Hellyar. Cornish’s work is figurative in nature, sometimes conservative and less convincing in bringing a local dimension to her sculpture.
encompassing still-life and animal forms as well as architectural and human While she can be compared with Alison Duff in some respects, her portraiture
subjects. Her sculpture has a primal quality, an association with the earth and falls below the level Duff achieved with her Hillary and Sargeson busts. Molly
with enduring natural processes. For example, her large female figures set in Macalister in her figurative sculpture appears formally a more varied and stronger
the ground reinforce the equation of women with nature (Plate 34). She has artist.
introduced organic materials into her works and planted gardens over and around Better known in Christchurch is Llew Summers (b. 1947), a self-taught artist
them so that the association with natural cycles is reinforced. whose public sculptures featuring large nude figures are accessible to a wide
Figurative sculpture in the traditional materials of bronze and stone has audience. Summers works in traditional materials and is especially noted for his
continued to attract a range of practitioners. Of an older generation, Ria Bancroft stone carvings with bold simplified forms. His art relates back to the expressionist
(1907–93) made her local reputation in Christchurch with figurative sculpture, ˘ ´
direction in early twentieth century sculpture and has echoes of Ivan Mestrovic
some of a religious nature. Bancroft’s works retained overtones of her academic and Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945) among others. An example is Love Me Tender,

FIGURATIVE SCULPTURE POST-1960 — 101

1994, Ashburton, where two nude figures are shown in an intimate embrace. shrines or little temples. But her sensitivity to natural forms emerged in her
Purchased with funds raised by a public appeal after it was shown at an exhibition coral, shell and seed forms carved with the purity and tonal subtlety of a Giorgio
in the Ashburton Art Gallery, Love Me Tender displays the monumentality of Morandi still-life painting metamorphosed into stone. Her more recent works,
form combined with erotic feeling that make Summers’s works popular. from the mid-1990s onwards, include propeller-blade forms or gold discs
Among other figurative sculptors Barbara Ward (b. 1955) and Chiara arranged in repeating patterns and made in light materials, like moulded paper
Corbelletto (b. 1956) can be mentioned. Of the two Ward is the more or styrene, so they can be suspended in the air. She has expressed an interest in
conservative and traditional practitioner. Self-taught as a sculptor, she has tessellation, a modular repetition of elements suggestive of infinity in their
developed a series of stone carvings of the figure, especially the female, that potential for endless replication (Plate 35). In much of her sculpture she shows
reflect her social and moral concerns. Ward has been an active organiser and sensitivity to tonal modulation of forms by light and an awareness of her work
participant in stone-carving symposia in Auckland since the first such event was in relation to its architectural setting. By addressing contemporary formal issues
held in 1986. There have been other events of this type in Wellington and in her art, Corbelletto has developed and made her work more progressive than
elsewhere. They tend to attract capable but conservative practitioners whose those who have remained inside the parameters of traditional figurative sculpture.
contribution is to popularise modern sculpture and widen its audience. Her work shows respect for the figurative tradition, but also the need to develop
Corbelletto, though a participant at some of these symposia, occupies a sculpture reflective of the contemporary world in conception and materials.
position somewhere between abstraction and figuration. Born and trained in Most of the influential developments from the 1960s onwards involved
Italy, where she studied architecture at the University of Milan, she arrived in new materials and ways of constructing and thinking about sculpture. Abstraction
New Zealand in 1981. At first her works had architectural references to prehistoric and Conceptual Art became more important as carved and modelled sculpture
lost the capacity to fully engage with modern life and its rapidly changing pace
and technology. It was no longer enough to render subjects, even local ones, in
traditional techniques and materials. Even skilled figurative artists like Bancroft
needed to find ways of making their work seem exciting and relevant. The same
challenges were found in Britain, Australia and the United States. For many
artists, both painters and sculptors, this led to the abandoning of figurative art
and the embrace of abstraction in its various manifestations. Adding to the
depth of the sculptural scene, traditional practitioners continued to work
alongside more experimental ones. Inevitably differences became divisive, and
various critical positions were defined that were hostile to one another.

PLATE 35 Chiara Corbelletto, Gold Disks Installation, 1996, Archill Gallery, Auckland.
2500 styrene disks, 4500 brass links

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VIII

Abstraction and Modernism: 196 0 –1990

The introduction of radical new ideas and approaches to sculpture happened an interest in mood that was reflected in his titles for sculptures and in his
comparatively slowly in New Zealand. As we have seen, for a considerable period unpredictable assembly of disparate forms. Some younger sculptors were
after 1945 local sculptors were mesmerised by the works of Moore and Hepworth. attracted to American work by the uncompromising use of geometric elements,
This was also the case in London in the early 1950s while Jim Allen was a student the surface uniformity and the total rejection of allusions beyond the sculpture
at the Royal College of Art. Ultimately, this kind of work became a cul-de-sac for itself.
anyone searching for an individual direction. For some a means of escape came New Zealand sculptors learnt a good deal about developments in modernist
in the change from modelled and carved sculpture to construction. In England, sculpture through interaction with the Royal College of Art and St Martin’s School
Anthony Caro (b. 1924) was among the first to develop constructed sculpture of Art from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s. A number of talented artists with
in the 1960s which was conceived totally in abstract terms without reference to British connections studied and taught at Auckland or Christchurch in that period.
the scale and proportions of the human figure. His part-time position as a lecturer These artists included Stephen Furlonger, Terry Powell, John Panting, Carl Sydow
at the St Martin’s School of Art, London, made his influence especially strong and Matt Pine. All five were ready to absorb whatever was new and promising
among younger artists. He had been to the United States where he had met the in sculptural theory and practice. Two of these artists, Panting and Sydow, died
pioneering abstract sculptor David Smith (1906–65) and the noted critic Clement young before they had time to develop their work. Powell and Furlonger became
Greenberg who supported his work. At the same period, the sculpture of British residents who maintained New Zealand contacts but no ongoing presence.
important American Minimalist artists such as Donald Judd (b. 1928) and Robert Matt Pine was the only one to return and make his career in New Zealand over
Morris (b. 1931) became better known in London through exhibitions at the an extended period of time.
Tate Gallery and elsewhere. Each of these artists brought back to New Zealand a first-hand knowledge
The humanist quality found in Hepworth and Moore was replaced by a of current English practice. Stephen Furlonger, (b. 1939) visiting artist at Elam
more mechanical conception of form. By welding his sculptures out of in 1970, had studied at the Royal College from 1962 to 1965, exploring new
prefabricated steel, Caro was able to concentrate on the shapes, masses and sculptural materials such as fibreglass. While he was in Auckland, Furlonger
angles of the work. His use of strong colour helped give the works a executed a number of floor-based works unlike anything previously seen in New
contemporary, non-allusive dimension. Caro’s sculpture, like Smith’s, opened Zealand. Totally abstract, these works function best when seen from above like
up new avenues for exploration. Caro conceived much of his work directly in a floor-mounted relief. Furlonger focused on formal qualities by paying
relation to the floor or ground without a base or pedestal. His work had the meticulous attention to edge, to plane and to volume. His work positioned
literal quality of self-reference, which had also emerged in post-war abstraction sculpture in the modernist movement alongside abstract painting. At one blow,
with painters like Ellsworth Kelly and Kenneth Noland. However, Caro retained Furlonger suggested an alternative to figurative sculpture set on a base. Such

ABSTRACTION AND MODERNISM: 1960–1990 — 103

FIGURE 62 John Panting, Untitled III, 1972, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki. Mixed media

sculptures quickly made an impression on artists in Auckland. Furlonger became an accomplished exponent of modernist sculpture made from
subsequently returned to London where he taught at the Central School of Art contemporary materials such as plastic and perspex. When he returned as a
from 1978 until his retirement in 1996. Terry Powell (b. 1944) was also to settle visiting lecturer to Elam for a year in 1976, he introduced his ideas to Auckland.
in London where he held a number of part-time teaching positions before At the time of his premature death, John Panting (1940–74) was on the
becoming a tutor at the Royal College. Having studied at Elam in the mid- way to achieving a European reputation. Early study at the Canterbury School
1960s, he attended classes at the Royal College from 1970 to 1973. Powell of Art from 1959 to 1962 was followed by attendance at the Royal College from

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1964 to 1967. In London, Panting evolved a style of modernist sculpture making grant, he changed to a modernist style. He studied recent bronze and steel
use of new materials such as steel, perspex, aluminium and wire cable. Among sculpture, looking closely at modern constructed sculpture in London. On his
his mentors was Caro whose open-form, welded sculptures provided him with return, Taylor executed a number of large commissions for public buildings.
influential models. But he also looked at exhibitions of American Minimalist art A good example is Transit (Plate 36) in the stairwell of the Auckland Medical
shown in London from the mid-1960s. An example of Panting’s steel sculptures School. Dated 1976, it was carried out as one of a group of modernist works
is Untitled III, 1972 (Figure 62), which is constructed out of narrow steel bars commissioned by art consultant Hamish Keith for the new building. Other artists
welded together to form a scaffolding of lines and movements through space. represented are Twiss, Marté Szirmay and Don Driver. Taylor used metal beams
The piece is characteristically elegant, extending confidently across the floor. bolted together and jutting out into the space from mountings on the concrete
Panting has been said to put the emphasis on linear drawing as a means of walls of the landing. The work has a pronounced industrial look totally at odds
generating shape and form. This is especially true of his 1972 works where he with the older figurative tradition of Eric Doudney in which he trained.
used thin steel bars like lines to draw in space. There is asymmetry, tension and Uncompromisingly abstract, his sculpture addresses formal matters including
freedom from the figurative constraints of much preceding sculpture. the interrelation between the metal beams and the box-like space of the
Panting was an obsessive artist who thought nothing of working all night in architecture. The beams appear to move in space, creating a contrast with the
the studio. His more massive last works incorporate demolition timber as well as architecture and a frame for the view through the window to the Domain
steel and resin. Perhaps critical of his own earlier achievements, he looked for a gardens. However, Taylor did not sustain his interest in this kind of work, later
raw quality in these works as if they had been thrown together. Panting was a reverting to bronze portraiture. As a teacher, Taylor earned wide respect, though
visiting lecturer at Elam in 1969 when it was possible to see his kind of work as as a practitioner he failed to fulfil his potential.
avant-garde. He returned to London where he was appointed principal lecturer Working in London during the 1960s was the expatriate Edward Bullmore
in sculpture at the Central School of Art in 1972. It is more than likely that (1933–1978), who developed an individual kind of painted relief. His con-
Panting would have proceeded to have an important career in London, but it is structions apparently originated in his work as a set designer for the Court
doubtful whether his style could have been adequately supported in New
Zealand.
At the time of his death in 1974, Panting’s sculpture looked excitingly new
and radical to his friends and students. Thirty years on it seems mainstream in
terms of international modernism. Such works, however, opened up the use of
new materials for sculpture in New Zealand and allowed a more environmental
impact. The reality of the sculpture became important, as did the way it occupied
the same space as the viewer.
Panting, Powell and Furlonger all brought modernist ideas about sculpture
to New Zealand while they were still current overseas. The travelling exhibition
called Recent American Art in 1972 gave local sculptors the chance to see
comparable modernist works by the Americans Donald Judd, Sol Le Witt and
Tony Smith. Not surprisingly, a number of sculptors working in New Zealand
turned to constructed metal sculpture in the 1970s. While it is arguable that
none achieved anything distinctive, Tom Taylor (1925–94), a Christchurch-based
sculptor with an architectural background, understood the principles better than
most. From 1960 until his retirement in 1991, Taylor taught at the Canterbury
School of Art where he played a key role in making sculpture an important
PLATE 36 Tom Taylor, Transit, 1976, University of Auckland. Steel, 2700 x 4200 x
section of the School. After a 1969 European trip funded by an Arts Council 3300 mm

ABSTRACTION AND MODERNISM: 1960–1990 — 105

106
Theatre, Christchurch. After his return to New Zealand in 1969, the self-effacing
Bullmore failed to establish much of a New Zealand profile but he held several
exhibitions at the Barry Lett Galleries, Auckland. The earlier was in 1971 when
he showed his Astroform series. Bullmore had studied at the Canterbury School
of Art from 1951 to 1955, gaining a diploma with honours before travelling to
Italy in 1959 and then to London, where he was based for the next decade. He
showed his works at various Commonwealth exhibitions, became a member of
the London Group and taught at British art schools to make a living.
His Astroform series of the mid-1960s marks the high point of his career.
Despite the abstract presentation, its suggestive curving forms and openings
have explicit sexual connotations, which caused unease to some viewers. By
recycling bent chair frames, Bullmore created projecting supports for the canvas
or padded areas he picked out in strong colour. His reliefs connect to modernist
directions in the constructed sculpture of 1960s London rather than to anything
found in New Zealand at that time. While Bullmore did achieve a personal
dimension with his British works and the Icon series of the 1970s, his work was
too unsettling to gain much of a following in his home country (Plate 37).
Some New Zealand artists tried to adapt modernism to a local or vernacular
tradition. Of these Carl Sydow (1940–1975) was among the more inventive. He
had begun his training at Canterbury School of Art when figurative bronze
sculpture was still dominant. With a similar background to Greer Twiss, he at
first absorbed influences from Henry Moore and Kenneth Armitage (b. 1916).
While studying in London, Sydow came in contact with Panting and Furlonger
and before long changed to modernist constructed sculpture.
Back in Christchurch in 1967 he began to make sculpture assembled from
modern industrial materials. His use of plastic tubing, hose, iron and perspex
gave his works the anonymous look typical of the international movement.
PLATE 38 Carl Sydow, Meander I, 1970, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch.
Gradually he developed a more individual manner, as seen in his Meander series Perspex, hose and aluminum base, 1832 x 920 x 308 mm

of the early 1970s. He found a way of arranging bright coloured plastic tubing
in a perspex base to evoke an effect of nature, even though it was metaphorical drawings, Sydow was developing various methods to achieve motion at the
rather than descriptive (Plate 38). time of his death. By using vertically mounted zinc mesh screens, set one behind
Set on the floor, these works are accessible and not in the least monumental. another, he began to find ways of achieving ephemeral and changeable effects
The undulating hosing in primary colours contrasts in its garish opacity with the of shape, light and space as the viewer moved past the work. He might well
transparent perspex and mirror base. Sydow was making sculpture that was have developed a personal type of kinetic sculpture if his premature death had
modern, light in feel yet slightly idiosyncratic. In comparison with Panting or not brought his promising career to a close.
Furlonger, Sydow seems less austere and more fun. Judging by his working Kinetic sculpture had also attracted the expatriate Len Lye (1901–80), who
came to prominence in New York during the 1960s. He helped promote modernist

PLATE 37 Edward Bullmore, Hikurangi No. 8, 1964. Robert McDougall Art Gallery,
ideas in New Zealand sculpture through a visit home in 1977 for an important
Christchurch. Mixed media,1220 x 870 x 130 mm exhibition of his work at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. Engineer John Matthews

ABSTRACTION AND MODERNISM: 1960–1990 — 107

fabricated a number of Lye’s kinetic sculptures to his specifications at New
Plymouth for the show, providing the technical support he needed but rarely
had experienced in his career. Born in Christchurch, Lye spent his entire working
life outside New Zealand. Early on he shifted to Sydney and then London in the
1920s, becoming a pioneer of animated film. Before his death, he arranged to
gift his surviving works, plans and drawings to the Len Lye Foundation established
in New Plymouth. His visit in 1977, his works and a later major survey show of
his art staged by the Auckland City Art Gallery drew attention to his ideas.
Kineticism never achieved much sculptural prominence in the modernist
movement even though the mobiles of Lye’s acquaintance Alexander Calder
(1898–1976) became popular and familiar to a wide audience. Lye is now
acknowledged as among the most important modernist practitioners of kinetic
sculpture. His kinetic works avoid the problems of much motorised art, which
FIGURE 63 Len Lye, Trilogy (A Flip and Two Twisters), 1977, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery,
can degenerate into low-tech gimmickry or toy-like inconsequence. Lye employed New Plymouth. Stainless steel with motors, 7500 x 1200 x 7000 mm

motors and magnets to create movement and sound in his metal sculptures but
programmed his work so that it has time-based as well as sound-based It is true that Lye had a limited direct influence on sculpture in New Zealand
components. By using shimmering polished surfaces of metal he introduced but his works provided a yardstick of international quality. The kinetic aspects of
light as a further integral element. He shared the modernist interest in construction the work of Andrew Drummond and Peter Roche come to mind as responses to
and new materials while seeking to link them to technology in an innovative his example. His works fabricated in New Plymouth are arguably the finest
way. The speed and rhythm of Lye’s motorised works, with their effects of light examples of modernist sculpture in the country.
and sound, are very different from Alexander Calder’s quiet mobiles set in motion By far the most prolific and inventive local sculptor to use a modernist
by currents of air. Comparatively, too, the Swiss artist Jean Tinguely’s kinetic approach is New Plymouth artist Don Driver (b. 1930). Driver was able to see
sculptures are ironic commentaries on machines, involving the idea of self- and study Lye’s sculpture at first hand, though there is no obvious stylistic
destruction rather than the formal and monumental dimensions of Lye’s sculpture. influence. Having a streak of the irrational and surreal in his make up, Driver
Lye’s Trilogy (A Flip and Two Twisters), 1977 (Figure 63), carries his kinetic was never one to follow a single direction for long. His works of a minimal,
vision to a scale where the power, energy and noise of the forms in movement modernist type can be found in the late 1960s and early 1970s when he produced
have a total sensory impact. The sound and vibration of this work in full motion a series of striking relief sculptures made from recessed panels held in a frame.
has a frightening energy and an appeal once encapsulated in the term ‘the These reliefs are remarkable for their simple, flat surfaces differing from one
sublime’. Despite its size, this sculpture is smaller than the huge unbuilt works another in colour or material — for example, paint and stainless steel. There is
Lye projected, which would require temple-like buildings to house them. no allusion to anything beyond the work itself, the effect being as literal as a
Underlying his technological interest was a deep spirituality that informs his art, Judd sculpture or a Noland painting. From the mid-1970s he produced numerous
prompting the viewer towards awe and meditation rather than idle curiosity. assemblages of found objects and materials in which he sought the opposite
Not all his kinetic sculptures are loud or agitated. Fountain, built in various versions qualities — improvisation, recognisable objects, lettering and the detritus of
from 1959 onwards, consists of 120 stainless steel rods splayed out from a central the modern consumer society.
container to create an effect not unlike a plume of spray. It is calm, with only Driver, a largely self-taught artist, travelled in 1965 to the United States, an
the most gentle of movements and sound, which a motorised base keeps in a experience that influenced his work directly in a series of reliefs that involve
state of flux. Trilogy and Fountain represent the two contrasted aspects of Lye’s found objects and materials. Mid-West, 1965 (Figure 64), with its prominent
kinetic works and both were built for the 1977 New Plymouth show to a greatly skull, involves a pun on his location in New Plymouth as well as
enlarged scale. acknowledgement of his debt to American art. In 1969 he became an employee

108
 unmistakable. Because the colour was so pronounced, critics sometimes
categorised Driver as a painter or as an artist occupying some kind of halfway
house between painting and sculpture. Although he did some painting, his
three-dimensional emphasis moves his works into the sculpture category. The
stainless-steel panels in his reliefs introduced a material that had connotations
of industry and the real world as distinct from that of art illusionism. Yet the
polished surfaces could reflect surroundings and viewers in a way that broke
down the relief’s autonomy and made it part of its environment.
In 1973 Driver made some five or six constructions in box-like containers
called the Cosmos series. His boxes, of either rusting oxidised metal or timber,
sheltered brightly coloured contents such as PVC pipe or coloured Formica. In
the Cosmos series, Driver was alluding to the closed-box forms of Judd and
Morris while using transparent sheeting to allow the viewer to look in and through
his boxes. Related reliefs used coloured plastic balls among other novel materials.
These works had a palette of bright zingy colour, lipstick pink, lemon yellow
and sky blue, the like of which had never been seen in a local gallery before,
though it can be noted that the ideas went back to his reliefs of the 1960s. Here
were brash accents in place of tasteful tones — colour freed from other kinds of
servitude and breaking out with the modishness of a 1960s mini dress or pair of
latex boots. Instead of being repulsed by plastic, Driver embraced its inert surfaces
with enthusiasm for the fresh effects and meanings they produced (Plate 40).

FIGURE 64 Don Driver, Mid-West, 1965, Private collection, New Plymouth. Mixed media
1837 x 1508 mm

of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, with access to its library as
well as contact with visiting artists and critics. There are some overtones of Pop
Art, a movement that appealed to Driver as well as to painters such as Ian Scott
at that time.
Driver was ridding his art of the hand-made, representational qualities of
an older style. In the process, he could select forms that were part of
contemporary life and could more accurately situate his sculpture in the modern
world. The step to the colour reliefs of 1970–1974 was relatively simple (Plate
39). He could now use flat bands of strong colour, simply as colour, without
modulation or any concessions to illusionism. Each colour usually had its own
physical support to which it was coded. There had been little like it in New
PLATE 39 Don Driver, Relief No.10, 1972, Private collection, Auckland. Acrylic on
Zealand sculpture before, but its context in international modernism was canvas panels, 1455 x 1860 x 65 mm

ABSTRACTION AND MODERNISM: 1960–1990 — 109

110
PLATE 41 Don Driver, Tooled Diptych, 1996, Collection of artist. Mixed media, diameter 1630 mm

Although his sculptures have different antecedents, there are parallels with Twiss’s Plymouth painter Michael Smither. At all times his low art materials achieve
fibreglass works. high art benchmarks. He has continued to make refreshingly varied works of
Driver quickly achieved recognition by winning prizes like the Hansells this kind up to the 1990s, an example being Tooled Diptych, 1996 (Plate 41).
Sculpture Award in 1974. John Maunsell, managing director of Hansells New By using found material Driver could adopt a range of personas in his work.
Zealand Limited, established this award in 1971 to recognise the importance of Soft pieces of canvas or old sacks lie alongside metal implements. In his
sculpture in New Zealand. In the 1970s the award provided a forum for sculptors, idiosyncratic modernism Driver deconstructed his own identity to become
especially those concerned with the object, even though the small-town venue something less considered, but more human. His movement out of the confines
of Masterton ultimately counted against its continuing success. The award paralleled that of an artist like Ralph Hotere whose work, like Driver’s, veers
encouraged a number of sculptors like Driver and Peter Nicholls who went on somewhere between relief sculpture and painting. His questioning of the
to make professional careers. technical divisions of the fine arts is itself representative of much that was
Always prolific, Driver refused to be confined to any one approach. In the happening in this period, when definitions of sculpture underwent radical
late 1970s he launched out into a seemingly indiscriminate assemblage where change. Affinities have been found with Dada in some of his works, even though
anything seemed to go. He used old sacks, stencilled letters, pitchforks, you Driver always retains an interest in formal values. The introduction of dolls, toys
name it — all was grist to his mill. His assemblages are daring, witty, yet not and prams into his work extended its range of connotations to include comment
unaffectionate statements about an agricultural town and province. Not afraid on contemporary society and its values. In New Zealand art he stands out as an
to use fertiliser sacks complete with brand names and instructions in his individualist, always driven by his own agenda. His long-standing interest in
assemblages, Driver introduced references to the local farming industry that Asian sculpture, of which he has a small collection, points to the breadth of his
were very different from those in the realist, regional landscapes of the New knowledge and range of references.
Among other sculptors attracted by a modernist aesthetic who have chosen
to work in a provincial environment, Peter Nicholls (b. 1936) has a distinctive
PLATE 40 Don Driver, Large Cosmos, 1975, University of Auckland. Wood and perspex,
2020 x 1380 x 300 mm practice. Mostly associated with sculptures assembled from massive pieces of

ABSTRACTION AND MODERNISM: 1960–1990 — 111

 recycled timber, Nicholls embraces the principle of construction, one that links
him to modernists such as Panting despite the otherwise disparate nature of
their works. He often likes to use second-hand materials such as hardwood bridge
beams, worn wharf piles or trusses from demolished warehouses. By doing so,
he establishes links with an earlier era of hand-made woodworking in the service
of industry (Plate 42).
Usually Nicholls prefers the wear and tear of nature and use to the machine-
made surfaces of modern materials. In the process his art can seem more
idiosyncratic than international even though beams of wood — even railway
sleepers — can be found in North American sculpture of the 1960s and 1970s.
The Canadian Fred Loopstra’s Homage to Will, 1971, made for the Auckland
Sculpture Symposium, is an excellent example. Its earth-bound forms, roughed
out to symbolise a plough, have precisely the overtones of honesty, hard work
and history that we find captured in Nicholls’s art. Nicholls also favoured
organically curved branches from trees in his sculptures of the 1970s and returned
to that material for Rakaia, 1996–97 (Plate 43), a more recent site-specific work.
Although his work was made in isolation from the main art centres, it coincided
with developments in organic naturalism in Britain, Europe, the United States
and Australia.
By mounting his sculptures on the ground, by bolting them together, by
allowing his recycled timber to lean, to lie and to stand up vertically against the
sky, Nicholls can convincingly capture the spatial qualities of modernist sculpture.
While keeping rich associations of nature and the rural, he alludes constantly to
the formal properties of modernism. There is an aptness in his works to an
image of New Zealand as a country place of low-tech farming and honest toil.
The heaviness, the roughness and lack of finesse of his sculptures seem to capture
an appropriate provincial accent, the opposite of Terry Powell’s work with its
polished cosmopolitan phrasing. On occasion Nicholls has made sculpture in
materials other than timber. For example, early in the 1980s he co-opted army
engineers to execute sculptures using winches, dynamite and boulders as
gravitational forming devices onto sheet steel in Full Stop, 1982, or power poles
and boulders as anchoring systems to sheet metal winched into curving planes
in Sprung Arc, 1984.
Born in Wanganui, Peter Nicholls studied at the Elam School of Fine Arts
where he had a sound grounding in traditional stone-working and woodworking
techniques, as well as modelling. He gained his diploma with honours in 1963.

PLATE 42 Peter Nicholls, Luff, 1988, cedar, jarrah and bronze, 5000 x 5000 x 3000 mm.
Private collection, Auckland

112
PLATE 43 Peter Nicholls, Rakaia, 1996–97, Keystone Trust Collection. Australian hardwood with timbercryl, 4500 x 60,000 x 5000 mm

Later on, in 1979, he completed a master’s degree in sculpture at the University timber to make figures or structures to hold and support things. Substantial as
of Wisconsin. After an initial figurative period, he changed to a modernist style they are, his works do not appear monumental even when constructed from
in the 1970s and shifted to Dunedin where he has taught sculpture at the Otago architectural forms such as arches and lintels. Instead, they have a folk art quality,
Polytechnic School of Art. Most of Nicholls’s sculpture has been for public an element of fun and the unexpected. In his sculptures of the 1980s he used
situations, such as his large wood sculptures at the University of Otago, the boxes, compartments and shelves to order and display his items including tree
University of Auckland and the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, to mention a few. branches, stones and coins (Plate 44).
An exact contemporary of Peter Nicholls is Warren Viscoe (b. 1935), who While he has flirted with figurative works on occasion, Viscoe is at his
studied at Elam from 1963 to 1965. Like Nicholls, he likes to use natural materials, strongest when he keeps a dividing line between representation and his naturally
especially timber, and shares his affinity for the rustic. Viscoe has never been a inventive approach to form. He constructs his male figures from pieces of timber,
committed exponent of any one kind of sculpture but has made constructions sometimes from tree branches, cutting out their heads from plywood so that
out of recycled materials, including timber. His experience as a builder sometimes they appear like animated mannequins. His figures are workers whose actions
comes through in the fluency of his approach to putting together pieces of lack grace but comment on the relationship between man and his environment.

ABSTRACTION AND MODERNISM: 1960–1990 — 113

 Although the majority of New Zealand sculptors who embraced modernism
were men, there was also a small number of women adherents. There had been
no real barriers to women becoming sculptors, as the careers of Butler and
Macalister attest. But the prospects of a successful career were limited while the
costs were high. One artist who overcame most of these problems is Marté
Szirmay (b. 1946). Marté Szirmay is the stepdaughter of sculptor Frank Szirmay,
a Hungarian sculptor who came to Auckland as a refugee in 1957 along with his
family. His own work remained in a conservative, figurative manner with minimal
changes resulting from his new environment. Undoubtedly Marté drew an initial
interest in sculpture from her stepfather and was assisted by growing up
surrounded by the materials and tools of the art world.
While a student at Elam from 1965 to 1968, she benefited from the more
open teaching typical of the Beadle era. Encouraged by Jim Allen to major in
sculpture rather than painting, Szirmay soon established an individual profile.
She rose to prominence straight out of art school by winning a public sculpture
competition in 1969. This was the Smirnoff Sculpture Award funded by Gilbeys
New Zealand Limited (Plate 45). Her winning entry was for a large aluminium
abstract fabricated to her instructions by Roskill Sheet Metal Works. Constructed
from eight interlocking pieces, the sculpture suggests movement and life, despite
the absence of organic or figurative references. Unlike most of her later
constructions, the Smirnoff Sculpture is a fully enclosed form that reads as a
monumental entity. It clearly reflects an understanding of constructed sculpture
brought to Elam via contacts with the Royal College of Art at this time.
Quite simply this was a radical work for Auckland. It was a big step from
Macalister’s Maori Warrior (Figure 53) of a few years earlier. Szirmay’s work was
the first large abstract sculpture to be commissioned in Auckland. Also, it was
made from a modern material, aluminium, that had contemporary connotations
of industry and commerce, not of the fine arts. Its method of construction with
no individual working by the artist herself was also in line with modernist practice.
Unlike Macalister’s work, it moves away from anthropomorphism to minimalist
forms with no human dimension. Situated in a small Newmarket square, the
sculpture has a public accessibility and presence, which have contributed
PLATE 44 Warren Viscoe, Fifteen Bird Calls, 1982, mixed media. Sarjeant Gallery,
Wanganui enormously to its impact on artists and the public. Part of its success came from
the artist’s willingness to accept the aluminium material with its particular
With Viscoe it is possible to see a range of influences coming through, among properties instead of trying to make it look like something else.
them that of the American sculptor Louise Nevelson. He has an uncanny sense The Smirnoff Sculpture in some ways looked forward to Szirmay’s subsequent
of scale, and an ability to contrast textures to suggest movement and life. He work. It seemed in one bold statement to capture much of what she had to say
often mounts his sculpture directly on the floor to create an impression of as an artist. Viewed in retrospect, it is possible to see aspects of her later practice
informality and contact with the viewer. reflected in its shiny surfaces, for she has frequently worked in aluminium since,

114
PLATE 45 Marté Szirmay, Smirnoff Sculpture, 1969, Newmarket, Auckland. Aluminium sheet, 2600 x 4900 x 2000 mm

to such an extent that she is most often associated with that material. She had for institutions and corporations. Most of these larger commissions have been
further early success by winning the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship in 1971–72 in aluminium or stainless steel. She completed one work for the University of
and receiving a grant to travel in Europe. Spending 1974 and 1978 in Europe Auckland (Plate 46) and another early example for the Otago Medical School,
gave her first-hand knowledge of constructed sculpture. Since 1980 she has Dunedin, in 1975. Mounted on a shallow base close to the ground, the Dunedin
spent further time in both Europe and the United States. work has painted abstract forms cut out of sheet aluminium with contrasting
After the Smirnoff Sculpture, Szirmay carried out a series of public commissions curved and straight profiles. While small in scale, the Dunedin piece is significant

ABSTRACTION AND MODERNISM: 1960–1990 — 115

 archetypal forms and shapes — circles, pyramids, squares, spirals — all of which
can be found in the traces we have of ancient civilisations all over the world.’
She has worked with these forms on both an intimate and a large scale, making
pieces small enough to be hand-held as well as monumental public sculptures.
Her varied techniques involve modelled as well as constructed forms. Usually
she has avoided titles for her sculpture, preferring to rely on an interaction
between sculpture and viewer.
Her works of the 1980s and 1990s often refer back to early European
modernism. Recently she has sought an accommodation between the modern
technology of her art, fabricated in materials such as stainless steel, aluminium
and engraved acrylic sheet, and the age-old organic references to life and growth
encapsulated in its forms. In particular she has responded to the vitalist direction,
seeking to find analogies with growth patterns in nature. Szirmay has made
many pieces based on organic forms, such as the shell, which she has translated
into materials as diverse as stainless steel and resin. Quite often her pieces involve
curving forms that unfold, flower-like, from a central core. She has been interested
in finding an underlying order or continuum in the world (Figure 65). By locating
PLATE 46 Marté Szirmay, Untitled, 1975, University of Auckland. Stainless steel,
1350 x 1600 x 1350 mm some of her works in the landscape she has achieved integration between her
forms and those of nature. This consideration, too, has led her to introduce
for introducing horizontal, ground-oriented sculpture to a New Zealand urban water as an element. The flow of water down the metal surfaces helps unify
setting. The Auckland work is also floor-mounted and made from stainless steel. them while making the link with the natural world more convincing. There
In both works Szirmay designed the neutral forms so that they harmonise with
each other rather than creating unexpected juxtapositions.
One of her most ambitious public commissions was made in 1987 for the
Chase Plaza, Auckland (Plate 47). In this case, Szirmay introduced water that
trickled down the rear wall, splashing over the sculpture into the pool at its
base. Twin stairs with elliptical forms enclosed the sculpture and were echoed
in the work’s steel shapes. Szirmay benefited from the growth in corporate
sponsorship during the 1970s and 1980s when modern sculpture was
increasingly commissioned for new buildings before the stock market crash. Art
patronage became (ostensibly) a sign of affluence and good taste in the corporate
world. The work was regrettably dismantled when the fortunes of Chase
Corporation nosedived and the use made of the complex was changed. This
illustrates the boom-and-bust cycle familiar in New Zealand business and the
negative as well as positive sides of corporate sponsorship.
Some of the later works such as that at Auckland Girls’ Grammar School,
1986, use the spiral form. This form, like the circle also present in other works,
relates to Szirmay’s conceptual concerns as an artist. She noted in 1994: ‘My
PLATE 47 Marté Szirmay, Chase Plaza Water Sculpture, 1987, Auckland (destroyed).
work is a synthesis of my philosophical and spiritual understandings. I use Stainless steel, 7000 x 2000 x 6000 mm

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have been suggestions of feminist concerns in her sculptures, most obviously in
the emphasis on flower-like forms and patterns evocative of fertility and growth,
if not of embryonic life in the womb. Szirmay has sustained her art over the
years by teaching art at secondary schools and since 1994 at the Manukau
School of Art.
Viewed in retrospect, modernism and abstraction have had only limited
appeal for New Zealand sculptors. Significantly, the work of Wellington sculptor
Tanya Ashken (b. 1939), which shares some of the formalist interests of Szirmay’s,
also had European roots. Ashken studied in London at the Central School of Art
as well as the Camberwell School before emigrating to New Zealand in 1963.
Her highly refined abstract carvings and bronzes relate to the tradition established
by Constantin Brancusi and Barbara Hepworth more than to local sources. The
sculpture of fellow Wellington artist Guy Ngan (b. 1926) also belongs to the
modernist movement. Trained in London at Goldsmiths College of Art and the
Royal College, Ngan developed a fluent style of abstract bronze sculpture that
won him important commissions for public buildings throughout the country.
In the 1970s he completed wall sculptures for the Reserve Bank, Wellington,
and the Newton Post Office, Auckland (now Artspace), among other projects.
Ngan’s work is distinguished by strong two-dimensional design, reflecting his
practice as a design consultant. The bronze sculptures of Edgar Mansfield (1907–
1996), based on driftwood forms found on the Napier foreshore and exhibited
locally in the 1960s and 1970s, can be mentioned in this context. An expatriate
who trained and worked in London most of his life, Mansfield believed firmly in
the ideals of modernism and the power of abstraction to ‘communicate a new
significance with time’.
It could be argued that the international dimension of the abstraction
practised by Ngan and Ashken limited references to New Zealand as a Pacific
country with its own identity, which became increasingly important in the 1980s.
Furthermore the purity of modernist abstraction conflicted with the creative
impulses that were surfacing by the mid to late 1980s. In that era, with the
theorists of postmodernism in full cry, the time was right for a more varied,
eclectic and regionally relevant sculptural practice to emerge. It was also
appropriate for young Maori artists to reassert their presence in sculpture, the
FIGURE 65 Marté Szirmay, Sulis (All Seeing Eye), 1995, Private collection, Auckland.
art form most practised by their ancestors. Polyester resin, concrete and pumice, 1300 x 500 x 500 mm

ABSTRACTION AND MODERNISM: 1960–1990 — 117

IX

Post-Object and Conceptual Art: 1969 to the Present

No art form was to undergo a more radical transformation internationally in wing convictions of some adherents, there was a belief that object art was often
the late 1950s and 1960s than sculpture. Until then its parameters seemed set an exclusive, elitist product that had monetary value and could be bought and
along lines that had been in place for many years. Even non-figurative modernist sold. It could be purchased for investment and was able to be manipulated by
sculpture retained elements in common with the past. There was still very much institutions such as art museums to acquire a cult status of prestige and exclusivity.
an emphasis on the object in modernist sculpture, even if the piece of stone or In short, art lent itself to mainstream capitalist systems. An important aspect of
wood was no longer related to a recognisable subject. Despite controversy about Post-Object art was that it was ephemeral. It existed only for the duration of the
abstraction, the works had continuity with sculptural tradition. Many modernist performance, the installation or the event. There was nothing to buy or sell in
sculptures still had a base or else conformed to the conventions of the relief. the usual sense of an artist–patron transaction. Frequently the work depended
The materials might be new, the colours bright and brash, but some underlying on a specific site for its meaning and on audience participation. Afterwards, all
principles were constant. Soon this was to be challenged by a group of artists that remained was the residue of the work as recorded by film, video or sound.
and students centred on the Elam School of Fine Arts. They drew on ideas and The unique art object so central to the capitalist market system was dispensed
practice developed during the 1950s and 1960s in Europe and the United States. with.
For the first time concept and theory achieved a new status. Artists focused on Another important dimension to Post-Object art was integration with real
forms such as environmental and performance art as alternatives to traditional life. The word ‘real’ occurring in titles and documents indicates that the works
sculpture. were not set apart from the everyday world. Instead of being sealed off from
Jim Allen was crucial to the introduction of conceptual and Post-Object art the public, the works took place in the spaces people occupy, so that they could
to Elam and the country. Certainly he was at the centre of this movement in its enter and take part in the action. Performance art or happenings located in the
initial years. Under his guidance, sculpture at Elam widened its scope to include streets or in parks encapsulated this dimension. Intended here, too, was the
environmental art, happenings and time-based art. The inclusion of what was idea of breaking down the exclusive nature of the art work as inaccessible and
then the new technology of video with sound was characteristic, as was an daunting. The actions or works did not necessarily involve skill or esoteric
emphasis on process rather than product. At the time New Zealand practitioners knowledge. Theoretically anyone could take part. In fact the artists did not want
preferred to use the term Post-Object, despite its problems, to refer to their art. actors with dramatic skills or a script, preferring indeterminacy and chance in
The term Post-Object captured a number of important ideas central to the the making of their work. But, in practice, participation by spectators who knew
movement. nothing about the work in progress and were unwilling to accept the event as
Post-Object suggested the idea of progression; of moving to a new stage in art proved ultimately undemocratic and patronising and undermined its original
the way art was experienced and valued. While not everyone accepted the left- intentions. For Post-Object art was accessible in reality only to its own elite,

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those in the know. What constituted an experience of art as contrasted with leadership role as teacher and facilitator at Elam for a brief but fertile period
ordinary life needed more definition. between 1969 and 1977, when he resigned his position and moved to Sydney.
Post-Object art also concerned itself with the institutions for selling art, During those years, he along with students such as Maree Horner, Bruce Barber
displaying and storing it. By making the gallery space the focus of attention, and Philip Dadson made Elam a centre of experimentation and controversy.
rather than the objects it would normally contain, artists could raise questions Allen’s work was championed by Wystan Curnow (b. 1939), a leading critic,
about previously taboo or unchallenged areas. What was the function of an art who co-edited with Allen a book New Art in 1976 that now remains as a record
gallery, how did it transform the objects in it, how did its displays validate certain of some of the ideas and events of that era.
works and values while denying others? The politics and power plays implicit in Because Allen’s work was ephemeral, depending on specifics of time and
museum curatorship came under scrutiny for the first time. In the process, place as well as audience participation, there is virtually no surviving sculpture
accepted values and expectations were exposed to criticism from which they
emerged in a new and unfavourable light. Environments and installations in
which the whole space of the gallery was programmed to enclose and involve
the spectator in a total sensory experience became favoured mediums for Post-
Object artists. Subsequently installations became widely accepted in
contemporary sculptural practice by artists with wide-ranging agendas, an
enduring legacy of the movement.
Whatever one’s evaluation of Post-Object art, in its initial phase from 1969
to 1979 it radically transformed the way sculpture was understood and practised.
Few artists were unaffected by it. Many absorbed aspects of it into their method
of working. The radical, indeed revolutionary aspect of the movement emerged
with the political unrest of the late 1960s in Europe and the United States. The
challenge to authority of demonstrations, marches, sit-ins and happenings all
provide a context for Post-Object art as well as an international framework. It
was not a New Zealand art form; rather it seems international in scope. What
happened in Auckland was a provincial manifestation of that bigger whole.
Artists who played an important role were W. R. (Jim) Allen, Philip Dadson,
Bruce Barber, Peter Roche and Andrew Drummond.
Knowledge of the new art came from visits to France and Britain by artists
like Allen, as well as contact with current ideas through magazines like Studio
International and Art Forum. Although Allen is now best remembered for his role
in promoting and introducing Post-Object sculpture to Auckland, as we have
seen above, he came to this kind of work late in his career. It was at Elam that
Allen confirmed his radical change in philosophy from his Christchurch years.
He entered the School at the same time as Paul Beadle, who encouraged a
more experimental approach to teaching. Beadle gave quite a degree of latitude
to Allen, who gradually positioned himself independently of Kavanagh, then
head of sculpture, and of Beadle himself. After a period of study leave in the late
1960s, Allen embraced the principles of Post-Object art in his experimental
FIGURE 66 W. R. (Jim) Allen, Arena, 1970, mixed media with barbed wire, Barry Lett
works while continuing with his commercial commissions. He took on a Galleries, Auckland. Installation

POST-OBJECT AND CONCEPTUAL ART: 1969 TO THE PRESENT — 119

to evaluate. That was his intention. His works involved dimensions that could
not be assessed by conventional standards. Allen made use of a number of
venues for his work — namely, the Auckland City Art Gallery, the Barry Lett
Galleries and public spaces in central Auckland. Among his pieces for the Barry
Lett Galleries was Barbed Wire: Two Environments of 1970. One of these works
called Arena involved the erection of a boxing-ring type of structure in the gallery
with barbed wire hung at three levels of vulnerability, eyes, groin, knee (Figure
66). Not only was the object itself crude and non-aesthetic, it occupied the
gallery floor in a way that confined the viewer to the perimeter, the opposite of
normal expectations. There was nothing to look at! Instead you must brave the
wire and enter the enclosure to find a haven from its threatening presence. Art
critic Hamish Keith noted in the Auckland Star: ‘Allen’s environments are not
beautiful. They have no formal structure for intellectual art lovers to analyse in
safety.’ Allen thwarted the expectations of an art gallery situation, shifting the
audience from the role of spectator to that of participant. His works did not
have a pre-planned content. They were experimental and depended on the
reaction of the audience to function effectively or function at all. They occupied
psychological space as much as physical. Allen was drawing attention to the
assumptions involved in displaying and evaluating art in a safe environment in
which nothing was challenging or unexpected.
Another of Allen’s installations was O-AR II, 1975, for the new upstairs galleries
of the Auckland City Art Gallery (Figure 67). He cleared the floor and walls of
the galleries where art usually was placed. Instead, he suspended two continuous
rolls of plastic sheet from the ceiling of each gallery, one opaque and one clear.
From the entrance foyer it was possible to take in each gallery as a receding
space occupied in a new way by Allen’s minimalist endeavour. He made the
gallery spaces his sculpture, the viewer the means by which they could be
experienced and understood. This attention to the gallery as a ritualistic space
with its own aura was a major focus of Post-Object art. By removing the art
objects it was possible to show how powerful and conditioning the systems of FIGURE 67 W. R. (Jim) Allen, O-AR II, 1975, Auckland City Art Gallery. Installation

art presentation could be. The public gallery could confer a status to works that
they could achieve in no other way. Allen demonstrated an alternative view — Philip Dadson all took part, helping to give New Zealand Post-Object art a strong
but not one that could remain in place or remain valid. It belonged to a moment, presence in Australia. This venue was suitable for such works because it was in
and had meaning only to the small elite who visited art galleries or cared much the context of a festival that people came to out of a sense of fun, not obligation.
about modern art. Ironically, it also depended on the liberal-mindedness of the The work could be staged outdoors free from the cultural environment of art
gallery to be self-critical. galleries and the big city. A lack of pretence and controls allowed a freedom for
Allen helped forge contacts outside Auckland, especially with the Mildura the works to interact with the public so that the process had the emphasis Allen
Sculpture Triennial held in a country town near the border between New South preferred. The relationship of art to nature and the land was also important.
Wales and Victoria. In the early 1970s artists such as Allen, Bruce Barber and Politically, Allen’s role at Elam polarised opinions and led to the development

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FIGURE 68 Leon Narbey, Real Time, 1970, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth. Installation

of factions in the school. His willingness to approve as sculpture the work of year sculpture student displayed erect, over-life-size rubber phalluses on the
Philip Dadson raised questions in some quarters of Elam. Not everyone was Elam Open Day, caused media attention and concern on the part of the University
willing to accept Conceptual Art as sculpture or to believe that students should Council. The student, Paul Gibbs, noted in an interview for the Sunday News
graduate with no traditional skills of the kind Allen himself had acquired. that ‘Art is a field which does shock people sometimes . . . but we should be
Furthermore, the issues raised by the new sculpture caused a critique of the way able to accept it.’ To the public it seemed as though Elam was becoming
Elam and the university functioned. There was an arrogant flouting of authority uncontrollable and its art the product of ‘sick depraved minds’. Beadle was
and willingness to not only involve the public but cause outrage and criticism of moved aside as Dean in 1975 as one result of this discontent. Allen, after sixteen
the institution. The so-called rubber phalluses incident of 1974, when a third- years at the University of Auckland, felt it was time for a change. In 1977 he

POST-OBJECT AND CONCEPTUAL ART: 1969 TO THE PRESENT — 121

 Time, an installation to mark the opening of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in
New Plymouth in November 1970. Real Time (Figure 68) was not the first
installation sculpture to be constructed in New Zealand. That claim has been
made for Allen’s New Zealand Environments of 1969. But Real Time was the most
ambitious, the most acclaimed and arguably the most influential such work. It
filled the entire gallery, which appropriately was a converted picture theatre.
Narbey used neon tubes as light sources, plastic sheet cut in strips, and sound
and strong colour to give a new, fun look to the space. Instead of being a space
to display objects, the gallery became the work, the viewers were participants
in an experience that needed their reactions for its proper functioning. Real
Time actually joined art and life in a way that was exciting and memorable. It
was appropriate to a gallery with no collection and no heritage of the past. Its
emphasis on modern materials and technology, as well as on multi-media
presentation, broke down boundaries for artists and public alike.
New Plymouth was fortunate in having a director, John Maynard, who was
young, twenty-three, enthusiastic and aware of developments in contemporary
art. Without his vision and support, Real Time would not have happened. Equally
the gallery would not have acquired Allen’s New Zealand Environment No. 5,
PLATE 48 W. R. (Jim) Allen, New Zealand Environment, No. 5, 1969, Govett-Brewster Art
Gallery, New Plymouth. Mixed media 1830 x 1830 x 5486 mm which is the only surviving example of his environmental sculpture (Plate 48).
Appropriately in miniature, its space has neon lighting and materials such as
resigned to move to Sydney where he became founding head of the Sydney barbed wire, wood shavings and wool, conducive to a total sensory experience
College of the Arts School of Art. anticipatory of Narbey’s large, fluent demonstration of a year later. Maynard
While it would be simplistic to see his departure as marking an end of this was not to stay long at New Plymouth, shifting to the Auckland City Art Gallery
movement at Elam, there is no doubt that it was a turning point. After Allen’s in 1974 where he became exhibitions officer. In that role he arranged the Project
departure the school became more conservative and less willing to accept the Programmes series of the later 1970s — a series that included a number of
more avant-garde ideas and concepts uncritically. For Allen had been influential important Post-Object performances by Allen, Barber and Philip Dadson. Ian
as a facilitator of Post-Object art, as well as someone who raised funds for events Hunter, an Irish artist and arts administrator who was based in New Zealand
like the International Sculpture Symposium of 1971 held in Auckland. The from 1973 until 1983, also played an important role in the facilitation of Post-
symposium brought Pacific Rim sculptors like Helen Escobedo and Michio Ihara Object art. He helped establish artist-run spaces and to organise discussions
to the city where they executed public sculptures for selected sites in parks. and conferences about issues in contemporary art.
Most are still in place. Events around the symposium helped raise public Of all the students who worked with Allen, Bruce Barber (b. 1950) was
awareness about contemporary sculptural practice. The works themselves in undoubtedly the most serious and committed in his espousal of Post-Object
their diversity showed the range of ideas, materials and techniques available to art. Not only did he collaborate with Allen on occasion, but also he initiated
international sculptors at that time. several ambitious performance pieces that went beyond anything previously
As a teacher, Allen appears to have been forceful if not charismatic. He done in New Zealand. Barber was the director of his Mt Eden Crater Performance,
allowed things to happen but did not instruct in particular techniques. It is after 1973 (Figure 69), in which Kieran Lyons (b. 1946), a visiting lecturer to Elam,
1969 that his influence is most apparent. The retirement of Kavanagh in 1968 played the part of the Blind Master. In this ambitious piece, the Blind Master
certainly helped to reinforce his position. A major talent to emerge from Elam at negotiated the slopes of Mt Eden blindfolded so as to render his actions difficult,
that time was Leon Narbey who established his reputation with one work Real clumsy and at times dangerous. The work extended in time throughout a day

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FIGURE 69 Bruce Barber, Mt Eden Crater Performance, 1973 FIGURE 70 Juliet Batten, 100 Women Performance, Te Henga, 1985

— a fact that contributed to its exhausting physical dimension. Barber wanted Scotia College of Art and Design in 1976. Since 1981 he has been on the faculty
to interact with life in the public domain, feeling the need to remove himself staff at Nova Scotia. Barber has developed an international profile as a conceptual
and the work from the security of the art gallery. His movements and interactions artist with a real concern for the ills of society. One of his more recent works
with people who entered the space were recorded on video and sound tape. entitled Squat, 1998, provided a basic living environment for a former vagrant
There was no editing of the footage, so that viewing it became a demanding who became a poet in residence for a month and could document his
task for the audience. The performance involved assistants, accompanying sound, experiences. As in all Barber’s work, the process was important and the final
drummers and a planned movement into and out of the crater. Barber described outcome not fully predictable. Equally there was nothing to sell. The work
an aspect of the work as follows: ‘In the act of overloading or the deprivation of demonstrated Barber’s desire to ‘take art out of the commodity market’, as he
sensory (physical) and intellectual experience, I am thereby enlarging my own has expressed it. His departure from New Zealand closely preceded that of Allen,
and others capacity for sensory and intellectual experience.’ Mt Eden Crater and much of his Auckland work was done while he was still a student. Other
Performance captured the associations with nature and cyclical time, which can students of Allen’s included Kim Gray and Maree Horner, whose student work
be found in some performance work of that period. benefited from the Elam context but did not survive beyond it.
Such work involves nostalgia for ritualistic actions as performed by tribal Mention should be made here, too, of Philip Dadson (b. 1946) whose own
peoples who were perceived as closer to the rhythm of nature than city dwellers work developed into sound rather than sculpture. Initially Dadson’s involvement
of the present day. Somewhat later this aspect of performance was developed with Scratch Orchestra overlapped with the Post-Object movement. Thanks to
by feminist artists like Juliet Batten (b. 1942) who saw links between the cycles Allen, he found a supportive environment in the sculpture section for his
of nature and those of women (Figure 70). Not surprisingly, Barber included performances that put the emphasis on team effort, improvisation and a strong
texts that were chanted out at intervals during the day. Other works by Barber visual dimension. For example, he organised performances to mark the winter
included a performance at Whatipu Beach and a work called Bucket Action staged solstice at the crater of Mt Eden, Auckland (Figure 71). Dadson was one of the
in the Auckland City Art Gallery. Barber benefited from his contact with visiting first to see the potential of new media like video and photocopying to link artists
sculptors at Elam, notably Kieran Lyons and Adrian Hall. in New Zealand with the wider world. He was also responsive to the idea of
Barber was born in Auckland where he studied at the Elam from 1969 to networking with sympathetic practitioners overseas. His Whole World art piece of
1974. He taught for a year at the school in 1975 before enrolling at the Nova 1973 was of this kind. He favoured the evolution of mail art and the development

POST-OBJECT AND CONCEPTUAL ART: 1969 TO THE PRESENT — 123

 wearing a heart monitor, he was covered in latex that was allowed to harden,
making a cast. At the climax of the performance he tore off the cast and exited
leaving the latex skin spread over the cross. He also left ten Polaroid photographs
recording the performance. While for Drummond the piece was about ritual
rebirth and the ‘spirituality of life’ (as he put it), controversy centred on the
nakedness of his body and particularly his exposed genitalia. His violation of
religious taboos later outraged Christian viewers who took him to court on the
count of immoral conduct. Police seized the offending photographs. Although
the charges were dismissed five months afterwards, the case, sensational in its
coverage, severely dented Drummond’s will to continue his exposure of body
and soul in public. His need to strip naked, removing any cover to his vulnerability,
marks the limits of such performances.
Drummond’s early work represents a late manifestation of performance art,
which by the 1980s fell somewhat from favour. Its interest appeared limited
FIGURE 71 Gundred Witt & Others, Winter Solstice Performance, Auckland, c.1984 after the novelty wore off and its audience became more demanding. In all
cases, overseas practitioners had preceded in action and conception what
of works that cut across traditional studio boundaries. In his case it would be happened here. It is mainly the application of performances to local sites and
quite misleading to see his work as drawing from the example of Allen. He landscape that can be seen to be original and relevant to New Zealand.
developed his work independently and Allen’s departure had no real effect on it. Drummond’s work scandalised Christchurch, a centre that lagged substan-
After 1976 the initial Post-Object movement at Auckland had mostly run its tially behind Auckland in the evolution of Post-Object sculpture. At the
course. However, performance and installation art continued in a climate that Canterbury School of Art, Tom Taylor had espoused aspects of modernist practice
was less revolutionary and more mature. The early works of Peter Roche (b. by the 1970s and allowed new developments to develop gradually. But he played
1957) emerge from this context. Roche introduced a degree of sado-masochism
that carried elements found in Barber’s performances to a new extreme (Figure
72). Roche studied at Elam after Jim Allen had left and drew his ideas from
American work. One of his most controversial performances had him suspended
almost naked by wrists and ankles from a tree in Albert Park. His intention was
to subject himself, and by association the audience, to a severe testing of his
thresholds of pain, tolerance and endurance. This kind of work had an underlying
narcissistic and masochistic dimension that fell outside the accepted social norms
of New Zealand society. It seemed that Roche felt a need to shock and horrify so
as to obtain a reaction that might promote such works to art status. Interestingly,
Elam issued a statement dissociating itself from the event. Roche’s series of
performances staged with Linda Buis relied on violence, slapping, hitting, and
coarse language to break down any barriers to spectator reaction.
A similar degree of controversy characterises the early work of Andrew
Drummond (b. 1951). This reached a climax in a performance piece called
Crucifixion, 1978, where he was tied naked to a St Andrew’s cross in the
Canterbury Society of Arts Gallery, Christchurch. Clad only in a gas mask and FIGURE 72 Peter Roche, Transformation, 1979. Performance, Auckland

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less of a catalytic and confrontational role than Jim Allen had in Auckland. Unlike
Allen, Taylor certainly did not embrace Post-Object art in his own practice, even
continuing to make bronze portrait busts late in his career. He did, however,
allow his students to follow their own directions in a supportive climate.
Taylor’s lack of commitment to Post-Object art can be contrasted with the
practice of Pauline Rhodes (b. 1937) who studied at the Canterbury School of
Art from 1972 to 1974. Rhodes has many affinities with the Post-Object
movement in that her environmental art is ephemeral and survives after the
event only in photographic documentation. Her Extensum series involving the
introduction of environmentally friendly materials, such as coloured fabric and
cord, into the landscape of the Southern Alps or the beaches of Banks Peninsula
has been ongoing since the 1970s. She uses few elements in her non-
monumental works, sometimes introducing only a single pole or piece of fabric,
which she leans or lays in position. Her works act to frame or mark the land as
indicators of human presence and passage. But they do not deface or scar the
earth, functioning instead as objects of contemplation. An important aspect of
her work is that sense of place, so typical of art in Canterbury where regionalism
FIGURE 73 Billy Apple, Towards the Centre, The Idea of Art as the Centre, 1979,
has always been a force. photograph and typewritten sheet, 29.5 x 21 cm. Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui.

Her indoor Intensum installations have involved natural processes such as

oxidation and rusting of metals as part of the work. She has noted in a letter to from 1959 to 1962 where he came to some prominence as a member of the
the writer: ‘Intensum and Extensum projects are worked on concurrently, English Pop Art movement. It was there that as an art work he changed his
interconnecting with and cross-fertilising each other. They respond to specific name from Barrie Bates to Billy Apple, drawing attention by establishing a
spatial situations either intensive or extensive — as indoor installations or as memorable brand identity. Apple developed an interest in the advertising world
projects outdoors.’ She has made her installations of recycled materials like and began to explore its relations with the art scene. Much of his New Zealand
cardboard or plastic sheet to convey a conservationist message and one of work relates back to his first-hand contacts with the art world in London and
harmony between man and the environment. The conceptual basis of her art subsequently New York where he lived for twenty-six years, showing at the Leo
and its avoidance of commodification relate Rhodes’s work intimately to the Castelli Gallery along with major American artists. Apple knew Andy Warhol but
Post-Object movement, even though her practice has outlived that historical lacked his business acumen and cynicism.
context. By refraining from fabricating any of his works, Apple implies that the art
The reduction of performance art did not affect conceptual work or object is secondary in importance to the concept. That said, it must be observed
installations, which continued unabated into the 1980s and 1990s. In fact, Billy that he is very particular about the presentation of his work. The Art-Political
Apple (b. 1935), arguably the most important of the conceptual artists, carried series drew attention to the art institutions of New Zealand in a systematic,
out a series of works in public gallery spaces between 1979 and 1980. Apple’s provocative way. Perhaps the most effective demonstration of Apple’s power as
series The Given as an Art-Political Statement involved collaboration with the an artist was his alteration to the Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui, entitled Towards
critic Wystan Curnow who articulated the ideas and implications of the works in the Centre, The Idea of Art as the Centre, 1979 (Figure 73). This work involved
written form. Apple had no direct connection with Allen or Elam initially, though the removal of a prominent cultural fixture, a marble replica of a famous Greco-
for a month in the late 1970s he was a visitor to the school. His work was an Roman carving called The Wrestlers. The Wrestlers was situated under the dome
independent development made in the New York context. of the neoclassical structure, in the most prominent place. As the best-known
Born in New Zealand, Apple studied at the Royal College of Art, London, item in the collection, The Wrestlers embodied the idea that art was foreign and

POST-OBJECT AND CONCEPTUAL ART: 1969 TO THE PRESENT — 125

inaccessible, doubly so in that it was not an original marble but a copy. Apple’s installations where light and colour substitutes for the object as a space and
concept of the impact of removal was nicely judged. He left empty the space shape modulator (Plate 49). He is undoubtedly the most accomplished of the
where the pedestal had been as a sign of absence. artists using light but has been based in Britain and France since 1960. He studied
Predictably there was protest. Where had the art gone? Apple pointed out at the Royal College of Art, London, coming into contact with many of the most
that his work did not prevent the reinstatement of The Wrestlers. It merely showed influential artists in modern sculpture. Culbert has shown his works increasingly
the cult status of the work in this revered location and questioned the values in New Zealand in recent years and has collaborated on a number of installation
encapsulated there. Was it appropriate, or did it reinforce a belief that local art works with the painter Ralph Hotere (b. 1931). A representative example of
was second-best? The Wrestlers did not return and that space has since been the their collaboration is Pathway to the Sea–Aramoana, 1991. This is made of
site of a series of New Zealand installations that has countered the previous fluorescent tubes and paua shells that they designed to be laid on the gallery
cultural priorities by bringing the local and original to its rightful place under floor in parallel strips as a directional and space marker. Subsequently Culbert
the dome. and Hotere have made striking works in which the light of Culbert’s fluorescent
In this same series Apple carried out works at the Auckland City Art Gallery, tubing is contrasted with Hotere’s characteristic black corrugated iron. Their
as well as the Barry Lett Galleries, a dealer gallery very receptive to the avant- work is distinctive and carries potent symbolism.
garde. The proprietors Barry Lett and the late Rodney Kirk Smith (1937–96) put Of artists based in New Zealand, Paul Hartigan (b. 1953) has been the most
art values before profits. That they did so greatly advantaged conceptual and creative and skilful in using neon. While Hartigan is a fine painter he has achieved
Post-Object artists. Apple is an artist who crosses the boundaries of the visual a more distinctive profile with his neon wall sculptures. Hartigan studied at
arts. His gallery works make use of space, of mass and proportion, but not in Elam between 1971 and 1973 where he learnt about painting and acquired an
conventional object-sculpture terms. The majority of his gallery works involved interest in neon signs. He recalls being mesmerised by the bright flashing neon
modifications to the interiors such as widening stairs, exposing columns or signs of Newmarket when he first arrived in Auckland. Not surprisingly his artistic
drawing attention to imperfections on wall surfaces, like ventilation vents, which origins can be traced to Pop Art through his response to comics and other
he picked out in red. At the time in the late 1970s and early 1980s these works forms of popular culture. Neon signs and advertisements attracted him as part
were radical for New Zealand and related to pieces he carried out in New York of that world of everyday life. From these sources came his interest in materials
shortly afterwards. Apple has been equally adept at critiquing the arts of painting, like enamel paints and colours of bright, crass intensity. In the early 1980s he
photography and printmaking. In some ways he stands outside any local was swept into the orbit of the New Image artists Dick Frizzell and Gavin Chilcott.
movement: his first-hand knowledge of overseas conceptual art gives his works Hartigan outgrew those origins to become a deeper, more reflective artist.
a professional edge. His use of neon goes back to the 1970s when he collected examples of shop
Light sculpture is an art form that has attracted those who wish to create signs and began to learn how to make his own. For a time he made neon signs
works with a dimension that transcends the object. Neon tubes were widely as a job. From this experience he gained a technical command of his materials
used in 1960s Europe and the United States, usually in the context of installation. which sets his works apart from the installations of recycled neon tubes trailing
The New York artist Dan Flavin was especially influential with his use of raw flex, often found masquerading as light sculpture. Hartigan crafts his neon
neon tubing placed on the floor or in the corners of darkened gallery spaces. into broad lines of colour set against a pale or dark backdrop. With his early
Apple himself was active as a neon artist while working in New York in the late neons like The Plight of Persephone, 1982, he created a floating, pulsating image
1960s. He tried to achieve a freer kind of presentation than Flavin but came up of calligraphic motifs. His motifs are sometimes identifiable as a star or spiral
against the technical limitations of the medium and safety constraints. As we but as often as not float free from specific meaning. Hartigan likes openness to
have seen, light was a prominent part of Leon Narbey’s Real Time installation of different layers of interpretation. His influences include Len Lye, whose
1970, its first major use in New Zealand art. pictographic marks and kinetic sculptures impressed him. Yet he always aims
Subsequently the expatriate Bill Culbert (b. 1935) has become well known for an individual result (Plate 50). He noted in 1983: ‘What I’ve tried to do
locally and in Europe for his inventive light works where neon tubes as well as with neon is come up with a personal approach, and most important for myself,
light bulbs and illuminated plastic containers are massed together to make to try and transcend established neon entities.’

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PLATE 49 Bill Culbert, Colour Theory, 1991. Neon, installation Wellington City Gallery

Light art struggles for artistic relevance, like much Post-Object sculpture, Hysterical Hartigan alludes to the term ‘art historical’, implying that some art
when it fails to deliver the enduring values of traditional media. Hartigan’s neon talk gets out of control. One critic found these works lacking in humour, maybe
works escape this problem. Rather, he tries to combine its ephemeral entertaining because they are satirical rather than funny. Hartigan reveals here his thoughts
aspect with conceptual depth. For example in his show Art-Speak, 1997, he on the relation between word and image — a discourse going back to Colin
uses neon to make word sculptures from terms like ‘postmodernism’. In the McCahon, a mentor from his past. A more recent neon Pathfinder, 1997, carries
process Hartigan gently satirised the verbiage that piles up around art, often his neon calligraphy to mural size on the façade of the Govett-Brewster Art
confusing rather than clarifying its meaning. His bright coloured neon letters Gallery in New Plymouth.
are deliberately at odds with the pretentious terms they spell out. With Art- Hartigan’s use of words in his neons parallels the practice of younger sculptors

POST-OBJECT AND CONCEPTUAL ART: 1969 TO THE PRESENT — 127

PLATE 50 Paul Hartigan, Flush Arena (with Timekeeper), 1987–95, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth. Neon, 2800 x 5800 mm

interested in text as a vehicle to express their ideas and concerns. For example, surface simplicity of Browne’s creations.
Mary-Louise Browne (b. 1957), an artist with a subtle feminist agenda, makes Her most ambitious work of this kind is Body to Soul, 1996 (Plate 52), a
text an integral part of her works. Initially, she was active as a performance and permanent installation commissioned by the Wellington Sculpture Trust as one
installation artist but turned to using durable materials such as granite in the of a series of public sculptures for the city’s Botanic Gardens. Here the engraved
mid-1980s. As with Billy Apple, it is the concept that occupies her, not the plaques become treads in a staircase structure which can be climbed while being
object or its manufacture that she sometimes leaves to others. read, giving an added dimension to the experience. With this work she realised
Her best-known works like Rape to Ruin, 1990 (Plate 51), consist of stone an ambition to create sculpture in a garden setting and incorporate landscape
plaques on which words have been sandblasted. In this case Browne had eight into the piece. Browne begins at the bottom with the word ‘body’ and transmutes
identical granite plaques sandblasted with one word each. There is a sequence it through eleven steps to its opposite ‘soul’ appropriately at the top of the stair.
from the word ‘rape’ on the first plaque to ‘ruin’ on the last. What engages our As well as granite, Browne has used mirrors as vehicles for sandblasted words.
attention is Browne’s adaptation of a parlour game in which words of identical In the 1991 Maxims series she sandblasted New Zealand girls’ school mottoes
length beginning with the same letter are modified by changing another letter onto the glass of second-hand mirrors so that the imperatives of phrases such as
at each step to create a new word. Thus by substituting the ‘u’ of ruin for the ‘By Love, Serve’ took on new meaning. Browne encouraged viewers to see
letter ‘a’ the word rain is created. She suggests a narrative of sorts built around themselves inside the confines of the mottoes by being reflected in the same
the notion that rape leads to ruin. We can interpret each intervening word glass surface as the words. Because the mirror image is illusory not real, the
such as rope, rail or rain as a stage in this progression. By fixing her message in artist can question the truth and substance of the mottoes and the society that
stone the artist gives it an enduring quality, worthy of serious attention. In this endorsed them. Browne achieves the difficult task of making visible concepts
sculpture the memorial connotations of her plaques, like those used in lawn that seem invisible and giving them a concrete presence.
cemeteries, stand as a commemoration of rape victims. The layers of meaning Browne studied at Elam from 1976 to 1982, graduating with a master’s
the work contains are typical of the depth of thought that lies beneath the degree. She benefited from the lively climate for performance and conceptual

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PLATE 51 Mary-Louise Browne, Rape to Ruin, 1990, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New PLATE 52 Mary-Louise Browne, Body to Soul, 1994, Wellington Botanic Gardens.
Plymouth. Granite and gold leaf 2820 x 300 mm Granite, 7020 x 1000 mm

art fostered by Philip Dadson during that period. She has subsequently had supermarkets to introduce an Asian cultural reference that reflects the multi-
extensive professional experience in art administration, being founding director cultural dimensions now prevalent in contemporary New Zealand art. By allowing
of Artspace, Auckland, and programme manager for the City Gallery, Wellington her materials to decay and break down, she questions accepted values about
— positions which allowed her to support experimental sculpture in both centres. race and custom and their ability to endure. Similar concerns can be found in
Paul Cullen (b. 1949) is also an artist who arguably gives more importance the early pieces of Yuk King Tan (b. 1971) where matters of cultural difference
to the conceptual basis of his work than to the object. Influenced by Duchamp and identity surface in her installations and ephemeral drawings, some made
and Beuys, he has created installations from found materials such as bricks, with the scorch marks and residue of exploded firecrackers. Tan also used found
string and offcuts that suggest but do not supply structural solutions to problems. objects from Chinese shops in works that allude to her experience as a New
In one exhibition he used pre-cut furniture, plastic buckets and jelly moulds to Zealand artist with an Asian background. Like Kum she studied at Elam,
subvert the expected order of things, by placing them in unlikely and impractical graduating in 1993.
relationships. Cullen’s work has been called ‘artless’ because of its unassuming While the first rush of Post-Object art soon lost momentum, the ripples of
character and ephemeral nature. Once dismantled, the components of his works conceptual art, performance, installation and multimedia continue to radiate
can return to serving as everyday objects. He studied at the Canterbury School outwards in ever widening but more diffuse and gentler circles. It is obvious
of Fine Arts, being awarded his diploma with honours in 1975. He currently that no art form, however revolutionary, can be immune from repetitious and
teaches at the Manukau School of Art. pointless activity. Post-Object art more than most depends on a high quality of
Among emerging artists who have been attracted to process and the ideas and content, without which it can be boring and self-indulgent. New
ephemeral is Denise Kum (b. 1968). After graduating from Elam in 1992, Kum media or technology do not in themselves guarantee a worthwhile result,
has made a number of works and installations using materials such as beeswax, especially when the speed of technological change renders this year’s state-of-
seaweed, honey and oil. These are consumables that cannot be kept and by the art equipment tomorrow’s dinosaurs and its capabilities quaint and
their nature have a short life. She belongs to the direction established in Post- outmoded. Nor do assemblages of found objects acquire meaning by that
Object art by Beuys who made use of materials such as fat, which have strong process alone. It is now time for a more rigorous critical examination of Post-
symbolic dimensions but are not traditionally thought of in sculptural terms Object and Conceptual Art to assess its ongoing relevance and importance in
because of their impermanence. Kum has also used food items from Chinese contemporary practice.

POST-OBJECT AND CONCEPTUAL ART: 1969 TO THE PRESENT — 129

X

Contemporary Maori Sculptors

A distinctive feature of contemporary New Zealand sculpture is the work of and the training given to the advisers on the marae by the master carver Pine
Maori artists who draw on their own cultural heritage. While being at once part Taiapa, who worked closely with Sir Apirana Ngata. Pine and his younger brother
of the total sculptural scene and current practice, they share concerns unique to Hone worked on numerous carved houses in the North Island, demonstrating
their situation as indigenous people in a country where their language, customs fine technique and a respect for tradition. Pine also supervised the building of
and art were marginalised for a long time. Traditional Maori carving was marae- the carved house at Waitangi, erected to commemorate the signing of the Treaty
based and took its place on communal buildings such as the wharenui (meeting of Waitangi. Since carving was so central to Maori art, it helped develop sculptural
house) or the pataka (food-store). After European settlement there was a gradual awareness. Significant, too, was the work of Jim Allen while he was working as
loss of the life-style and beliefs that sustained traditional forms of carving. an art adviser to schools in the north in the 1950s. The knowledge he brought
Inevitably the numbers of carvers declined until the 1920s when a university- of the European sculptural tradition and materials was to help lay a foundation
educated generation encouraged a revival. Central to this movement was Sir for later practice. The emphasis was on the creation of new work of high quality,
Apirana Ngata (1874–1950), who helped establish the first Maori carving school not on replication of traditional forms for the tourist trade.
at Rotorua in 1927. The policy of the school was to study the methods and One of the most significant forces in contemporary Maori sculpture is Arnold
designs of master carvers from the past. Initially there was no focus on innovation Manaaki Wilson (b. 1928) (Tuhoe, Te Arawa). Born in Ruatoki, he began studies
or ways of making the work relate to contemporary life. However, the school at Elam in 1947 and in 1953 completed a diploma in fine arts with honours. He
did provide skills for an ambitious programme of building new carved houses was one of the first Maori students to do so. At that time Elam was a monocultural
on marae throughout the country, along with encouragement of arts like institution whose teachers consistently ignored and indeed denied the value of
tukutuku for their decoration. traditional Maori carving. On one occasion the director, Archie Fisher, told Wilson
It is not until the post-World War Two era that the origins of contemporary that if he wanted to make Maori art he should live in a hut and wear a grass
Maori art develop. The art training programmes at the teachers’ training colleges skirt. His sculpture instructor was John Kavanagh who kept rigidly to academic
played a formative role here by introducing gifted young Maori artists to their methods of making modelled figures and busts for casting in bronze. Another
own culture as well as to the European. An important contributor was Gordon lecturer, John Weeks, introduced Wilson to some aspects of modernism. Himself
Tovey (1901–1974) supervisor of arts and crafts to the Department of Education. a painter, Weeks made the connections between artists like Picasso and tribal
He encouraged Maori art advisers to go out into the schools introducing their art relevant to Wilson’s situation as a student. While at Auckland Teachers’
pupils (both Maori and Pakeha) to Maori culture. The principle was one of sharing Training College Wilson met Peter Smith, who encouraged him to look at his
and exchange at a time when cultural transactions tended to be one-sided. own Maori culture as well as the European. This was reinforced by Gordon
Important aspects were the validation of the programme by the major tribes Tovey’s policies.

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 But Wilson’s discovery of his cultural identity had to wait until in 1955 he
began teaching in Northland at Okaihau and Kawakawa. Seeing his Maori students
bored with lessons about English history, he realised they needed something
more relevant. This encouraged him to relate his teaching to their culture and
history. He took practical steps like getting permission to cut down some pine
trees so that his students could have materials for carving. In 1958 he became
the art teacher at Bay of Islands College, where he encouraged his students to
visit their marae and study the art of the meeting house. From the example of
Maori carvers like John and Pine Taiapa, he learnt how to work with timber. He
made carvings in native totara such as He Tangata. He Tangata, 1956 (Plate 53),
using notching like that found in traditional carvings to create a figure that
draws on both contemporary European conventions and Maori methods.
He conceived his art to be contemporary not historic, and certainly unlike
the tourist products of the Rotorua carving school which he called a sausage
factory. He pointed the way for a new kind of sculpture based on his bicultural
background. In 1963 he shifted to Auckland where he taught at Mount Albert
Grammar School. There he was an influential teacher involved in experimental
work, drawing on the diverse cultural backgrounds of his students. To him it
was important to achieve rapport with the community so that the art related to
life. Wilson exhibited with contemporary Maori artists at the first Maori Festival
of the Arts at Turangawaewae, Ngaruawahia, in 1963. He went on to become a
major art educator in charge of cross-cultural programmes at the Department
of Education for some eighteen years. In that capacity he was a catalyst for
change in art education.
His early sculpture began with blocky wood and stone figurative works. Some
of these from the mid-1950s are ‘primitivist’ in their proportions and non-
European conventions. They can be compared with the woodcarvings of Alison
Duff and Molly Macalister from the 1940s. But Wilson gradually developed his
art into works that reflect his Maori roots and concern themselves with cultural
and environmental matters. His Pou Whenua series, begun in the 1980s and
continued in the 1990s (Plate 54), consists of vertical woodcarvings, some with
figurative elements of heads, arms and legs kept within the pole shape. By using
the pou form, he empowers his art with its traditional meanings as a marker
defining a site or boundary. It seems symbolically to stake out his territory as a
sculptor able and willing to draw strength from his own heritage. In addition to
the pole form, he has also introduced distinctive motifs like the double spiral

PLATE 53 Arnold Wilson, He Tangata, He Tangata, 1956, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o
Tamaki. Wood, 1170 x 360 x 300 mm

CONTEMPORARY MAORI SCULPTORS — 131

132
widespread in Maori carving and painting. He uses the vivid colour and
conventions of some figures in the series to quote from other tribal art, especially
that of New Guinea. His recent works deal with the land and conservation, issues
also of concern to Pakeha sculptors such as Chris Booth. This applied most
strikingly to his installation Ode to Tane Mahuta at the New Gallery, Auckland, in
1997. Here Wilson used totem-like carvings to evoke the raped forests of the
country and condemn the commercial forces that had destroyed them.
Apart from his own work, Wilson has been important for the guidance he
has given to young Maori teachers and artists. Through his example, they have
learned to see the way an accommodation can be achieved between the
traditional materials of Maori art, such as wood and paint, and modern western
sculpture with its diverse range of materials. It is significant that Wilson sees
installation as a method of presentation which lends itself to the total involvement
of the spectator that he desires.
A contemporary of Arnold Wilson is Fred Graham (b. 1928) (Ngati Koroki,
Raukawa) who, like him, was involved for many years in art education. Despite
his teaching commitments, he was able to develop as a sculptor with a bicultural
dimension to his work. Graham originally studied at Ardmore Teachers’ College,
then at Dunedin Teachers’ Training College where he spent an extra year
specialising in art. He held various teaching jobs before becoming a full-time
sculptor in 1984. Even though his uncle Waka was a traditional carver, in his
early years Graham had little knowledge of Maori culture and was encouraged
to succeed in Pakeha terms. Learning about his own heritage was a gradual
process in which his art was to play a prominent role.
An important turning point came when he was working at Palmerston North
Teachers’ College. While there between 1957 and 1962, he met the head of the
Art Department, Thomas Johnston (b. 1923). Johnston, who was a sculptor,
PLATE 55 Fred Graham, Kereana, 1984, Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton.
allowed Graham to help with technical procedures like making plaster casts. Steatite, 640 x 520 x 745 mm

Through his influence Graham decided to become a sculptor, though initially

he had little interest in traditional carving or marae art. He commented in 1986: responsive if the work included stories and motifs familiar to them. A feature of
‘I don’t really take traditional Maori carving into consideration when I am his art is its accessibility to many Maori who do not go to galleries or relate to
working.’ Instead he developed a modernist approach, drawing ideas from a contemporary sculpture.
range of sources including Barbara Hepworth. However, he looked closely at his Fred Graham has often carved bird forms because of their importance in
own heritage for motifs and symbols, finding elements that contribute a the natural world and in the mythology of the Maori. An example is Kereana,
recognisable identity to his carvings. He wanted to discover a means of 1984 (Plate 55), in which the nurturing function of the bird protecting the
communicating with the Maori community who he felt would be more chicks with its wings is conveyed in a simplified but accessible manner. The
polished grain allows the natural material to bring out the head of the bird,
while the unpolished surfaces evoke the texture of its plumage. In this instance,
PLATE 54 Arnold Wilson, Pou Whenua III (Three Poles), 1998, Private collection,
Wellington. Wood, each 3000 x 250 mm Graham used a piece of stone supplied for a stone carving symposium, and its

CONTEMPORARY MAORI SCULPTORS — 133

form suggested his conception. This had the practical advantage of allowing
the carving to be completed quickly to meet the symposium deadline. Through
his carvings Graham shows the traditional respect of Maori for the natural world
and their concern for the environment.
Much of Graham’s carving is figurative, with recognisable if stylised subjects.
He has introduced stories from Maori mythology like that of Rangi and Papa as
well as references to artefacts like the waka giving an accessible, bicultural aspect
to the work. Over the years he has carried out large commissions for corporations
such as the Ford Motor Company and for galleries and public buildings such as
Waikato Hospital. He has shown his works mainly in group exhibitions of Maori
artists, like those organised by Te Waka Toi, and has been largely outside the
commercial dealer network. This has reinforced his profile as a Maori artist even
though his work draws heavily on European sources as well. He has been a
bridge between a time of little or no bicultural emphasis in sculpture to the
present when it is a major force.
Slightly younger than Fred Graham is Para Matchitt (b. 1933). Born at
Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast, he grew up in rural environments, living at Te
Kaha but travelling extensively on family visits all over the coast between Opotiki
and Gisborne. He learnt a good deal about making things and caring for tools
from his father and in the workshop on his grandfather’s farm in Edgecumbe. PLATE 56 Para Matchitt, Bridge Sculpture, 1993, Civic Square, Wellington. Timber and
He went to teachers’ college in Auckland from 1955 to 1956 and was selected mixed media (detail)

to train as an art specialist at Dunedin. He did not attend classes at art school,
apart from some cursory visits to the King Edward Technical School in Dunedin By a deliberate process of experimentation he gradually developed his own
and a visit to Elam, where he saw the plaster casts of antique and Renaissance kind of sculpture. He made a number of large-scale works for marae settings,
sculpture. Instead he decided to work out his own way of making art. In 1957 for example at Turangawaewae Marae, Ngaruawahia, in 1975, where he departed
he was appointed arts and crafts adviser for the South Auckland Education Board from traditional styles, materials and colours. Matchitt’s work is always the
and was to be based in Hamilton for some seventeen years. He did not have any outcome of a careful process of refinement and thought from which the final
formal training in traditional Maori art but knew Pine Taiapa. On the initiative of product emerges. Often he has used recycled materials, as is the case with his
Gordon Tovey he went to Ruatoria with other art advisers to work with Pine for sculpture for Aotea Square, Auckland, but his sculpture for Civic Square,
a two-week-long intensive Maori Arts and Crafts course. Wellington, 1993 (Plate 56), was made from newly milled timber. His best work
Matchitt made paintings and sculptures from the late 1950s but he destroyed is large scale and suited to outdoor situations. In some recent sculptures, such
many of his early works so that few of them survive. He incorporated Maori as the Heritage Fountain, Napier, 1996 (Plates 57 and 58), he has used sheet
stories and history in some of his works, but he was not interested in reviving metal to create simple, symbolic forms, some natural like his birds and fish,
traditional art forms although he was asked to help with restoration of some others geometric. In this case, also, the word Napier appears cut out in letters
decorated houses, in one case working on his home meeting house at Te Kaha. that evoke the Art Deco style for which the city is famed.
However, his real interest was in making new works of his own from whatever Frequently Matchitt has conceived his designs on paper, drawing them in
materials were at hand. At first he worked mainly with wood because he knew profile so that they can be cut out to his directions. The symbols he uses — like
how to cut and join it using modern tools. As he has observed, his sculpture the star and bleeding heart, derived from a pendant flag made in Hawke’s Bay
taken out of the local context would not be readily identifiable as Maori. and commandeered by Te Kooti — often register strongly in silhouette. Matchitt

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PLATE 57 Para Matchitt, Heritage Fountain, 1996, galvanised steel.
Marine Parade, Napier. Height 8000 mm

PLATE 58 Para Matchitt, Heritage Fountain, detail

CONTEMPORARY MAORI SCULPTORS — 135

was originally drawn to Te Kooti, the guerrilla fighter who later became the the pseudo-primitive style of the Australian painter Sidney Nolan’s Ned Kelly
founder of the Ringatu church, because he was attracted by what he saw as Te series. But in the 1980s he began to make sculptures from found materials,
Kooti’s innovation, daring and freedom from convention. Recently he sees the recycled timber, iron and paint. Using his knowledge of major western artists
symbols as having been personalised to his own art, and not encoded with the such as Picasso and Moore, he began to combine elements of various traditions
past or with any ‘ism’. He incorporates the technology, techniques and materials and styles into his own creations. In his sculpture and more recent painting,
suited to his sculptures, many of which are monumental in size. In his sculpture Muru has become more abstract and more powerful, often using assemblage as
for the Manukau City Law Courts, 1999, he sub-contracted the cutting of his a technique. In his first year as teacher at Elam he made a vertical totem-like
steel shapes to an engineering firm to save his own labour and time. He shifted work from recycled timber and metal that he placed like a marker in the grounds
to Napier in 1975 to take up a job as art tutor at the Hawke’s Bay Community near the Te Toi Hou complex. He wanted to show the arrival of Maori artists at
College, but since 1986 he has been a full-time artist. Elam in a symbolic way by a contemporary sculpture that nevertheless recalled
A friend of Matchitt is Selwyn Muru (b. 1937). Brought up in Te Hapua in the pou, or vertical markers of traditional Maori culture.
Northland, Muru was self-taught as an artist. He studied originally at Ardmore His best-known sculpture is Waharoa, 1990 (Plate 59), in Aotea Square,
Teachers’ College where Phil Barclay encouraged him to concentrate on his art Auckland. This is a symbolic gateway welcoming visitors to the city. While it is
work. He had his own studio there for two years. Looking at books in the library, evocative of the entrance gates to the Maori pa, it also recalls the rafters of the
he learnt about artists like Brancusi and Moore, whose work he came to admire. painted Maori house in the angles of timber and the relief figures carved there.
He made both paintings and sculptures at that time and has continued to work Muru intended his figures to represent the spiritual forces of the sea, the sky
in both disciplines. After teaching for a while, he came to Auckland in 1961 and and the land. As with Matchitt, the work has a bold, free style of execution. It
concentrated on painting. He met artists from Elam like Robert Ellis, with whom relies for its effect on its scale, its presence and its symbolic power. Muru avoids
he became friends, but did not attend art school. However, while unknown to the association with tourist art, a widespread, debilitated art form that has
the art community, he had his paintings accepted for exhibition by the Auckland ransacked traditional Maori artefacts to produce trinkets and souvenirs. His work,
Society of Arts when Paul Beadle was President and selection criteria were which has mana, pride and grandeur, symbolises what has been called the Maori
toughened. art renaissance.
Muru has a wide-ranging knowledge not only of Maori art but also of poetry Linked to Matchitt and Muru in background, if not philosophy, is Clifford
and literature. This, together with his command of spoken Maori and his prestige (Cliff) Whiting (b. 1936) (Whanau a Apanui) who was born in Te Kaha and went
on marae all over New Zealand, has well qualified him to be a mentor for his on to become an art adviser. He has acknowledged his debt to Pine Taiapa and
people and for Pakeha alike. Muru has sometimes been seen as an activist also to Gordon Tovey for his vision of shared cultures. Whiting has his rural
because of his outspoken views on land rights and on issues to do with Maori background in common with the other major figures who developed a modern
cultural property. However, he is open to a wide range of ideas in art and life, style of carving. He retains an underlying understanding for traditional values
seeing scope for creative interaction between politics and the making of while being very much aware of the need to bring in qualities that are new and
sculptures and paintings. In the early 1960s he lived in Wellington and became capable of creating interest as contemporary art. He values the tribal area as a
involved in Maori broadcasting, at first on radio and later on television. Shifting means of giving identity to the artists and the people they represented.
back to Auckland, he became a freelance artist and broadcaster. Muru is not As an artist, Whiting has been willing to take liberties with traditional forms,
interested in making traditional carvings that he sees as limited and belonging by introducing new materials like particle board as well as bright colours such
to the past. He has remarked that Maoridom has many carvers but few sculptors. as blue and yellow unknown to the old-time carvers. He has, though, also worked
Instead, he uses whatever means are at hand to make new work relevant to the extensively in stone and native timber, finding in natural materials a means of
contemporary world. He was a founder of the Maori Artists and Writers Group retaining Maori values and spirituality. For example, in his 1989 carvings for the
in 1973. From 1993 to 2000 he taught at Elam. Christchurch High Court, Nga Kete Wananga, he skilfully uses the polished
Muru was initially known more as a painter than a sculptor. His paintings wooden surfaces of his figures to enhance the sense of volume and contrast
such as the Parihaka series of the 1970s have a narrative quality somewhat in with the textures of the moko on their faces and thighs. While recalling ancestor

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PLATE 59 Selwyn Muru, Waharoa, 1990, Aotea Square, Auckland. Timber and paint, width 10,000 mm

figures in a meeting house, these carvings differ in being free-standing rather custom board in place of the solid, heavy timber of the conventional meeting
than in relief. Whiting has done a lot of work on the marae, finding there a house. It has allowed animation beyond what is normally expected, as well as a
context for his art where it can speak for and with the people. It bypasses the lighter, brighter feel. If it can seem gaudy and a shade commercial in its appeal
confines and meanings of the Pakeha world of the art gallery or private home. to the spectator, Whiting’s carvings are a rebuff to the belief that Maori art in a
There, in tribal settings, Whiting’s use of Maori legends and genealogy takes on traditional setting cannot be inventive and new. In 1986 he wrote: ‘When I was
a deeper meaning as part of a total cultural package. He retains the connection starting out, I got this continuous criticism. In effect, some people did not want
between his carving and the Maori world of myth, legend and history, which to see the creation of new art forms; they maintained that there was a tradition,
provides subjects for his work. He is also involved with contemporary issues like and they did not want to change it.’ Similar sentiments still exist today. Whiting
visions for iwi, hapu and whanau. has been interested for a long time in painting, so that it should cause no surprise
Whiting’s most prominent recent work has been in overseeing the meeting that the Te Papa sculptures impress as much with their colour as their form. This
house sculptures at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, work has the decorative, rhythmic qualities that are typical of his art. Critical
opened in 1998 (Plate 60). Carving motifs here include items like the English reaction to it has varied from enthusiasm to condemnation as kitsch, in some
rose as well as the Maori koru and spiral to project an inclusive programme of ways mirroring reaction to Te Papa as a whole.
shared cultures. He has taken the risk of using thin, tracery-like forms of carved Matt Pine (b. 1941) (Te Ati Haunui-a-Paparangi, Te Atiawa, Ngati Tuwharetoa)

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belongs to a younger generation than Matchitt and Whiting. Born in Wanganui, based on details of meeting-house design and construction. Pine brings together
he studied at Elam from 1960 to 1962. He then travelled to London where he modern materials and ideas to comment on historical matters such as the
undertook further study at the Hornsey College of Art from 1962 to 1964. He trenches used in Maori fortification.
was in London at the same time as expatriate New Zealanders such as John Technically, Pine has used the methods of assemblage of elements rather
Panting, Carl Sydow and Bill Culbert, with whom he had some contact. Pine than carving or modelling. If his sculpture appears at variance with that of Whiting,
developed a style of modernist sculpture built on the Constructivist models of it is because he has retained allegiance to European and American sculptural
artists like Judd, Caro and Le Witt. Comparisons could be made with the early principles. He has not attempted to make art for the marae, preferring instead to
development of the painter Ralph Hotere. After graduating, Pine lived in London retain the context and parameters of the art gallery. His bicultural dimension
for ten years, producing elegant works in contemporary materials such as metal emerges from his thematic concern with the weaving together of the Maori and
and perspex. the Pakeha components. This is clearly a legitimate stance to take and one that
He returned to New Zealand in 1974 when there was a great expansion of is in line with the aesthetic to which he adheres (Figure 74). Recently, he has
sculptural practice and ideas. Pine’s methods fitted into a context created by created works to do with ecological matters and endangered species of birds,
the works of artists such as Furlonger and Panting in the preceding few years. fish and insects. He noted in 1994 his desire to put ‘the focus on the plight of
He gradually began to absorb elements of Maori culture into his art in series endangered species of fauna and flora’. Works from this series were shown in the

PLATE 60 Cliff Whiting and others, Te Hono ki Hawaiki, 1998, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand. (F.4383/3)

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 casts of snapper on plates mounted on wooden plaques inscribed with stencilled
phrases such as ‘This is not a customary rights issue. This is a Koha.’ Jahnke
brought out the complexity of the issue by playing on the various meanings of
the fish, as a food, as an item of trade, and as a symbol of Christ. Not lacking in
humour, he also displayed chocolate fish arranged to spell the word koha and
available for a contribution decided by the consumer. Frequently he presents
his works on the wall like a relief but also introduces free-standing elements to
engage the viewer in the action. Jahnke trained at Elam where he graduated
with an MFA in 1978. He also has an MFA from the California Institute of the
Arts in Valencia, California. He is currently the coordinator of Maori visual arts in
the School of Maori Studies at Massey University in Palmerston North.
Also based in Palmerston North is Albert McCarthy (b. 1954) (Ngati
Tuwharetoa), who has emerged as a forceful painter and sculptor. Like Jahnke,
his work contains a political dimension and incorporates the adaptation of
traditional forms such as the waka to contemporary sculptural installation. He

FIGURE 74 Matt Pine, Weka (Lost Generations), 1994, pencil, paper, sheet metal, 215 x
has held various residencies at tertiary institutions, including one at Elam in
350 x 85 cm. Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui 1998, where he has been an influential role model.
Few younger sculptors have achieved the profile of Brett Graham (b. 1967).
Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui, in 1996, some mounted on the floor, others on the Born in Auckland, the son of sculptor Fred Graham, he was educated at Elam
walls and ceiling. This series sees the introduction of figurative elements into his before gaining a scholarship to study at the University of Hawaii from 1990 to
art in a linear or flattened form to suggest loss, death and extinction. 1991. An early influence came from his father, whose ideas and practice were
Robert Jahnke (b. 1951) (Te Whanau A Rakairoa, Ngati Porou) belongs to a an important part of his formative years and led to his decision to become an
generation that has placed bicultural issues and protest at the centre of its art.
Originally trained in design and film, Jahnke in recent times has emerged as a
sculptor. Like Pine, he prefers assemblage of elements to carving or modelling.
However, he makes use of a more diverse range of resources than Pine, including
found objects as well as Maori and English text. He finds, like Ralph Hotere and
others who wish to communicate a protest message, that text can facilitate the
process. Often he employs words with double meanings to reinforce his message,
an example being his Conversion works of 1994. There he hyphenated the word
after ‘con’ so that the idea of trickery came to mind in relation to the colonial
land transactions that were a theme of the works. Jahnke used the axe as a
symbol of inequitable exchange for land as well as for its connotations as the
instrument for destroying native forests.
In his works Jahnke points out the grievances of Maori over the loss of land
and natural resources. He has the ability to respond to issues while they are
topical, as happened with his Koha exhibition of 1998 (Plate 61). In this instance
he used the customary fishing rights issue to focus attention on ownership of
PLATE 61 Robert Jahnke, Koha, 1998, Installation, Artis Gallery, Auckland. Totara and
natural resources deriving from the Treaty of Waitangi. He presented bronze bronze, each work 700 x 300 x 40 mm

CONTEMPORARY MAORI SCULPTORS — 139

artist. While at Elam in the mid-1980s, Graham found the sculpture staff initially
unresponsive to his interests in carving and his Maori heritage. However, he
learnt a good deal about contemporary British sculpture, especially the works
of Richard Deacon, Tony Cragg and Anish Kapoor. For him the issue of cultural
identity became critical in the face of dominant European influences. About the
loss of culture he noted in 1994: ‘with this disappears the uniqueness of a world
view, the ability to formulate thought from a rich vocabulary of visual and spoken
language, and the joy of seeing the world through the colours of one’s own
cultural perceptions.’ These concerns emerge as a powerful current in his work.
He quickly showed his precocious talent when he was commissioned by
the John Weeks Trust to carry out a relief mural for the Maidment Theatre foyer
at the University of Auckland. This work, known as the Maidment Muses, 1989,
was executed in lead sheathing over a wooden underlying support. His interest
in lead derived from the example of Greer Twiss who was using it at that time.
Each of the nine pieces represents one of the muses in an abstract symbolic
form. The arrangement of the figures in a row has a chant-like quality that
recalls the ancestor panels (pou pou) set in the entrance porch of the Maori
meeting house. It is a work of great accomplishment for a young sculptor barely
out of art school. Here Graham shows his early interest in creating a bicultural
art drawing on both Maori and Pakeha heritages to create a new kind of sculpture.
The work is contemporary in feel yet strengthened by its referencing of the
sculptor’s own heritage in an effective manner.
Brett Graham’s work has a basis in working of stone and wood that connects
him to the great tradition of Maori carvers stretching back through the
generations. But he also has a considered, theoretical position that lies behind
each work. Often he has introduced ideas to do with race relations and the
effect of European colonisation on Maori. For example his 1992 installation
1492–1642 was dedicated ‘to the indigenous peoples of the world whose PLATE 62 Brett Graham, Manu Tawhiowhio, 1996, Auckland Institute of Technology.
Wood, copper and riverstone, height 7000 mm, base 650 mm in diameter
cultures have sprouted, flowered and then withered in the winter of colonisation’.
But his art is never conceptual at the expense of form. In Hawaii he was able to
study the background of other Polynesian cultures as well as to develop his shapes carved in pine, which are redolent of antique classical art but have also
own practice. While there he benefited from contact with scholars of Polynesian been compared with Maori pou, vertical pole markers. He usually achieves simple
culture who furthered his interest in arts of the Pacific. A period in Japan in uncluttered forms that are worked with surface projections and recesses to create
1991 with the sculptor Okamoto helped him develop his handling of stone textural interest. Such a work is the sculpture Manu Tawhiowhio, 1996, where
carving. Also, he found the Japanese belief in the life force of stone sympathetic Graham depicts a bird in abstracted terms by means of an ovoid form divided
with Maori values. His belief in the object gives to his art a monolithic timeless by copper bands (Plate 62). In this case the historical role of migratory birds as
quality. guides for seafarers seeking new lands is alluded to, while the satellite reference
Brett Graham often uses vertical wood or stone forms. These can be is a symbol of modern communications. Graham’s use of bird, tree and flower
columnar, as in his 1995 pieces carved from recycled Oamaru stone, or fluted forms reflects his concern for the natural world and the important role played

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by the environment in the culture of indigenous peoples. He has also made
disc-like forms with grooves following the circular shape and culminating in the
double spiral found in traditional Maori art.
Graham has worked since 1992 at the University of Auckland. Currently he
teaches a programme called Te Toi Hou, the new way, at Elam. This programme
is not restricted to Maori art forms or to Maori students. Rather it draws on both
local and international sources to provide stimulus to the students, many of
whom are Maori or interested in bicultural issues. His presence there has already
given encouragement to young Maori and Polynesian artists who wish to work
in a modern idiom. Comparable programmes are in place at Northland
Polytechnic and at Massey University under Robert Jahnke. Their existence is a
sign that progress is being made in recognising the mentoring needs of emerging
Maori artists. Such programmes have encouraged a revival of carving in stone
and wood at the art schools, where it had long been out of favour.
Brett Graham is an artist who has read extensively about sculpture and the
issues surrounding First Nations art. He has written papers on the subject and PLATE 64 Michael Parekowhai, Kiss the Baby Goodbye, 1994, Chartwell collection.
attended conferences around the world. He has had a number of public Powder coated steel, 4000 x 4000 x 200 mm

commissions for large-scale sculpture, for example at Tamaki Campus, University

of Auckland, at Fletcher Challenge, Penrose, and the Tjibaou Centre in Noumea, attended Elam from 1987 to 1990, majoring in sculpture. Immediately after
1998 (Plate 63). graduation he made an impact with conceptually strong sculptures presented
A contemporary of Brett Graham is Michael Parekowhai (b. 1968) (Nga in a provocative way. Compared with Brett Graham, Parekowhai is much less
Ariki, Ngati Whakarongo), an artist who shares some of his theoretical agenda concerned about the monumental role of sculpture, designing his works instead
but executes his works in a very different manner. Born in Porirua, Parekowhai for the gallery context to which they relate in terms of ideas and issues, as in Kiss
the Baby Goodbye, 1994 (Plate 64). By scattering his works on the gallery floor
or leaning them against the walls he critiques the qualities encapsulated in
traditional sculpture and relates to the subversive agendas deriving from Marcel
Duchamp, to whose works he has made specific allusions in several of his
sculptures, for example Mimi, 1994.
Parekowhai is very aware of the roles of art institutions and critics in
controlling how sculpture is seen and valued. By making references to respected
local painters like Colin McCahon and Gordon Walters, he can both acknowledge
and critique the status accorded them by the art establishment. His allusions, as
a sculptor, to painters and a painted history are noteworthy. For it is true that
sculpture in New Zealand has not achieved the status of painting in terms of
patronage and public acceptance. By making sculpture about painting, he can
bring the critical debate around the painters’ works to include sculpture as part
of the total situation instead of ignoring or excluding it.
Through his sculpture, Parekowhai encourages discourse on topical issues
PLATE 63 Brett Graham, Lapita, 1998, Tjibaou Centre, Noumea. Stone, 2000 x 800 x
800 mm in contemporary art, seeing this as an essential aspect of his works. Because

CONTEMPORARY MAORI SCULPTORS — 141

both his parents are teachers, he knows better than most the relationship between
art and education. His art helps to develop bicultural awareness without being
didactic. Cultural identity emerges as an ongoing theme in his work, where
there is limited evidence of Maori materials or imagery. He communicates as
someone contemporary who is informed by his European and Maori heritage.
In doing so he avoids heavy-handed polemic in favour of subtle commentary
on a range of topics. This was already apparent in his early word sculpture The
Indefinite Article, 1990, in which he gave new meaning to the words ‘I am’ used
by Colin McCahon in a word painting of 1954, based on a text from Exodus
containing words spoken to Moses by God in definition of his identity: ‘I Am,
that is who I am’. By mimicking the painted letters of the older artist and changing
them to read ‘I am he’, Parekowhai critiques the egotistical reading of McCahon’s
PLATE 65 Michael Parekowhai, Ten Guitars, 1999, Artspace, Auckland. Guitars, cases,
work where there is some confusion of the identities of artist and the Creator. In straps, raisers. Each guitar 1040 x 430 x 130 mm

Maori the word ‘he’ is the indefinite article meaning ‘a’ or ‘some’. Parekowhai
thus draws attention to the fact that his work is not the definite article, a He has sometimes alluded to the moral issues involved in loss of culture and
McCahon, but something other with a Maori dimension. The self-reference in land. The toy axes, spades and guns he introduced in works of 1993 refer to the
this and other works personalises the issue of cultural identity that is one of his colonial conquest of the nineteenth century when large areas of Maori land and
preoccupations. resources passed into the new settlers’ hands. Here his theme and symbols are
His later Kiss the Baby Goodbye, 1994 (Plate 64), transformed Gordon much the same as those found in other contemporary Maori artists, among
Walters’s painting Kahukura, from that artist’s koru series, into a sculptural relief them Shane Cotton and Robert Jahnke. Parekowhai’s art, while essentially western
cut out of sheet steel. Parekowhai presents his version of Kahukura like a kitset in style and presentation, reflects the concerns of urban Maori today. His Ten
model with koru motifs that look as if they could be mechanically stamped out Guitars, 1999 (Plate 65), employs instruments and words appropriated from
and replicated. Since Walters made his reputation with the koru series in which Western culture to show how Maori have claimed as theirs the ideas of harmony
each painting is restricted to a few generic forms derived from the Maori art, and togetherness encapsulated in the lyrics and performance of a popular song.
Parekowhai’s version draws attention to the older artist’s procedure. He shows In this work there is a performance aspect in that musicians played the song Ten
that Walters’ koru motifs removed from their original context in Maori culture Guitars on the instruments at the opening in each new venue as the show toured
take on a new identity as tools for making modernist abstraction. Without being the country. Increasingly Parekowhai is working across disciplinary boundaries,
judgmental, Parekowhai in this instance educates the viewer to see how issues and he exhibited large colour photographs in exhibitions during 2001.
of appropriation and authenticity are central to a balanced assessment of Walters’ All the Maori artists discussed so far are male. This may seem surprising
art. until it is realised that traditionally in Maori society men did the carving. Sculpture
He has also commented on how art is displayed and valued. For example, in its classic forms was therefore a male domain and one that has rarely been
in 1997 he exhibited customised number plates with the names of artists and challenged by women artists. It is therefore appropriate that the leading Maori
appropriate price tags instead of registration numbers. His cynical equation of women artists who are sculptors work with installation rather than with object
value with established artists’ names rather than their works addresses one of sculpture. Installation allows for the introduction of fibre, of weaving and related
many concerns about the marketing and promotion of art, an area explored art materials that lay inside the domain of women in the traditional division of
earlier by Billy Apple. He has also introduced into exhibitions formally dressed art work in Maori society. No doubt there are other aspects of installation that
mannequins with name tags that read: ‘Hello my name is Hori’. The mannequins appeal to women practitioners, such as the involvement of the spectator in the
appear to view the works while themselves drawing attention to racial stereotypes physical space of the work and the absence of a commodity emphasis.
and expectations of gallery audiences. Of women artists with Maori lineage Jacqueline Fraser and Maureen Lander

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are the most prominent practitioners in installation art. Of the two Fraser has timber. The feminine dimension comes not from her gender but from the nature
had the higher profile until recently. From Dunedin, Fraser (b. 1956) (Ngai Tahu) of her work. Her variation of the carved pendant the heitiki underscores this by
is of Maori and European descent. When she studied at the Elam from 1974 to its treatment in lines that seemingly sketch the contours of the form denuded of
1977 she rejected the traditional sculptural materials because they had little its mass and opacity. Fraser often uses line to make her forms in space, preferring
relevance to what she wanted to do. However, environmental art and installation materials like braid or more recently electrical wire, which lend themselves to
were established by then in the sculpture section, allowing her to pursue a linear presentation (Plate 66). She also has introduced curtains, bows and tassels
more congenial direction. She originally made her works out of bought and from European sources into her art with their full overlay of associations with
found materials, cutting, sewing and plaiting them together in ways that are women, finery and the home. But her feminine referencing does not deflect her
traditional to women’s work in both modern and tribal societies. After graduation, art away from concerns about space and light that are central to her sculpture
Fraser began exhibiting immediately and has subsequently made large-scale as an art form. She creates an art in which heavy materials and physical processes
installations for all major art galleries in New Zealand. She has also exhibited are not needed. There is often a decorative delight in rhythmic movements
overseas. Gradually she began to develop works that could be dismantled and repeated to give a lyric dimension to her work. She prefers curving lines to
moved from one location to another, thus allowing them a degree of permanence straight, contour to mass. It seems an intuitive response rather than one based
despite their fragility. on specific theories or concepts.
Fraser’s work has a feminine dimension that is accentuated by her use of An important part of Fraser’s work relates to her Maori identity. She can be
female-specific media such as fabric and thread. Her works are very light and seen as a contemporary Maori artist not simply because of her racial origins but
almost ephemeral, the opposite of Maori male sculptors’ works in stone and also because she chooses to draw attention to that cultural heritage. For example,
she uses Maori titles, she references Maori spiritual and social values and she
makes her own versions of traditional motifs like the tiki and double spiral. She
echoes in her creations the forms of Maori meeting houses, of ancestor figures
and guardian spirits. Yet Fraser does not recreate the old, rather she alludes to a
rich cultural tradition while making something new and unique to herself. By
introducing materials like electrician’s wire, plastic, lurex and modern fabrics
she achieves a contemporary look. The result is arguably as much European as
Maori. And certainly Fraser is more at home as a professional artist who shows
in galleries than as someone who makes work on the marae. She manages to
draw together strands of meaning that contribute to the delicate balance of
cultures from which her art derives.
In 2001 she was selected to represent New Zealand at the Venice Biennale.
She chose that occasion to voice dissatisfaction with her critical reception in
New Zealand, and vowed never to exhibit there again. This indicates that she
has been concerned with the provincial context in which her work has been
discussed and the craft overtones sometimes associated with it. Clearly Fraser,
like other contemporary practitioners, seeks the international forum where her
work will be assessed against stringent benchmarks.
Equally, Maureen Lander (b. 1942) has kept close to her Maori roots. She is
knowledgeable about Maori fibre art, often incorporating references to it in her
installations. Lander is very site-specific in her works, which are constructed for
PLATE 66 Jacqueline Fraser, The Illumination of the 38 Dresses, 1995, Sue Crockford
Gallery. Wire, 2500 x 1500 mm a particular situation and cannot be viewed in the same way again. She can

CONTEMPORARY MAORI SCULPTORS — 143

PLATE 67 Maureen Lander, String Games, 1998, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand. Installation, mixed media

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dramatise the spaces by a use of controlled lighting and by introducing modern
media such as computer imagery to enrich her meanings. Lander has made
contact with artists internationally who share her interest in relating traditional
tribal arts to a contemporary context. She has exhibited extensively in New
Zealand and overseas.
A major example of Lander’s installation is String Games, 1998 (Plate 67),
commissioned for the opening of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa
Tongarewa, Wellington. In this work Lander drew on traditional Maori string
game patterns to create the centrepiece of her installation, which was
dramatically highlighted against a darkened room by fluorescent coloured strings
activated by ultraviolet black light. It was possible for viewers to enter a specially
constructed room where the work was installed, and to walk around but not
actually enter the space it occupied.
On surrounding walls, a variety of string patterns in different, light-enhanced
PLATE 68 Hariata Tangahoe, Whakapapa Hou, 1997, Waikato Museum of Art and
colours carried the theme to the perimeter of the space. While the artist History, Hamilton. Installation, mixed media

acknowledged her Maori sources by including historical photographs of string

games in progress, she also incorporated references to Duchamp whose portable this work, Lander inverted the cone construction of the house thatching. She
museum idea is represented centrally, both physically and conceptually. String prefers her art to be ephemeral rather than permanent, to be something owned
Games had a conceptual and visual richness of meaning characteristic of Maureen by the viewer not the gallery where it was displayed. Her works cross the
Lander’s recent works. She draws on both Maori and European art sources to boundaries between craft and fine art in an explorative way.
create the unique identity of her own sculpture. Subsequently, in collaboration Hariata Tangahoe (b. 1952) by contrast established herself as a painter before
with John Fairclough, she made a digital version of this work in which there was moving into installations and stone carving. Her exhibition Whakapapa Hou,
an interactive component. 1997 (Plate 68), at the Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton, was a
Lander, born at Rawene in the Hokianga, studied at Elam from 1987 to major installation involving a fluent disposition of elements around the walls of
1993. She also has a BA in Maori Studies from the University of Auckland where the main gallery space. Using wooden forms, she depicted ancestors, birds,
she teaches programmes in Maori material culture. Her knowledge of Maori angels and goddesses across the walls in an eclectic mixture of styles and
weaving techniques and materials can be seen in her installations where she references. Drawing on her own culture as well as Christianity symbolised through
blends muka, harakeke and other traditional materials with modern fabrics and small crosses, she arrived at an all-encompassing evocation of a journey both
colours. In her Wellington work This Is Not A Kete, 1994, she placed woven flax spiritual and material. Of this work she noted: ‘I use old and new found materials
baskets in a sculptural installation so that the emphasis was on formal and to link the past with the present. This can be seen in the use of demolition
symbolic values rather than utility. timber. Some pieces are left with their original paint to show their past history,
She has often worked in collaboration with a range of artists, embracing whereas others are painted afresh, or decorated with mixed media or collage.’
their ideas and sharing her knowledge. At times this has involved a situation The natural forms of dead leaves sprinkled on the floor and pinned to the walls
outside New Zealand. In 1998, for instance, she made an installation, enriched the installation.
Conversation Inverse, at the Tjibaou Cultural Centre, Noumea, where she In 1998 she began to make a series of relief carvings in Oamaru stone.
consulted with Kanak artists and used coconut palm leaves, a local material, These works with their incised figures continued the cross-referencing of cultures
along with nylon fishing line and flax edging discarded by another New Zealand typical of her work. Her nude female figures recall Indian stone carving as much
artist. The installation was made up of eight suspended forms of variable size as anything specifically Maori in origin. Tangahoe claims a freedom of expression
designed to recall the thatched roofing of traditional Kanak architecture. For for herself and does not allow herself to be inhibited by traditional boundaries

CONTEMPORARY MAORI SCULPTORS — 145

or taboos. By making figure sculpture she has encroached on what was with indigenous artists from other cultures in North America and the Pacific,
traditionally a male domain, taking a path already traversed by Shona Rapira finding a common cause in their marginalisation. Her ability to generate a reaction
Davies (b. 1951). In her major work Nga Morehu (The Survivors), 1982–88, Rapira to her work was demonstrated by Flagging the Future: Kaitangata the Last Palisade,
Davies draws together expressionistic life-size figures, woven Maori mats on 1995, in which she placed a New Zealand flag on the floor of the Auckland City
which they stand, and Maori language inscriptions. This large free-standing Art Gallery and invited visitors to walk over it. This deliberately provocative
work is made up of female ceramic figures that advance one behind another in installation polarised public opinion and led to protests about the exhibition.
a ritualistic manner, crying out in anguish. Their upturned heads, open mouths Her work made a maximum impact because it came at a time of questioning of
and gesticulating arms seem to challenge the viewer as well as the naked child cultural identity in New Zealand and debate about an alternative flag for the
who stands confronting them. This powerful work is concerned with a number country that dispensed with the Union Jack and its connotations of subservience
of issues including the rape of women and the land. Rapira Davies has made to Britain.
paintings and installations that deal with social ills that afflict Maori women. Sculptors who are Maori and who deal with issues of cultural identity and
The political dimensions of her art can be related to those of painters such as difference are now an important and identifiable part of contemporary New
Robyn Kahukiwa and Emare Karaka. Rapira Davies graduated from Otago Zealand art. Their concerns are social, political, cultural and environmental. In
Polytechnic School of Art in 1985. their various ways they have given a tangible presence to previously marginalised
Shona Rapira Davies is not alone in raising a voice of political protest in her ideas. By reaching beyond the galleries and spaces occupied by Western art,
sculpture. Diane Prince (b. 1952) (Ngati Whatua, Nga Puhi) makes installations Maori sculptors have pushed out the boundaries to enable their work to reach a
with a strong social message of disquiet and anger focusing on the disadvantaged new audience. In the process they have contributed to changing the look and
position of Maori in a society controlled by Pakeha systems. She has observed: range of sculpture. It is now richer and more diverse, as well as more challenging.
‘Democratic structures are no guarantee for the political safety of colonised Importantly, it has allowed connections to be made internationally with the
indigenous peoples anywhere.’ Like Maureen Lander, she has worked together work of other First Nations artists, giving it a wider audience and context.

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XI

Contemporary Sculpture in New Zealand

Since 1980 New Zealand sculptors have responded to the greater opportunities such as Jeff Thompson, Charlotte Fisher, Bing Dawe and Chris Booth is one
made possible by a growth of corporate and private patronage. Commissions trend. Installation art as practised by sculptors such as Maureen Lander and
from institutions such as public art galleries and universities, offices, banks and Christine Hellyar is another. But some Post-Object forms, notably performance
shopping centres, as well as funding support from the Queen Elizabeth II Arts art, have fluctuated in popularity and are probably less common than before.
Council (now Creative New Zealand), have encouraged more diverse and Among most artists whether of European, Asian, Maori or Polynesian descent,
ambitious work. As public institutions such as art galleries and museums have cultural identity is now an important issue. At the same time, there is a desire to
grown in number and size, their role in commissioning sculpture for curated relocate the cultural centre of local sculpture to New Zealand and the Pacific
exhibitions has developed and made possible projects that previously were
unachievable. Non-profit-making galleries, such as Artspace in Auckland and
the City Gallery, Wellington, have been at the forefront in presenting installations
and performances that otherwise would have struggled to find a venue.
Sponsorship from companies and civic corporations in major centres like
Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch has further added to the vitality of the
scene. For example, Orion, the electricity network company, commissioned Paul
Hartigan’s major neon work Nebula Orion for its Christchurch premises in 2001
(Plate 69). This powerful work has a range of symbolic references including an
artist’s palette, a stellar constellation and the neurological pathways of the brain.
Taking up the entire wall of a building, it is an excellent example of the way in
which art and commerce can reinforce one another and add a new visual
dimension to a city. An increased recognition of the importance of the visual
arts at government level has helped as well. The appointment of the Prime
Minister, Helen Clark, as minister for arts, heritage and culture in the Labour–
Alliance coalition government formed in 1999 signalled an important change
in status backed up by substantial new funding.
Since 1980 artists have been more open to a variety of styles, methods of
working and theories of art. Object sculpture of diverse kinds practised by artists PLATE 69 Paul Hartigan, Nebula Orion, 2001, Christchurch. Neon, 11530 x 7060 x 100 mm

CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE IN NEW ZEALAND — 147

rather than see it as peripheral and provincial to art practice elsewhere. The and lacking in finesse. But this would be misleading. Skill is required to transform
emergence of magazines like Art & Asia Pacific in the 1990s helped promote Booth’s found objects into something stronger and more meaningful. He creates
such a viewpoint. This tendency has been furthered by the greater international simple, monumental forms like the arch and the column in which the component
acceptance of indigenous cultures on their own terms. The increased immigration stones form part of a symbolic structure. Unlike architecture, these structures
of Asian people into New Zealand in the 1990s, especially in Auckland, has do not function as places to dwell but as symbols of the human desire to live
contributed to a much richer and more diverse cultural mix. Inevitably in this harmoniously with nature. At times there is an anthropomorphic dimension to
climate, different and even contradictory art practices have developed. his sculpture, especially in the vertical stone columns such as Silent People, 1991,
A concern for some sculptors has been conservation of the natural where the title evokes connotations of standing figures. Booth stacks and shapes
environment as a life-enhancing force now under threat. While New Zealand his boulders by using steel cabling to string the parts together invisibly like
has a reputation internationally as a clean, green country much of its flora and beads on a thread. He hides the weight of his material by lifting the massive
fauna have been placed under stress by farming, urban sprawl and tourism. boulders high in the air so that they appear light and free from gravity. A good
Artists and writers have been active in raising consciousness about environmental example is Gateway, 1990, Albert Park, Auckland, even though in this case
issues and endangered species. Among them sculptors like Chris Booth and structural considerations required that the upper boulders were cast in aluminium
Bing Dawe are prominent in their espousal of issues to do with the land and its to lighten the load on each column. In Gateway, Booth introduced water as an
well-being. element that drips down the stones rather like a stream trickling over a cliff face.
Of these sculptors, Chris Booth (b. 1948) has become identified with Perhaps there is a limit to how varied responses can be to accumulations of
sculptural assemblages made from stones and boulders fashioned by the forces such specific materials, especially when they ultimately can only pile up in
of wind and water and often set in the landscape from which they originate. mounds or columns of limited shape and type. They would seem not to have
Booth is an active conservationist who lives in a rural setting at Kerikeri, away the capacity to describe more than a few forms, especially when assembled by
from the urban centres. He grew up in a largely Maori community from whom steel cabling that brings them together in tidy stacked piles or columns. But
he acquired an early reverence for the land and its spiritual values. This Booth has continually pushed out the boundaries of his art, creating works as
contributed to his respect for indigenous people and the special relationship varied in effect as the Rainbow Warrior Memorial, 1990, Matauri Bay, Northland,
they have with their environment. His conservationist interests and respect for and Kaipara Strata, 1992, Kakanui Point, Kaipara Harbour. By introducing other
nature are widely shared by many New Zealanders and are supported politically elements such as the propeller in the Rainbow Warrior Memorial, he can vary the
by the Green Party (which has had a voice in the coalition government although look and meaning of his works significantly. In Cave, 1994–97, Takahanga Marae,
not formally a member of it). These concerns enjoy a worldwide following, a Kaikoura (Plates 70 and 71), he used different kinds and sizes of stone together
fact that has contributed to the international profile Booth has achieved as an with steel cabling and wire to create a ceremonial gateway in harmony with the
artist. nearby meeting house and marae. As his work has developed, it has become
The heavy stone components of his sculpture are individual to his practice. more diverse, confident and daring in conception.
These found materials do not require the hand of the artist to shape them Booth originally studied at the Canterbury School of Art from 1967 to 1968
individually but do need to be strung together into vertical columns, arches or but broke off his course to travel and work in Europe. In Italy and Britain he
mounds that take on a sculptural identity. By aggregating these stones Booth studied with a number of professional sculptors before returning to New Zealand
gives to them the connotations of a man-made artefact, such as a cairn or arch, in 1970. He began his career with works shaped out of rough pieces of native
while retaining the elemental strength of natural materials naturally made. His timber, kauri logs and stumps, and manuka sticks. His art can be related through
works function very successfully in the landscape where the rugged materials its specific earthiness to the creations of a number of English artists like Andy
echo the forms of nature. Booth remarked in 1993: ‘Above all I am trying to Goldsworthy. But what Booth does is create his own vernacular language, which
make my sculpture in harmony with the land.’ There are conscious overtones of celebrates rather than denies its rural, provincial origins. He has succeeded in
prehistoric monuments in ceremonial sites such as Avebury in Britain. creating an individual look to his work that relates directly and honestly to the
It could be argued that these are rustic sculptures, deliberately awkward environment from which his materials are sourced.

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PLATE 70 Chris Booth, Cave, 1994–97, Takahanga Marae, Kaikoura. Stone, stainless
steel cable and wire, 3000 x 3000 x 5000 mm.

In recent years, Booth has established an international reputation with

commissions both public and private in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United
States, Italy and Scandinavia. While doing so, he has preserved his close
association with the land and the specific regional values of the places where
his sculptures are located. Because his work is often large and heavy, it needs to
be made on location and cannot be transported easily, if at all. To maintain his
integrity when working overseas or in sites remote from his home, Booth lives
for a time in the area, getting to know the place and its people before making
his work. That way he can integrate local materials and associations into his
sculpture. Examples of this are found in his Australian commissions such as Tuuram
Cairn, 1996, for Deakin University, Warrnambool, Victoria, where he consulted
local Koori people before developing his work ‘to encourage remembrance of
the recent suffering of this land and its Indigenous People’. Other Australian
examples can be found in Queensland (Plate 72) and Victoria. PLATE 71 Chris Booth, Cave, detail

CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE IN NEW ZEALAND — 149

 Among Christchurch sculptors, Bing Dawe (b. 1952) is one who has
achieved a wide and varied practice, drawing on his local environment for
subjects and materials such as river stones and timber. In his love and care for
the land he can be compared with Booth, though he expresses his concerns
with different forms. In particular, his work often involves figuration whereas
Booth’s excludes it. Bird, fish and human figures occur in his works, which
address environmental themes and the need for equilibrium between man and
nature. Dawe grew up in rural South Canterbury and North Otago where the
rivers, flowing over stony beds rich with fish and eels, had a strong formative
influence on him. He attended the Canterbury School of Art, graduating in
1976. In the 1980s he made a series of works devoted to endangered birds,
crafting skeletal forms from wood to suggest ancient bones like those of the
extinct moa, the large flightless bird that was once common in Canterbury and
North Otago. His political themes included protest against an aluminium smelter
planned for Aramoana and anti-nuclear-war subjects interpreted in an individual
and symbolic way. In these themes he shared concerns with artists like Ralph
Hotere, whose work he admired.
All his sculpture has a highly crafted quality with a great attention to detail.
This is especially true of his sculptures of eels, which are rendered with uncanny
verisimilitude. The eel becomes a symbol of nature, of mystery and cyclic
migrations little understood by those who capture and kill them. His Eel —
Birdling’s Flat — Black Stones Waitaki River, 1997 (Plate 73), features a cabinet on
which the carved eel is displayed. This acts as a novel pedestal for it while hinting
in its closed recesses at a trap or hiding place. Dawe won the Wallace Award in
1999 for a work from this series called Figure with Eel, in which a figure gazes at
and touches a captured eel. The juxtaposition so created sums up the inquisitive
and enigmatic nature of Bing Dawe’s art. It implies that there must be greater
understanding and respect for the natural world and the creatures that depend
on its health for their existence. Whereas Booth works on a monumental scale
in outdoor locations, Dawe prefers the intimacy of smaller pieces and the gallery
or domestic setting.
Auckland artists Virginia King (b. 1946) and Charlotte Fisher (b. 1959) share
some of Booth’s and Dawe’s concern for the natural world and like them have
recycled organic materials in their works. Both trained at Elam, King between
1963 and 1964 and Fisher between 1985 and 1988. King’s environmental
interests have led her to use demolition kauri in works designed to comment on

PLATE 72 Chris Booth, Wiyung Tchellungnai-najil (Keeper of the Flame), 1997, Evandale
Sculpture Walk, Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Queensland, Australia. Stone,
9000 x 7500 x 7500 mm

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 With Booth it is stones, with Thomson corrugated iron. This material has a history
of its own, closely identified with colonial housing, with cheap baches and low-
cost structures. Its versatility and toughness have both made it popular and
contributed to its cult status as an icon of the down-under culture. It lends itself
usually less to high-art applications than to low-art, amateur and kitsch creations.
Thomson comments: ‘As an art medium it’s so common, cheap, utilitarian,
accessible, pliant . . . it’s so immediate, easy to join, to add to, it’s versatile —
can be curved, stacked, layered, cut into strips and woven. It needn’t stay
indoors.’ Thomson has frequently recycled material and given it new life in his
art works. Like Booth he has a concern for nature and achieves a low-tech kind
of art that is undemanding of the environment.
It can be guessed that Thomson’s works grow out of the same origins as
Pop Art with its appeal to the commonplace and the commercial rather than to
the refined and elitist. Some parallels could be made with a painter like Dick
Frizzell (b. 1943) who has not only depicted typical New Zealand buildings
made of corrugated iron but also used low-art imagery, such as advertising

PLATE 73 Bing Dawe, Eel – Birdling’s Flat – Black Stones, Waitaki River, 1997, Robert
McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch. Wood, canvas, paint, 500 x 600 x 260 mm

the destruction of New Zealand’s native forests. She has also introduced symbolic
forms based on leaf and seedpod sources to her installations for gallery spaces
or outdoor settings. Similarly Fisher has made sculptures from materials where
growth patterns and water-worn surfaces help reinforce the organic dimension.
She has sometimes mounted arc or boat forms on vertical columns to create
elegant evocative images full of a rich layering of symbolic meanings (Plate 74).
The arc can refer to the horn, crescent or moon, for example, whereas the boat
can evoke a passage both physical and psychological from one place or state to
another. Boat, 1996, Sky City, Auckland, is a characteristic example. Fisher has
returned to stone carving in some of her sculptures, finding in it a link to the
early years of modernism as represented by an artist like Brancusi, to whom she
has paid tribute in her work. Her sculptures have a formal strength and
monumentality suggestive of the enduring values of the natural world rather
than its transience.
Whereas Dawe, King and Fisher use a range of materials for their sculpture,
PLATE 74 Charlotte Fisher, The Arc, 1991, Australian sandstone and hinuera stone,
Jeff Thomson (b. 1957), like Booth, is thought of in terms of a specific material. 2000 x 1100 x 500 mm. Private collection, Auckland

CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE IN NEW ZEALAND — 151

PLATE 75 Jeff Thomson, H.Q. Holden, 1991, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand (B.28157)

slogans and shop signs, in his painting. Like Frizzell, who worked as a commercial idea that gives the works a recognisable identity. Like a well-known product,
artist for a while, Thomson has a business making vases, birds, animals and Thomson’s works can be easily recalled and just as easily identified. In New
furniture out of iron for clients on commission. These commissions help fund Zealand sculpture this is indeed a rare achievement (Plates 75 and 76).
his more experimental works and installations. Even more apt are the associations Thomson studied at Elam from 1978 to 1981, majoring in painting. But he
with folk art, such as souvenirs covered with paua shell or wool. Thomson covers developed his ideas by responding to the countryside with its provincial feel. He
his objects with iron or cuts out shapes in iron to give them a generic look. He acknowledges a debt to the rural folk art he saw in the form of mailboxes, each
is quite happy to recycle second-hand sheets of iron, even ones already painted, with its own distinctive design. By rejecting modernism and the international
to give them a history and identity. look, Thomson can celebrate the quirky, the gauche and the individual. He likes
By being first and foremost a sculptor of corrugated iron, Thomson risks to question the nature of art and its role in the community. For example, since
being seen as an entertaining novelty artist rather than as a serious practitioner. 1995 he has actually worked on existing rooftops from an artist’s perspective,
His patrons have been people who can relate to the fun element of an elephant designing new roofing systems and making his own customised lead-head nails
or cow cut out of iron and painted in bright colours. It is the uniqueness of the to secure the roofing sheets of iron.

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 Much of Thomson’s early art is only tin-deep, working in silhouette but not
in the round. A good example is the elephant fence designed for Auckland
patron James Wallace in 1985 for his former home in Remuera. Like an advertising
hoarding or neon display, it faces one way so that it can be thought of more as
a relief than as a three-dimensional sculpture. It has now been relocated to
Wallace’s sculpture park at his Epsom house ‘Rannoch’ where the large elephants,
since increased in number, appear to emerge from the bush. It has joined various
other works commissioned by Wallace, who is an important supporter of
contemporary sculpture.
Since 1986 Thomson has worked more fully in three dimensions. When he
clad an old Holden station wagon with iron in 1991, Thomson gave a more solid
look to his material. Realising that he had made all sorts of objects but had never
covered a structure as a builder clads a roof, he used the stimulus of a casual idea
to make the station wagon piece a reality in H.Q. Holden, 1991 (Plate 75). The
acquisition in 1987 of an old plumber’s curving machine for making iron water
tanks and bull-nosed verandah roofing helped him to make curving forms of a
fully three-dimensional character. His stationwagon has a lived-in quality that is
PLATE 76 Jeff Thomson, Pirouette, 1993, Collection of artist. Corrugated iron, height
symbolic of the nomadic lifestyle that Thomson led when he drove around 3000 mm

Australia and New Zealand in search of freedom and inspiration. The radio aerial,
bent in the shape of Australia, pays wry tribute to the relationship between Holden thought of as sculptural, evokes an everyday reality of women’s lives in the
and the country of its manufacture, where it is indeed a national icon. country. There are overtones of Pop Art in the focus on ordinary objects, while
His art is accessible as much for its childlike charm as for the material from the light, soft forms suspended off the ground reject the conventions of heaviness
which it is made. Thomson displays his pieces on the ground or leans them and mass previously the norm in New Zealand sculpture. In retrospect it seems
against the wall to achieve a disarming casualness in the way they relate to the to open up new directions for sculptural practice.
viewer. He has managed to get away from the stuffy constraints of the art gallery An enduring influence for Hellyar came from the sculptor Don Driver,
by making his art for outdoor settings, where its engaging freshness is like a who worked in New Plymouth, where she grew up. Driver displayed a willingness
gust of country air. Thomson stands outside much contemporary sculptural to introduce found objects into his works in ways that were daring and exciting.
practice, yet this has not counted against his popularity with patrons both in From 1966 to 1969 Hellyar studied at Elam where she related most to the
New Zealand and overseas. Increasingly his work is in demand in Australia, approach of Greer Twiss, then at the start of his career. She appears not to have
Holland and Germany. What he does is make sculpture fun, debunk its responded to academic sculpture or to the minimalism coming to Elam via the
pretentiousness and make it accessible. And that is no small achievement in a Royal College. Hellyar also met and became friends with Molly Macalister, who
country that has often been unresponsive to three-dimensional art. was at the school for a short period. In her last two years at Elam she focused on
By comparison Christine Hellyar (b. 1947) is a versatile sculptor who collects landscapes and landforms in her sculpture. From the start she thought
things that she assembles into works that transcend their modest origins. She, independently and took an individual approach. After leaving Elam, she began
too, has strong conservationist values that can be readily sensed in her art. Like taking moulds from natural forms like leaves in order to cast them in latex rubber.
Thomson, she has created art out of her own experience and surroundings. She was the first to do so in Auckland.
One of her early sculptures, called Country Clothes Line, 1972, consists of 22 Hellyar likes collecting interesting natural objects that she finds in her
pieces of clothing in latex rubber, which can be pegged out on a line propped environment. She can then arrange them appropriately to reveal the cyclic
up by a wooden pole. Here Hellyar, with a selective eye for a subject not normally processes of nature that often concern her as an artist. After first taking moulds

CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE IN NEW ZEALAND — 153

from such objects, Hellyar gives them durability as well as unity by casting them counterparts. Their contents comment on styles of art, hierarchies of ideas and
in a variety of materials such as latex, clay, plaster, bronze and lead. Including categorisation.
organic elements such as bird feathers and animal fur, her collections allow Hellyar has often clustered or grouped objects together on walls or floors so
thematic interpretation through their arrangement. Her themes address constants that their surfaces provide a unifying backdrop. This system allows a big work
in the natural life cycle — growth is matched by decay, life by death, softness by to be made from a multiplicity of parts, none of which is large or dominant.
hardness. The combining of polarities in terms of content and formal properties Skin, 1987 (Figure 75), is of this kind. Here Hellyar’s clay casts of leaves allow the
runs as a thread through her work. In addition, she always shows great sensitivity veins and leaf shapes to be read in shallow relief. By preserving its identifying
to texture and colour in her sculpture. shape each item contributes to the range of form and silhouette. Such works
After leaving Elam, Hellyar taught art for a while before travelling to Britain bring to mind Richard Killeen’s Cut Out paintings of some five years earlier where
in 1974 where she stayed in Cornwall, relating to the landscape and its sense of he cut out insect forms, for example, from sheet aluminium and mounted them
history. For a time in the period 1977–78 she lived in Scotland. On her return to on the wall. Whereas Killeen at that stage drew and cut each insect by hand,
Auckland, she experimented with various means of presenting her sculpture, Hellyar allows the found leaves to provide her shapes and forms. The skin
sometimes installing it in gallery spaces on the floor, at other times suspending reference can allude to the parallel between the way the earth is covered with
it from the ceiling or hanging it from the walls. Among the first New Zealand leaves, grass and lichen and our human body is clad in skin. Hellyar’s clay models
artists to make an installation sculpture, Hellyar has refined this kind of are like fossil records of the processes of growth and replication in a unified
presentation over the years. Shelter, 1982, an installation for the Auckland City frozen form. At this stage the artist achieved a subtle balance between form and
Art Gallery, is a good example. Here Hellyar spun, wove and plaited forms from content, as well as integration with sculptural concerns.
various materials such as twigs, muslin, flax and cord to make nets, traps and In 1982 Hellyar joined the staff in the sculpture section at Elam. This provided
enclosures of various kinds. The billowing muslin forms gave a lightness and her with the opportunity to teach many talented artists both male and female,
ephemeral quality to the gallery, occupying the zone between floor and ceiling. among them Denise Kum and Lisa Crowley who have proceeded to professional
Inside these constructions the artist placed small creatures fabricated from fur, sculpture careers. Her contributions as teacher and role model have been
bark and shell to suggest the way they would seek refuge in such enclosures. At considerable. She resigned from Elam in 1996 in order to focus more on her
the same time the more sinister overtones of capture or entrapment are implied own work.
in the net-like forms suggestive of traps or cages. In the early 1990s, Hellyar made a series of sculptures in which she continued
With such works Hellyar moved her art well away from the solid objects her interest in natural plant forms. An example is Armlet, 1993 (Plate 78). Using
associated with sculptors like Twiss. She also deliberately chose materials (such nikau, flax, toetoe, punga fronds and stems, she created a series of floor-mounted
as muslin) and techniques (like plaiting) associated traditionally with the work pieces that stand erect as if growing from the ground. She cast the works in
of women. Accordingly the installations can be read as claiming recognition for bronze, a material she used sparingly before that time. These bronzes retain her
more craft-oriented materials and processes. Here, as in much of Hellyar’s art, previous textural and organic interests while transforming the found objects
there is a feminist dimension that critiques accepted practice and hierarchies of into something more enduring and substantial. Part of their appeal is the paradox
taste. set up by the contrast between their apparent fragility and their actual strength.
In some of her works, Hellyar comes across as an inveterate collector with With these works she showed her desire to develop and change her art while
an eye for ordering her found objects into systems of presentation reminiscent retaining a consistency in her ideas. It also allowed her work to move into an
of old museum displays. One system she has employed has been the convention outdoor setting in more permanent material.
of the cupboard. A cupboard allows presentation of seemingly disparate objects Hellyar has created a large and varied body of sculpture based on a range
side by side, or above and below one another. She has bought used cupboards of techniques and concepts. Not only does she collect objects, but also she has
from second-hand shops to recycle them as ready-made containers for her works. an interest in words and phrases appropriate for her ideas, which she assembles
Clutch, Brood and Echo, 1990, is an example of this type (Plate 77). Hellyar’s into notebooks and workbooks. In its unmistakable feminist concerns and its
cupboards contain meanings beyond the spectrum of their utilitarian eclectic nature, Hellyar’s work belongs to the postmodern aesthetic. She is well

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PLATE 77 Christine Hellyar, Clutch, Brood and Echo, 1990, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand. (B.36380) Mixed media

CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE IN NEW ZEALAND — 155

 aware of the sources, both visual and literary, of the art she has produced. Hellyar
at all times preserves her focus on the aesthetic values of sculpture. In that sense
her work, despite its conceptual content, is not in accord with Post-Object art.
Hellyar is only one of many women who have developed their work strongly
since 1980 and are making a distinctive contribution to contemporary art.
Practitioners such as L. Budd and Judy Darragh indicate some of the richness
and diversity that has emerged in that period. Comparatively L. Budd, a persona
of Merylyn Tweedie (b. 1953), is more concerned with the message than the
means, often creating genuinely Post-Object sculptures where the physical
appearance of the works is repellent or inconsequential. For her, the land and
place where she works is not central to her work. Instead she positions herself in
the international arena of ideas and theory. In doing so she adopts a stance that
is widespread among contemporary practitioners who have a range of options
open to them.
Budd’s practice can be related to the European Fluxus movement, an anti-
art group of the 1960s opposed to traditional art values and professionalism.
Her adoption of various personae, such as the one ‘L. Budd’, can be seen as a
desire to escape the cult of names and established reputations. But her refuge
of anonymity cannot be preserved as a safe sanctuary in a small art community
like New Zealand. Clearly she has looked to the example of Joseph Beuys in
arriving at her assemblages of unattractive objects such as dirty neon tubing,
old wall heaters or junk furniture. Such things affront the cultivated eye by
offering nothing of visual beauty to the viewer, not even the bad taste of popular
kitsch. She commented in 1999: ‘I have a fear of results that look good (that is
successful) but don’t think well (that is have depth). For me the visual has always
come at the end.’
Born in Christchurch, she studied at the Canterbury School of Art from
1972 to 1975. Initially she worked as a photographer, creating prints that were
out of focus, rough and defaced by scrawled inscriptions. Her feminist beliefs
found an outlet in the collection of slogans and words that drew attention to
the way women were referred to and thought of in popular discourse. The
postmodern aesthetic gave her a means, as it did other feminist artists, of bringing
more attention to a minority viewpoint. She developed the persona L. Budd
between 1991 and 1992. By then feminism had become less important in her
practice, which had widened in scope.

FIGURE 75 Christine Hellyar, Skin, 1987, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki. Clay, 1850 x
1450 mm

FIGURE 76 Christine Hellyar, Skin, 1987, Detail

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PLATE 78 Christine Hellyar, Armlet, 1993, University of Auckland. Patinated bronze, FIGURE 77 L. Budd et al, Art Across Oceans, installation, Copenhagen, 1996. Television
three units, height 1370 mm set, painted slide screens, books, tape-recorder

While using found materials such as second-hand books, magazines and flowers, tacky tulle, mirrors or framed reproductions in sham gold frames. She
wallpaper, she usually manipulates these in some way to achieve her purpose. delights in bad taste, assembling found objects from junk shops into shrines of
She moved from photography to photocopied slogans and pages of texts to memorabilia. It is a celebration of the ordinary and the awful that depends for
installations (Figure 77). These works have established a niche for her in the meaning on the way it challenges our ideas about taste in art and life.
debate on what art is about in the 1990s, but cannot be evaluated by What she brings together has little commercial value, or artistic value as
conventional means. She may suggest an alternative to conventional expectation, conventionally understood, until it is transformed by her concept of the work as
but it is not one that has enduring value or appeal. She likes the temporary a whole. That new entity traces a part of our popular culture, the one most
nature of video and moving images that have a fragile existence but does not people know in their homes and lives. Accordingly she documents a vulgar or
see this as closing off other kinds of expression. Her critique does not seem to common taste of the sort previously ignored by artists and art galleries. Her
have seriously challenged orthodox sculptural practice, though it has raised stance seems ambivalent, both slightly mocking and respectful at the same time.
questions about its assumptions. She does access by this means a rich lode of visual imagery, much of it three-
Judy Darragh (b. 1957) can be compared with Budd in her enthusiastic dimensional, that would otherwise escape attention. Her validation of the cheap
embrace of low-art materials for her work though she includes more feminine and debased finds its equivalent in contemporary museum and gallery displays
bric-à-brac resonant of the traditional realm of women, the home. Darragh where popular culture is presented alongside high art in an attempt to give a
eschews the monumental in favour of light, ephemeral forms such as plastic more complete picture of an era.

CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE IN NEW ZEALAND — 157

 Very different in her approach is Elizabeth Thomson (b. 1955), who
established her reputation with wall-mounted installations of bronze insects and
moths. But she, too, has used a wide range of media in her search for an
appropriate form for her ideas. While studying printmaking at Elam from 1983
to 1988 with Denys Watkins and Alberto Garcia Alvarez, she began to make
three-dimensional constructions and use photography as a basis for her prints.
Her sculpture grew out of elements in her prints such as the insects and the
surreal landscapes she depicted in her etchings. While making a study of dioramas
for her master’s thesis she came into contact with museum staff and methods of
display. Work as an assistant at a local bronze foundry taught her the rudiments
of bronze casting and encouraged her in her own exploration of the medium.
Both experiences contributed to her sculptures and installations, in which her
care for accurate presentation is combined with knowledge of bronze to make
them a vehicle for her ideas.
Thomson’s methods of studying the natural world can be compared with
the scientific processes of collecting and collating specimens and material. She
has collected, examined and photographed her subjects, always with a view to
the visual effect. Thomson makes her creatures seem alive, as if alighting on the
wall, not pinned to it like specimens. Her works are suggestive of movement
and flight. Her wax models allow adjustments of size, so that her creations can
and do differ from real life. She treats the surface of the bronze with patinations
that closely imitate those in nature. Here there are traces of her printmaking
background in the graphic effects she achieves. Thomson deals in kinds of illusion,

PLATE 79 Judy Darragh, Two Graces, 1994, Collection of artist. Mixed media, 1600 x
including the device of trompe l’oeil in which her sculptures can be so real as to
1600 mm deceive the eye. Although her moths are made of heavy metal we experience
them as airborne and light, rather than earthbound and weighty. In fact her
Darragh is not a conventional sculptor because she creates a form of art sculpture often has a lightness, even translucence, as can be seen in her more
that elides boundaries between painting, sculpture, photography and recent glass works.
assemblage. She cares less for the hand-made than the found object, though In the late 1990s she extended her range of subjects to include plant forms
she does work the surfaces of her objects to give them the tone she requires. and microscopic matter. She has presented these on a plain background, either
Her Rock and Rose Bed, 1989, has the full three-dimensional thrust that her art directly onto the gallery wall or on pristine gessoed panels, isolating, dramatising
can acquire. Its witty comment on marital relationships is anchored in such a and organising the material for her viewer. An example is Southern Cross Parterre,
literal form that it is simultaneously both humorous and memorable. Her Two 1997–98 (Plate 80). This work consists of cast and hand-painted bronze leaves
Graces, 1994 (Plate 79), sends up the tourist presentation of Maori and Polynesian arranged to form a green cross against a white ground. Thomson has noted:
culture in the form of dancers dressed in piupiu and grass skirts. The kinetic ‘By presenting things as realistically as possible they assume a truth, they seem
sculptures move as if to music, but lack the grace and rhythm we expect in such real. With a shift in scale and context, the familiar elements take on a new
a context. Darragh trained at the Wanganui Polytechnic where she gained a identity, distilling and often moving into the abstract.’ In this instance the artist
diploma in 1979. She subsequently went to Auckland Teachers’ College and drew on her childhood recollections of vegetation standing out against the
has been practising as an artist since the late 1970s. snow of Mount Taranaki to make an image of apparent simplicity that contains

158
layers of meaning. The formal presentation, in contrast with her seemingly casual
placement of the earlier insect and fish works, reveals the diversity of her art.
Involved are ideas of fresh growth and regeneration as well as a memorial to her
mother who had recently died.
Thomson has experimented with different kinds of presentation. With her
installation Walking up Slowly, 1996, she created an eerie environment that
surrounded the viewer, a direct reference to her earlier investigations of the
museum and the diorama. She has examined and enlarged her works through
the use of the electron microscope, creating works that are visually rich and
multi-layered. These works have an elegant, icy presence. Glass appeals as a
medium with the potential to allow evolution in her work while retaining
continuity in the use of natural forms. It suggests new ways of introducing light
and colour to her work, giving her the freedom to move between the abstract
and the figurative, examining the concepts of real/unreal, and nature/culture.
She was commissioned to make an important work of this kind for the Sun
Alliance Centre, Auckland, in 2000.
More conventional in some respects are the sculptures of Richard Reddaway
(b. 1962). He uses the human figure as the main motif in his art, a figure generic
rather than individualistic in its character. His figures are mainly male, appearing
as self-projections perhaps, replications that conform not to an ideal of form
but to an awkward angularity. Their robotic compliance with the dictates of
society promotes a feeling of constraint rather than mental and physical freedom
(Figure 78).
Reddaway was born in Lower Hutt and moved to Christchurch in 1981,
where he studied at the Canterbury School of Art until 1985. Since then he has
exhibited widely and has taught at various art schools including Elam, Canterbury
and the Wellington Polytechnic (now Massey University). He has won several
awards from the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council, one in 1989 allowing him to
travel to Germany, where he studied at the Düsseldorf Kunstakademie under
Christian Megert.
Initially Reddaway used photography as well as sculpture, the two media
being closely entwined in his art practice. His photographs of the nude body
were cut and collaged into architectural forms such as a pediment or column.
His desire to subordinate the figure to a predetermined shape or position was in
accord with his overall aesthetic. In some cases an arch shape composed of
replicated figures in crouching poses recalls the way in which medieval craftsmen
carved figures into caryatid roles in their buildings. Such figures are oppressed
or constrained by the needs of their architectural function. In Reddaway’s art,
PLATE 80 Elizabeth Thomson, Southern Cross Parterre, 1997–98, James Wallace Trust,
subjugation derives from the mindset imposed by society and its expectations. Auckland. Bronze, oil paint patina, 1800 x 1060 mm

CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE IN NEW ZEALAND — 159

 Usually there is little strong colour in Reddaway’s world, which is hardly
surprising in view of its general themes. Rather it is in reflected light from the
covering of mirror-glass tiles that some animation occurs, passively happening
without any effort from the figures themselves. It could be said that his art
reflects in more ways than one a society where conformity is prized and
mediocrity valued above true excellence. The shattered dislocated look of his
figures can stand for the dysfunctional aspects of the same social world. But
Reddaway is no moralist or storyteller. His messages are built into the very
structure of his work from which we tease out his meanings.
In contrast to Reddaway, the Christchurch sculptor Neil Dawson (b. 1948)
does not represent the human figure in his art, nor does he typically give his
works a feeling of weight or substance. Although Dawson’s work is object-
based, it is innovative in its conception and execution. Often his clients are
corporate or civic, which allows him to create on a grand scale for public
locations. Dawson epitomises the freedoms and opportunities for a professional
sculptor in New Zealand. Whereas Dawson has been able to concentrate full
time on his art, Reddaway, like many sculptors in New Zealand, has had to
support his work by teaching. Dawson’s commercial success is owed not only
to the quality of his work but also to its compatibility with contemporary
buildings and urban settings.
Dawson’s sculpture is individual, unique and easy to recognise. In fact his
sculptures flout convention in their lightness of feel, their transparency and
their escape from the conventions of earthbound pedestal-based display. In his
early solo exhibition entitled House Alterations, 1978, Dawson positioned his
pieces around the walls and corners of the gallery, seeming to hang them like
pictures rather than sit them like sculptures on the ground. In construction they
were slight, being fabricated from wire so that they looked like drawings rather
than solid things. The subject was the average house, a small box-like structure
FIGURE 78 Richard Reddaway, Untitled, maquette, 1994, Private collection. Cardboard
on wood, 1800 x 900 mm as featureless in its ordinariness as Reddaway’s figures who might well feel at
home in them. Dawson wanted something that everyone could understand
It is paradoxical that his figures lack the specific character of Thomson’s and relate to. Already he was concerned about his audience and accessibility for
insects, moths and fish. Whereas her works delight in detail, Reddaway’s figures his work. In this he was consciously turning away from the Post-Object art of
can seem faceless robots lacking any kind of individuality. But as the artist has the time with its obscure ritualistic dimension.
noted: ‘While the figures are structurally identical, they are given individuality Born in Christchurch, Dawson grew up in Petone, Masterton and Hastings
through their material being.’ Reddaway’s recycling of everyday materials such before attending the Canterbury School of Art from 1966 to 1969. Among his
as ceramic tiles, broken crockery and timber seems to endorse a humdrum, fellow students were gifted artists such as Boyd Webb and Philippa Blair. At
low-value dimension in his manikins. Sunk in a world of mediocrity and repetition, Canterbury Eric Doudney and the more experimental Tom Taylor taught him
they go through the motions of life without losing a touch of humour and a sculpture. Once Taylor was in charge of sculpture in 1969, he allowed his students
suggestion of hope. much the same freedom as Jim Allen encouraged in Auckland. A visit of expatriate

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sculptor John Panting to the school in 1969 offered Dawson a window on the
exciting world of modernism and contemporary British practice.
In 1972 Dawson was able to travel to Melbourne with the aid of a Queen
Elizabeth II Arts Council grant to study at the Victorian College of the Arts. This
began an enduring relationship with Australia, where he has exhibited widely
and installed public works in the major centres. Having gained a graduate
diploma in sculpture, he returned to New Zealand the following year. After his
return, he taught design and drawing at the Christchurch Polytechnic from
1975 to 1983. Over this period he exhibited regularly and carried out temporary
installations that later were to develop into commissions. Gradually he established
a national and then international reputation.
Dawson found an individual identity for his work in the 1980s by enlarging
its scale while retaining an elusive absence of the expected materiality and mass
of conventional sculpture. His use of materials such as steel mesh, aluminium,
carbon fibre and epoxy resin has allowed him to create an ephemeral kind of art
that suggests space and three dimensions while dispensing with the bulk, the
weight and the opacity of conventional sculpture. Mesh and aluminium allow
FIGURE 79 Neil Dawson, Impact, 1985, Private collection. Mixed media, 1200 x 1200 x
the creation of forms that are transparent, perforated and resistant to precise 800 mm

definition. You simultaneously see and see through the forms, especially when
the light of the sky surrounds the work, as happens with Dawson’s outdoor simulate the effect of Echo by the use of mesh and paint to evoke the impossible
pieces such as Echo, 1981, Arts Centre, Christchurch, and Ripples, 1987, Waikato — a brick wall floating through the sky. A related work, Impact (Figure 79),
Museum of Art and History, Hamilton. He relies on illusion to suggest substance includes a found object, a rubber ball, positioned above the mesh wall that is
and to allow involvement. His subtle command of perspective tricks the eye curved as if in response to a collision with the ball. The ball appears to prefigure
while drawing attention to his artifice in a way both elegant and knowing. In the globe works that follow soon after. Ripples, which is located near the Waikato
recent years he has used computer design, laser and water abrasion cutting as River, projects into the sky the image of ripples of water radiating from a central
an important part of the working process. point, as if in response to a cast stone. In this case the sculpture is like a reflection,
A feature of Dawson’s works has been the positioning of them in the air, indistinct, hard to pin down, and permeated by the sky.
literally off the ground, as if free from gravity and able to hover or float against Dawson’s practice in the 1980s and 1990s has seen him carry out
a background of sky and clouds. This quality appeared first on a large scale with commissions for a variety of locations, some corporate like The Rock, 1984, for
Echo, in which a simplified outline drawing of the Arts Centre, Christchurch, the Bank of New Zealand Centre, Wellington, and several for institutions, like
was suspended in the air above the real building. This drawing in metal tubing Featherlight, 1990, suspended in the foyer of the Aotea Centre, Auckland. He
was itself three-dimensional but linear, hollow and weightless compared to the has also completed a major commission Horizons, 1995 (Plate 81), for a private
structure below. The juxtaposition was dramatic, allowing only one position for collector near Auckland. This large work, some thirty-five metres long, was based
the sculpture to work its illusion and others in which the structure dissolved into on an idea first developed in 1983 and achieves integration with the landscape
an incoherent form. Dawson’s use of the term ‘echo’ captures the light, fleeting in a way that the artist likes. On the international front Dawson has completed
quality of his work that seems to depend on something outside itself for its a variety of commissions, including Canopy, 1993, for the Queensland Art Gallery,
effect and presence. Like an apparition, his sculpture can evoke a response of Brisbane, and Globe, 1989, for the Pompidou Centre, Paris. His art is invariably
surprise and wonder from people with no art background. clever, specific to its site and distinctive in its elusive position between the tangible
Some of his small gallery pieces of the mid-1980s like Sky Walls, 1985, and the perceptual. The problem with this kind of art, which Dawson has solved,

CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE IN NEW ZEALAND — 161

PLATE 81 Neil Dawson, Horizons, 1995, Keystone Trust Collection. Steel mesh, length 35,000 mm

is crossing the borderline between cleverness that can pall, and real meaning blown the ferns into this sphere’. It has a constantly changing aspect as light
which endures. His art can appear materialistic in feeling but Dawson attempts reflects off its exterior silver surfaces or catches the gold inner parts of the globe.
to go beyond the appearances of the world to inner meanings or allusions. In Dawson has given this piece a specific regional and iconic status through the
this there are some parallels with Baroque sculpture and illusionism in both a use of native fern-leaf motifs that he has transformed into a memorable three-
symbolic and technical sense. dimensional structure. His design incorporates five different varieties of native
A characteristic example of Dawson’s work is Ferns, 1998, located above ferns including the silver fern, often used as a national logo. It can be related to
Civic Square, Wellington (Plate 82). Realised as a globe suspended fourteen Leaf Sphere, 1997, one of several public commissions the artist has carried out
metres in the air, it is light and ephemeral but provides a focus for the eye from in Kuala Lumpur in recent years.
whatever point of the square or adjacent buildings it is viewed. Made out of His large commission Chalice, 2000, for Cathedral Square in Christchurch
sheet aluminium, the globe becomes a centrepiece for the square. After involves some of the same ideas in leaf forms cut through the metal and seen
preliminary ideas were discarded, Dawson decided to shape his globe out of
metal fern frond shapes. But he did not want a static effect, preferring, as he has
PLATE 82 Neil Dawson, Ferns, 1998, Civic Square, Wellington. Painted aluminium,
said, ‘a haphazard look that makes you feel as though the wind might have just diameter 3600mm

162
CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE IN NEW ZEALAND — 163
 against the sky in the upper sections of the work. Here, too, the inner cobalt
colouring contrasts with the aluminium exterior to give colouristic richness to
the conception. The leaf forms derive from indigenous species such as the
titoki, kowhai and koromiko. As a millennium project, Chalice succeeds in
bringing a contemporary dimension to a precinct very much imbued with the
past and the founding of Canterbury. Dawson now works almost exclusively
on large commissioned works and has not exhibited in a dealer gallery for
several years.
The presence of Dawson in Christchurch contributes to its importance as a
sculptural centre. In addition, it is the home of Andrew Drummond (b. 1951) a
sculptor of comparable status whose work has a national profile. He began his
career as a performance artist, staging a number of controversial public
presentations in which his body was subjected to exposure and pain. In some
ways his early career parallels that of Aucklander Peter Roche (b. 1957) whose
body works similarly tested endurance thresholds. Drummond made specific
corporeal references in early performance works such as Filter Action, 1980, where
he alludes to kidney function, and Vein, 1980, to the circulatory system of the
blood. He explored the interconnections between the body and nature with a
view to commenting on important issues such as our management of the
environment. For example, in Filter Action he performed a number of cleansing
actions on the Aramoana foreshore, straining and filtering mud and water to
ritualistically purify them. By doing so he protested against the potential pollution
of the Aramoana estuary by an aluminium smelter proposed for the site. Filter
Action embodied concerns about the conservation of natural resources that
appear consistently in Drummond’s art.
As his work developed, Drummond turned from performance art to the
manufacture of finely crafted objects, presenting some pseudo-scientifically in
wooden cabinets or glass-domed jars. His Hanging Devices series of 1994, for
example, provokes the lost feelings of wonder generated by contemplating rare
or remarkable things in old-style museum displays. Their glass domes exhibit
found organic materials such as pieces of sphagnum moss and wax as well as
fabricated components made from copper and brass. Each glass dome protects
a hermetic world of natural and man-made forms as the earth’s atmosphere
safeguards our environment. The artist shows the fragility of our world and the
need for conservation. On occasion Drummond introduces kinetic elements,
such as pistons, to create mechanical movement. By doing so he can
metaphorically allude to the breathing, living dimensions of the human body as
well as make symbolic machines for cleansing the air. His Listening and Viewing
PLATE 83 Andrew Drummond, Listening and Viewing Device, 1994, Wellington Botanic
Gardens. Copper and steel, 5000 x 4500 x 600 mm Device, 1994, located on Druid’s Hill in the Wellington Botanic Gardens (Plate

164
83), takes on an architectural dimension through its larger scale and outdoor
setting. The suspended copper cone that responds to the natural forces of wind
and rain magnifies sound and funnels vision. It is enclosed as if in a little temple,
which gives it a shrine-like quality and alludes to Drummond’s mystical side —
he comes from a legend-rich, Celtic background. In such works the legacy of
Len Lye can be sensed.
In recent sculptures Drummond has looked at the living history of the earth,
using polished pieces of coal, for example, to draw attention not only to its
visual properties but also to the lengthy organic processes required in its creation.
One work, Coal Wheel, 1998 (Plate 84), in the form of a wheel ringed with
pieces of coal, recalls the low-tech machinery once used locally to take miners
underground to extract the mineral. A large version of this concept was installed
in the Sun Alliance Centre, Auckland, in 2000. Drummond’s sculptures have a
distinct beauty as objects, with resonances less of the computer age than that
of the nineteenth century. However, he has noted to the writer: ‘I think it would
be wrong to frame the work in a regressive manner as I am trying to allude to a
way forward.’
Andrew Drummond attended art school in Canada graduating in 1975 with
an honours degree in fine arts at the University of Waterloo. Since 1992 he has
taught sculpture at the Canterbury School of Art. To his considerable achieve-
PLATE 84 Andrew Drummond, Coal Wheel, 1998, Jensen Gallery, Auckland. Brass and
ment as a practitioner he is now adding a contribution as a lively and influential coal, diameter 2000 mm

teacher. Over the years he has carried out various public commissions, including
Headland, 1995, for the Tamaki campus at the University of Auckland. In 2000 centre for contemporary sculptors and the best commercial venue for exhibiting
he prepared a controversial design for a sculptural bridge across the Avon River and selling their work. Dealer galleries such as Gow/Langsford, Andrew Jensen
in Christchurch. and Sue Crockford provide strong support for their sculptors, while agents like
Graham Bennett (b. 1947) has also established a distinctive presence in Jane Sutherland actively promote others. In addition, the presence of Artspace,
Christchurch, working in an abstract idiom. Trained at the Canterbury School of an important gallery for non-commercial work, and a cluster of art schools with
Art, he has made works which frame and comment on the landscape. Of his sculpture departments make the city a lively place for established and emerging
recent sculpture he has noted: ‘I try to build a layered dialogue between the sculptors to live in. It also means that there is scope for a range of different
naturally occurring and the manufactured, measured or charted.’ He likes to theories and practices. Of contemporary male Auckland sculptors making object
bring together materials like stone, wood and steel, combining and contrasting works, Peter Roche, Derrick Cherrie and Christopher Braddock indicate something
the man-made and organic. Bennett was recently awarded an important of this diversity.
commission for an entrance sculpture to the new Christchurch art gallery. His Peter Roche (b. 1957) began his career, as we have noted, as a performance
commission, called Reasons for Voyaging, consists of seven stainless steel poles artist but shifted in the mid-1980s to making object sculptures. These led to his
of varying angles and heights up to thirteen metres. Each pole is surmounted series Trophies and Emblems of 1990 which consisted of kinetic sculptures, some
by an angled overhead element operated by digital controls and motors. Bennett wall- and some floor-mounted, that had moving mechanical parts which were
alludes in the work to navigational systems such as star maps, stick charts and noisy, technically unstable and in some cases dangerous to the viewer. This
global segments. abrasive quality captured some of the aggression associated with Roche’s
Auckland, as the largest city in New Zealand, has become an established performance pieces.

CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE IN NEW ZEALAND — 165

 pushes forward physically and tonally to create a pulsating feeling of projection
and recession in the field. Roche has made powerful light sculptures, most notably
Conduit for the Auckland Art Gallery in 1998 (Figure 80).
With works such as these, Roche established himself as an individual voice
in abstract sculpture. The allusions in these works to the past and to different
traditions of art have the layerings of meaning typical of postmodern practice,
belying the surface appearance of modernist abstraction. The overtones of Op
Art invite a comparison with the paintings of Gordon Walters.
The carefully constructed art of Derrick Cherrie (b. 1960) has a consistency
in style and content that is assured without being complacent. He makes objects
to look like products you might find in a commercial showroom. His 1992
Supraluxe suite of customised beds, for example, was originally displayed to
look like a range of furniture in a store. Viewers wanted to check out its features
rather than experience his sculpture as an art work. Cherrie makes sure that we
encounter his works unconventionally by changing the expected relationship
between audience and sculpture.
He embraces commercial materials like plastics, foam, formica and custom
wood, as well as standard fittings such as sink drains, bed heads, chains, buckles,
screws or castors. Cherrie has noted: ‘I like the collective and individual
associations that go with everyday objects.’ Some of his works are like toys for
adults; others have the associations of equipment for an institution, such as a
hospital or place of correction.
The slick surfaces of his depersonalised materials can be read more as a
critique than an endorsement of the capitalist obsession with mod cons, with
the latest models, the newest features. Cherrie’s objects, being literally drained
of the individual, extol the generic and the uniform. Like Reddaway’s figures,
Cherrie’s sculptures evoke a society of conformity, consumerism and the material.
His preference for nearly new styles introduces the concept of obsolescence,
the need to trade up to the latest model when this year’s new model becomes
superseded. The depressing awareness that you are stuck with a superseded
FIGURE 80 Peter Roche, Conduit, 1998, Collection of artist. Fluorescent lights, 3500 x
3500 x 3700 mm range emanates from works like the Proluxe beds with their outmoded curves
and slippery vinyl. Once noticed, details like depressions in the material make
These were followed by a major series of geometric wall sculptures made in an impact on the senses and allow thoughts of people who might use or need
the period 1992–1994. The works are themselves shaped in circular, hexagonal these beds, some of which, equipped with hand rails or drainage holes, imply
or octagonal formats with hard black enamel surfaces against which the sharp- disability or dysfunction.
edged shapes of his design were registered in a light, off-white tone. An excellent Cherrie’s objects both attract and repel. Ultimately they are signs of what is
example of these is Michelangelo, 1993, a tondo inscribed with a reductive version both typical and tragic in modern life. They are furniture and playthings for the
of the Renaissance master’s pavement design for the Capitoline Hill in Rome. In mind more than the body. For all their quality of manufacture, Cherrie’s sculptures
the centre a protruding neon tube creates a central nodal point of real light that lack appeal as crafted objects because they celebrate the impersonal and mass-

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 Among contemporary sculptors Christopher Braddock (b. 1962) shares some
concerns with Cherrie. Like Cherrie, he is both artist and teacher. Also, he is a
maker of objects that in his case are carefully crafted from materials such as
timber and wire mesh. An example of these pieces is Suck, 1997 (Plate 86). At
first his works have a cool, calculated look reminiscent of artefacts in a museum
display. However, while his slatted sculptures are abstract in nature, they make
references to the body so that the human dimension is always present. Braddock
employs phallic forms to convey both the profane and sacred dimensions of
sexual desire.
On close examination, his sculpture reveals a layering of symbolism. For
example, his most recent pieces include votive-like tin boxes with lids perforated
by crosses or hearts. Sourced in his Christian upbringing, the heart and cross
with their connotations of devotional imagery are used to question the various
meanings of votive objects and their symbolic power. Braddock studied at the
University of Canterbury School of Art, in Paris and London. He now teaches at
the Auckland University of Technology School of Art and Design.

PLATE 85 Derrick Cherrie, Studio, 2001, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
Galvanised steel, cedar, aluminium, copper, plywood, including chattels and mixed
media components, 3700 x 5000 x 4000 mm

produced. His major work Studio, fabricated in 2001, for example, is perhaps
more interesting for what Cherrie has called ‘the psychology of the spaces’ than
the object itself (Plate 85). As a half-scale model, it frustrates categorisation as a
building or sculpture. At first sight it appears reassuringly normal and open for
use, but on closer inspection its doors are locked and the external stair
frustratingly small and hard to access. It raises questions about identity
appropriate for a museum context, such as who and what it is for. Its potential
use as a studio is implied in the title but made problematic by the reality of its
small scale and puzzling emptiness.
Cherrie studied at Elam from 1974 to 1982, returning in 1995 to do a
master’s degree. He has taught extensively at tertiary level both at Elam and at
the Unitec School of Art. Since 1997 he has been head of sculpture at Elam. Like
PLATE 86 Christopher Braddock, Suck, 1997, Private collection, Auckland. Wood
Drummond, he now combines an active sculptural practice with teaching. 1960 x 3230 x 1960 mm

CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE IN NEW ZEALAND — 167

 technology and ideas. Comparatively, sculpture is more open in its potential to
absorb the new materials, technology and imagery that are part of the
contemporary world. Because it involves real time and space, sculpture also has
a direct impact denied to most painting. It is the preferred vehicle for artists
with a message to communicate to the public at large, and not just to a gallery
audience.
Increasingly, sculptors look to a variety of media and technology to create
their works. This can include traditional materials such as stone or wood but
also embrace more modern substances like aluminium, fibreglass, concrete,
plastic and resin. Recycled materials play a prominent role, ranging from
discarded furniture and motorcars to plastic containers of bright and varied
colours such as those found in Culbert’s work. Ephemeral substances such as
honey, milk or jam have made an appearance in sculptural installation. Often
the organic and the man-made are brought together in new and unlikely
combinations. Traditional Maori motifs like the koru have been reinterpreted in
substances like perspex and lit to give them a new look and contemporary
meaning, as happens with some of Parekowhai’s recent works. Ani O’Neill (b.
1971), who has a Cook Islands background, has turned to traditional crochet
techniques to produce vibrant wall reliefs of novel and distinctive appearance in
the gallery context, as happens with Rainbow Country, 2001 (Plate 87). She has
been able to draw on the craft skills of an older generation to make motifs that,
under her direction, take on new meaning as works of contemporary art. Sculptor
Richard Shortland Cooper (b. 1962) found reinforced concrete very suitable for

PLATE 87 Ani O’Neill, Rainbow Country, 2001, Courtesy Sue Crockford Gallery. Wool,
his colossal Millennium Sculpture, He Taonga Hiranga Whakanui Whanau, 2000
steel rings, 200 pieces, 1550 x 2440 mm (Plate 88), for Manukau City, even though the imagery derives from his heritage
as a New Zealander of Maori and Cook Island descent. It lent itself to the intimacy
Conclusion: of registering the hand prints of his children as well as to the monumentality of
Contemporary sculpture has a diversity and scope not seen before in New the totemic form E Tu with its perforated opening symbolising an eye. He, like
Zealand’s history. While, as always, sculpture is a daunting career to pursue, it Dawson and Matchitt, has found laser cutting a useful technology for making
has become possible for artists to make a living by obtaining significant large metal sculpture without the physical labour previously required.
commissions both locally and internationally. The outstanding achievements of A noteworthy development for some sculptors is their response to digital
young Maori sculptors highlight the depth of New Zealand art today. As the technology in the age of the Internet. Not only can imagery be manipulated in
new millennium begins, it can be confidently predicted that sculpture will new ways but also spectator participation can be factored into the equation.
continue to develop as an established part of the country’s multicultural profile. For example, a digital version of Maureen Lander’s String Games presented in
Artists like John Ioane (b. 1962) and Michel Tuffery (b. 1968) of Samoan descent 2000 at the Fisher Gallery, Auckland, in collaboration with John Fairclough,
make reference to their Polynesian heritage in works that widen and enrich the developed the original installation of 1998 to include interactive elements
range of contemporary practice. Also, the days when art was thought of purely
as painting are long over. In fact, painting is often seen as an outmoded art
PLATE 88 Richard Shortland Cooper, Millennium Sculpture, He Taonga Hiranga Whakanui
form that cannot respond to the modern world with its wide range of new Whanau, 2000, Manukau City. Reinforced concrete, height 11 metres

168
CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE IN NEW ZEALAND — 169
PLATE 89 Maureen Lander, Glorified Scales, 2001, Auckland Museum, Te Papa Whakahiku. Multimedia installation

controlled through computer manipulation of the imagery. Interactive elements to see major overseas exhibitions is no longer a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
also play an important part in Lander’s multimedia installation Glorified Scales, In New Zealand the introduction of themes and ideas from Asia has happened
2001, Auckland Museum Te Papa Whakahiku. In this case participants could in recent years with immigration from Hong Kong, Korea, China and elsewhere.
not only walk through the space but also don headphones to hear bird calls and European and British art no longer holds a central position amidst these diverse
poetry relevant to the theme of the work (Plate 89). Lander, like many cultural models. As a result, horizons have become broader and sculptural
contemporary artists, uses a web site as part of her overall technology when practice more wide-ranging. The existence of residencies for overseas artists in
presenting her works to the public. It is not purely a tool for communicating New Zealand also means that the cultural traffic flows in two directions. However,
information because she can also include additional visual and sound dimensions few contemporary sculptures by overseas artists have entered New Zealand
that enhance the work. The Internet has allowed sculptors like Chris Booth to collections. The Edmiston Trust gifted a major work by the American kinetic
have sites that project their work to a world audience. This is an advantage in sculptor George Rickey (1907–1999) to the Auckland City Art Gallery in 1985
creating an international profile when your home is in a geographically remote and a large piece was commissioned from British sculptor Richard Deacon (b.
centre. Distance and a provincial location, so long a handicap for New Zealand 1949) for the Auckland Savings Bank headquarters in Auckland in 1991. Such
sculptors, are no longer obstacles to their being known worldwide. acquisitions are the exception rather than the rule.
Increasingly a truly international dimension has arrived for artists who can The first years of the new millennium are an exciting time to be a sculptor,
participate in residencies in major art centres and show their sculpture to different and a challenging one. For those like Terry Stringer, who still model and cast
audiences around the globe. Consequently they have first-hand access to their works in traditional ways, there is no longer the same kudos for their
contemporary art markets on a global scale that was impossible in earlier periods craftsman skills. More value is placed on the concept than how it is rendered and
covered in this book. International biennales also provide ready opportunities on the message than the means of its delivery. Novelty and the ability to provoke
for artists to travel and exhibit their works alongside their peers from other a reaction seem more important than enduring formal statements. As the Virgin
countries. New Zealand artists participated in the Venice Biennale for the first in a Condom controversy proved in Wellington a few years ago, contemporary
time in 2001, thanks to funding support from Creative New Zealand. Travelling sculpture can still shock. The popularity of Wearable Art competitions, in which

170
there is a sculptural dimension, helps to enliven public interest in novel forms equal or superior to the painters who have received more critical attention and
and presentations. If such works are ephemeral in effect, some think that is so acclaim. Some young sculptors are ambitious and will rise to the challenge to
much the better. With the options of installation and performance art still available, build on the firm foundations laid for their practice by the artists discussed in
sculptors can operate effectively without producing objects or selling them. Non- these pages. Their challenges were different in kind, but the exacting standard
profit-making venues, like Artspace in Auckland, provide galleries and back-up required of sculptors who want to make works that will endure or have lasting
for sculpture that would otherwise not be economically viable. Admittedly few meaning remains the same. It has always been difficult to reach the highest
artists continue with such works for long, as the careers of Drummond and Roche benchmarks and no amount of new technology or gimmickry will change that.
prove. But the non-commercial freedoms of Post-Object sculpture have attracted It is interesting to note that there has been something of a revival of bronze
creative talents who do not fit easily into the conventional artist–patron statuary in recent years and early in 2002 plans were afoot to commemorate Sir
relationship. Peter Blake in this way. Sculpture has the potential to reinvent itself in its
If there is no Colin McCahon figure among New Zealand sculptors, this is traditional forms as well as to explore new technologies and ideas. The conditions
hardly surprising. Great sculptors are relatively few in any period. There are for creating significant work have never been more favourable and we can look
nevertheless many talented sculptors working in New Zealand today who are to the future with optimism.

CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE IN NEW ZEALAND — 171

Bibliography

In selecting references preference has been given to those works used in compiling the text or having a direct bearing
upon it. The bibliographical material is arranged under the following headings:

1 Selected Books
2 Selected Articles
3 Selected Artist Bibliographies

Selected Books
Andersen, J. C. Old Christchurch in Picture and Story, Bloomfield, P. Edward Gibbon Wakefield: Builder of the British War Memorial Museum Library
Simpson and Williams, Christchurch, 1949 Commonwealth, Longmans, London, 1961
Chappell, A. B. Across a Hundred Years 1841–1941: A Brief
Angas, G. F. The New Zealanders Illustrated, Thomas Brown, G. and Keith, H. New Zealand Painting: An Story of the Beginning and Early Progress of Methodism in
McLean, London, 1847 Introduction, Collins, Auckland, 1969 New Zealand, n.p., Auckland, 1941

Barr, J. The City of Auckland New Zealand 1840–1920, Brown, J. Ashburton, New Zealand, Its Pioneers and Its Cooper, R. S. My Journey, Horizon Print, Auckland, 2001
Whitcombe and Tombs, Auckland, 1922 History, 1853–1939, A. H. and A. W. Reed, Wellington, 1940
Cowan, J. Official Record of the New Zealand International
Barrow, T. Maori Wood Sculpture, A. H. and A. W. Reed, Buick, T. L. The Treaty of Waitangi: or, How New Zealand Exhibition of Arts and Industries held at Christchurch, 1906–7,
Wellington, 1969 Became a British Colony, 3rd edition, Thomas Avery, New Government Printer, Wellington, 1910
Plymouth, 1936
Bates A. P. and Smart, M. J. The Wanganui Story, Wanganui Cowan, J. Pictures of Old New Zealand: The Partridge
Newspapers, Wanganui, 1972 Bush, G. W. A. Decently and in Order: The Centennial History Collection of Maori Painting by Gottfried Lindauer,
of the Auckland City Council, Collins, Auckland, 1971 Whitcombe and Tombs, Christchurch, 1930
Bathgate, A. Picturesque Dunedin, Mills, Dick, Dunedin,
1890 Butler, S. Erewhon, or Over the Range, Trübner, London, Curnow, A. (ed.). A Book of New Zealand Verse 1923–45,
1872 Caxton Press, Christchurch, 1945
Bathgate, A. (ed.) Dunedin and Its Neighbourhood, Otago
Daily Times and Witness, Dunedin, 1904 Calverley, E. W. ‘History of Art and Art Education in New Curtis, P. Sculpture 1900–1945, Oxford University Press,
Zealand’, unpublished MA thesis, University of New Oxford, 1999
Beaglehole, J. C. The University of New Zealand: An Historical Zealand, 1937
Study, New Zealand Council for Educational Research, Cyclopedia of New Zealand, vol. III, Wellington District,
Wellington, 1937 Campbell, A. E. Educating New Zealand, Department of Wellington, 1903
Internal Affairs, Wellington, 1941
Belich, J. The New Zealand Wars and the Victorian Docking, G. Two Hundred Years of New Zealand Painting, A.
Interpretation of Racial Conflict, Auckland University Press, Campbell, J. Logan. Poenamo: Sketches of the Early Days in H. and A. W. Reed, Wellington, 1972
Auckland, 1986 New Zealand, Williams and Norgate, London, 1881
Earle, A. Narrative of a Residence in New Zealand: Journal of a
Bell, L. Colonial Constructs: European Images of Maori Campbell, J. Logan. ‘My Auto-Biography, A Short Sketch of Residence in Tristan da Cunha, edited by E. H. McCormick,
1840–1914, Auckland University Press, Auckland, 1992 a Long Life, 1817–1907’, unpublished typescript, Auckland Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1966

172
Edwards, D. ‘This Vital Flesh’: The Sculpture of Rayner Hoff MacKay, J. ‘The Canterbury Provincial Government Prints, Christchurch, 1971
and his School, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Buildings’, unpublished master’s thesis, University of
2000 Canterbury, 1969 Platts, U. Nineteenth Century New Zealand Artists: A Guide
and Handbook, Avon Fine Prints, Christchurch, 1980
Fahey, W. H. Guide to Beautiful Dunedin, its Environs and the McKenzie, G. M. The History of Christchurch Cathedral,
Cold Lakes of Otago, Dunedin, 1906 Wildey, Christchurch, 1931 Prichard, M. F. An Economic History of New Zealand to 1939,
Collins, Auckland, 1970
Fearnley, C. Vintage Wellington, McIndoe, Dunedin, 1970 Maclean, C. and Phillips, J. The Sorrow and the Pride: New
Purchas, H. T. Bishop Harper and the Canterbury Settlement,
Zealand War Memorials, Government Printer, Wellington,
Fox, W. The Six Colonies of New Zealand, John Parker and Whitcombe and Tombs, Christchurch, 1909
1990
Son, London, 1851
Reed, A. H. Larnach and his Castle, A. H. and A. W. Reed,
McLeod, A. L. The Pattern of New Zealand Culture, Oxford
Gorst, J. E. The Maori King, edited with an introduction by Dunedin, 1950
University Press, Oxford, 1968
Keith Sinclair, Paul’s Book Arcade, Hamilton; Oxford
Reed, A. H. The Story of Canterbury, A. H. and A. W. Reed,
University Press, London, 1959 McLintock, A. H. An Encyclopedia of New Zealand. 3 vols.
Wellington, 1949
Government Printer, Wellington, 1966
Graham, J. C. Maori Paintings: Pictures from the Partridge
Reed, A. W. Auckland, The City of the Seas, A. H. and A. W.
Collection of Paintings by Gottfried Lindauer, A. H. and A. W. Marais, J. S. The Colonization of New Zealand, Dawsons,
Reed, Wellington, 1955
Reed, Auckland, 1965 London, 1968
Rees, W. L. The Life and Times of Sir George Grey, K.C.B., H.
Hamilton, A. The Art Workmanship of the Maori Race in New Miller, J. O. Early Victorian New Zealand: A Study of Racial
Brett, Auckland, 1892
Zealand, The New Zealand Institute, Wellington, 1896 Tension and Social Attitudes 1839–1852, Oxford University
Press, London, 1958 Robley, H. G. Moko, or Maori Tattooing, Chapman and Hall,
Harrison, N. The School that Riley Built: The Story of
London, 1896
Wellington Technical College from 1886 to the Present Day, Moffitt, J. Russell Clark, A. H. and A. W. Reed, Wellington,
n.p., Wellington, 1961 1942 Rutherford, J. Sir George Grey, K.C.B., 1812–98: A Study in
Colonial Government, Cassell, London, 1961
Hastings, D. H. Official Record of the New Zealand and South Morley, W. A History of Methodism in New Zealand, McKee,
Seas Exhibition, Government Printer, Wellington, 1891 Wellington, 1900 Seddon, T. E. Y. The Seddons: An Autobiography, Collins,
Auckland, 1968
Henderson, C. A Blaze of Colour: Gordon Tovey, Artist, Morrell, W. P. The Provincial System in New Zealand 1852–
Educator, Hazard Press, Christchurch, 1998 76, Longmans, London, 1932 Simpson, E. C. A Survey of the Arts in New Zealand,
Wellington Chamber Music Society, Wellington, 1961
Hight, J. and Candy, A. A Short History of the Canterbury Morrell, W. P. The University of Otago: A Centennial History,
College, Whitcombe and Tombs, Christchurch, 1927 University of Otago Press, Dunedin, 1969 Sinclair, K. A Destiny Apart: New Zealand’s Search for a
National Identity, Allen and Unwin, Wellington, 1986
Holcroft, M. H. The Deepening Stream, Caxton Press, Moss, Rev. C. Life and Times of D. M. Stuart, D. D., Wilkie,
Christchurch, 1940 Dunedin, 1894 Sinclair, K. A History of New Zealand, Penguin, London,
1969 edition.
Horsman, N. J. The Coming of the Pakeha to Auckland Mulgan, A. The Making of a New Zealander, A. H. and A. W.
Province, Hicks Smith, Wellington, 1971 Reed, Wellington, 1958 Sinclair, K. The Origins of the Maori Wars, New Zealand
University Press, Wellington, 1961
Knight, C. R. The Selwyn Churches of Auckland, A. H. and Murray-Oliver, A. Augustus Earle in New Zealand,
A. W. Reed, Wellington, 1972 Whitcombe and Tombs, Christchurch, 1968 Spencer, F. H. A Report on Technical Education in Australia
and New Zealand, Carnegie Corporation, New York, 1939
Lamb, R. C. Early Christchurch: The Beginnings of Municipal Neich, R. Painted Histories: Early Maori Figurative Painting,
Government 1862–68, Christchurch City Council, Auckland University Press, Auckland, 1993 Stacpoole, J. William Mason: The First New Zealand Architect,
Christchurch, 1963 Auckland University Press, Auckland, 1971
Neich, R. Carved Histories: Rotorua Ngati Tarawhai
La Trobe, W. S. Studies in Apprenticeship, New Zealand Woodcarving, Auckland University Press, Auckland, 2001 Stacpoole, J. and Beaven, P. New Zealand Architecture 1820–
Council for Educational Research, Wellington, 1939 1970, A. H. and A. W. Reed, Wellington, 1972
Nochlin, L. The Body in Pieces: The Fragment as a Metaphor
Loughnan, R. A. Royalty in New Zealand, Government of Modernity, Thames and Hudson, London, 1994 Stevens, P. G. John Grigg of Longbeach, Whitcombe and
Printer, Wellington, 1902 Tombs, Christchurch, 1952
Northcote-Bade, S. Colonial Furniture in New Zealand, A. H.
Lucie-Smith, E. Sculpture Since 1945, Phaidon, Oxford, 1987 and A. W. Reed, Wellington, 1971 Stone, R. C. J. The Father and his Gift: John Logan Campbell’s
Later Years, Auckland University Press, Auckland, 1987
Mane-Wheoki, J. Tovey and the Tovey Generation, Porirua Orange, C. The Treaty of Waitangi, Allen and Unwin,
City Council, Porirua, 1999 Wellington, 1987 Stone, R. C. J. Makers of Fortune: A Colonial Business
Community and Its Fall, Auckland University Press, Auckland,
McCormick, E. H. Letters and Art in New Zealand, Palethorpe, N. B. Official History of the New Zealand 1973
Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington, 1940 Centennial Exhibition, 1939–40, New Zealand Centennial
Exhibition Company Ltd., Wellington, 1941 Taylor, C. R. The Gothic Beauties and History of the
McCormick, E. H. The Expatriate: A Study of Frances Canterbury Provincial Buildings, 2nd edn, Canterbury
Hodgkins, New Zealand University Press, Wellington, 1954 Payton, E. W. Round About New Zealand, Chapman and Provincial Buildings Board, Christchurch, 1941
Hall, London, 1888
McDonald, K. C. City of Dunedin: A Century of Civic Thomas, N. Oceanic Art, Thames and Hudson, London,
Enterprise, Dunedin City Council, Dunedin, 1965 Platts, U. The Lively Capital: Auckland 1840–1865, Avon Fine 1995

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Thompson, G. E. Official Record of the New Zealand and Fraser, R. ‘The Gallery’s First Eighty Years’, Auckland Art Newman, A. K. ‘A Study of the Causes Leading to the
South Seas International Exhibition, Dunedin, 1925–1926, Gallery Quarterly, 49, March 1971, pp. 2–23 Extinction of the Maori’, Transactions of the New Zealand
Coulls Somerville Wilkie, Dunedin, 1926 Institute, Vol. 14, 1881, pp. 459–77
‘The Furore over Henry Moore’, Home and Building. Vol. 14,
Tizard, R. The Auckland Society of Arts 1870–1970: A No. 4, September 1956, p. 15 Nicholson, M. ‘New Zealand Contemporary Sculpture’,
Centennial History, Business Printing Works, Auckland, 1971 Home and Building, Vol. 18, No. 2, July 1955, pp. 44–47
Gross, R. O. ‘Art and How the Sculptor Views It’, Art in New
Vennell, C. W. The Mackelvie Trust, Wilson and Horton, Zealand, Vol. 8, No. 35, Sept. 1936, p. 53 Nicholson, M. ‘Sculpture in Auckland’, Landfall 35, Sept.
Auckland, 1971 1955, pp. 245–47
Gross, R. O. ‘Thoughts Prompted by a Trip to Europe’, Art in
Wilson, J. J. The Church in New Zealand. 2 vols. New New Zealand, Vol. 4, No. 15, March 1932, pp. 193–99 Pennell, J. ‘Otago Art Society’s Exhibition, 1903’, The New
Zealand Tablet, Dunedin, 1910–26 Zealand Illustrated Magazine, Vol. 19, No. 4, Jan. 1904, pp.
Gunson, E. B. ‘The Auckland School of Art’, Art in New 289–98
Zealand, Vol. 6, No. 24, June 1934, pp. 202–04
Perkins, C. ‘The Temptations of England’, Art in New
Hamber, D. ‘A Sculptor and Traveller’, New Zealand Zealand, Vol. 7, No. 25, Sept. 1934, pp. 7–13
Illustrated Magazine. Vol. 1, Dec. 1899, pp. 236–39
Selected Articles Hipwell, R. ‘Contemporary Art in New Zealand’, The Studio,
Phillipps, W. J. ‘Carved Maori Houses of the Eastern Districts
of the North Island’, Records of the Dominion Museum, Vol.
Vol. 135, No. 661, 1948, pp. 103–20 1, No. 2, Oct. 1944, pp. 94–95

‘The 1931 Group Exhibition’, Art in New Zealand, Vol. 4, Hutchinson, A. ‘A Glimpse of the King Country’, The New Redmarsh, D. ‘The Sculpture of W. H. Wright’, Art in New
No. 14, pp. 122–28 Zealand Illustrated Magazine, Vol. 2, April 1900, pp. 552– Zealand, Vol. 9, No. 37, Sept. 1936, pp. 41–43
54
Allen, W. H. ‘R. N. Field, A. R. C. A. An Appreciation’, Art in Robertson, P. W. ‘The Art of Christopher Perkins’, Art in New
New Zealand, Vol. 10, No. 40, June 1938, pp. 187–88 Keith, H. ‘Sculpture in New Zealand’, Catalogue, Mildura Zealand, Vol. 4, No. 13, Sept. 1931, pp. 9–22
Prize for Sculpture, 1967, Mildura, 1967, pp. 57–60
Alpers, A. ‘Auckland’s Loss Becomes Melbourne’s Gain’, Rosenberg, G. ‘Two Auckland Sculpture Exhibitions’,
Home and Building, Vol. 18, No. 9, Feb. 1956, pp. 11–15 Krauss, R. Passages in Modern Sculpture, MIT Press, Landfall 51, Sept.1959, pp. 267–69
Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1981
Beaglehole, E. ‘Anthropology in New Zealand’, Journal of Shaw, P. ‘The War Memorials of W. H. Gummer’, Art New
the Polynesian Society, Vol. 47, 1938, pp. 152–62 La Trobe, W. ‘Report of the Superintendent of Technical Zealand, 48, 1988, pp. 92–95
Education’, Appendices to the Journal of the Houses of
Best, E. ‘The Polynesian Society: Its Genesis and Representatives, 1923, E.5, p. 7 Shelley, J. ‘Russell Clark’, Art in New Zealand, Vol. 9, No. 42,
Achievements’, Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 35, Dec. 1938, pp. 57–60
1926, pp. v–x Lee-Johnson, E. ‘The Wooden Graves of Northland’, Landfall
45, March 1958, pp. 57–58 Shurrock, F. ‘Art and a Changing Civilization’, Tomorrow,
Blackley, R. ‘The Greek Statues in the Museum’, Art New Vol. 2, No. 8, Dec. 1935, pp. 20–21
Zealand, 48, 1988, pp. 96–99 Macalister, M. ‘Henry Moore’, Home and Building, Vol. 19,
No. 3, Aug. 1956, pp. 38 and 67–69 Shurrock, F. ‘Art and Everyday’, Art in New Zealand, Vol. 6,
Brown, A. ‘The Work of a Master’, Red Funnel, Vol. 3, No. 6, No. 24, June 1934, p. 223
Jan. 1907, pp. 57–72 McCormick, E. H. ‘Grounds for Mild Assurance’, Second Year
Book of the Arts, Wellington, 1946, pp. 9–18 Shurrock, F. ‘The Bourgeois Manifesto’, (letter) Tomorrow.
Buck, P. ‘The Passing of the Maori’, Transactions of the New Vol. 2, No. 24, June 1936, pp. 30–31
Zealand Institute, Vol. 55, 1924, pp. 362–75 McCormick, E. H. ‘Last, Loneliest, Most Loyal’, in Keith
Sinclair (ed.), Distance Looks Our Way: The Effects of Shurrock, F. ‘Church and Art’, Art in New Zealand, Vol. 4,
Clark, R. ‘Russell Clark’, Year Book of the Arts in New Zealand, No. 15, March 1932, pp. 202–12
Remoteness on New Zealand, Paul’s Book Arcade for the
4, 1948, pp. 44–47
University of Auckland, Hamilton, 1958
Shurrock, F. ‘Labour’, Tomorrow, Vol. 2, No. 26, June 1936,
Fairburn, A. R. D. ‘Arts and Crafts in the Schools’, Art in New pp. 23–24
MacPhaill, E. ‘Allen Hutchinson British Sculptor 1855–
Zealand, Vol. 17, No. 67, April–May 1945, pp. 9–12, 32–36
1929’, Journal of San Diego History, Vol. 19, Spring 1973, Shurrock, F. ‘Life: Art’, Tomorrow, Vol. 2, No. 18, March
Fairburn, A. R. D. ‘The Auckland School of Art’, Art in New pp. 21–38 1936, pp. 29–30
Zealand, Vol. 17, No. 65, Dec. 1944, pp. 21–32
‘Margaret Butler Returns’, Art in New Zealand, Vol. 6, No. Shurrock, F. ‘Unemployment’, Tomorrow, Vol. 2, No. 28,
Field, R. N. ‘Anatomy in Sculpture’, Art in New Zealand, Vol. 23, March 1934, pp. 160–62 August, 1936, pp. 28–30
12, No. 48, June 1940, pp. 235–41
Miller, H. V. ‘A Century of Art in Otago’ in H. H. Tombs Skinner, J. ‘Tokomaru Canoe: The Traditional Anchor Stone’,
Field, R. N. ‘Art and the Public — Colour’, Art in New (ed.), A Century of Art in Otago, Harry H. Tombs, Wellington, Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 32, 1923, pp. 244–45
Zealand, Vol. 13, No. 50, Dec. 1940, pp. 95–97 1948
Stocker, M. ‘Director of the Canoe: The Statue of Sir George
Field, R. N. ‘Art and the Public — Form’, Art in New Moore, W. ‘Art in New Zealand’, Art in Australia, 3rd series, Grey’, Bulletin of New Zealand Art History, 15, 1994, pp. 17–
Zealand. Vol. 13, No. 52, June 1941, pp. 193–94 No. 26, Dec. 1928 31

Field, R. N. ‘Clay Modelling for Schools’, Art in New Moore, W. ‘The Revival in New Zealand’, Art in Australia, Stocker, M. ‘Francis John Williamson (1833–1920): The
Zealand. Vol. 12, No. 46, Dec. 1939, pp. 93–94 3rd series, No. 14, Dec. 1925 New Zealand Sculptures’, Art New Zealand, 61, 1991–92,
pp. 73–78 and 85
Fraser, R. ‘Exhibition of British Drawings’, Home and Moore, W. ‘The Younger Group of Australian Artists’, Art in
Building, Vol. 16, No. 1, June 1953, pp. 54–56 and 64 Australia, 3rd series, No. 7, Oct. 1924 Stocker, M. ‘A Great Man and a Great Imperialist: Sir

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Thomas Brock’s Statue of Richard John Seddon’, The
Sculpture Journal, Vol. 1, 1997, pp.45–50
Selected Individual Artist Bibliographies
Stocker, M. ‘Queen Victoria Memorials in New Zealand: A
Centenary Appraisal’, Bulletin of New Zealand Art History, 22, Allen, W. R. (Jim) (b. 1922) Curnow, W. ‘Billy Apple in New Zealand’, Auckland City Art
2001, pp. 7–28 Gallery Bulletin, 61, 1975
Books:
Stocker, M. ‘Ready to Move and Speak: Thomas Woolner’s Allen, J. and Curnow, W. (eds). New Art: Some Recent New
Statue of Godley’, Bulletin of New Zealand Art History, 9, Zealand Sculpture and Post-Object Art, Heinemann,
1985, pp. 19–25 Auckland, 1976

Stocker, M. ‘“This Beautiful Statue of Thee, Immortal Bard Cape, P. Artists and Craftsmen in New Zealand, Collins, Bancroft, Ria (1907–1993)
Auckland, 1969 Book:
of Ayr”: Sir John Steell’s Statue of Robert Burns in Dunedin’,
Bulletin of New Zealand Art History, 20, 1999, pp. 11–24 Simmons, P. No Ordinary Woman: A Biography of Ria
Catalogue:
Bancroft, Bateman, Auckland, 1997
Robert McDougall Art Gallery and Annex, Intervention: Post
‘The Summer School of Art’, Home and Building. Vol. 16,
Object and Performance Art in New Zealand in 1970 and Catalogue:
No. 8, January 1954, pp. 42–43
Beyond, Christchurch, 2000 Roberts, N. Ria Bancroft: Three Decades of Sculpture, Robert
Tomory, P. A. ‘An Arts Council for New Zealand’, Home and McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch, 1998
Articles:
Building’, Vol. 19, No. 8, Jan. 1957, pp. 9 and 76 and VII
Allen, J. ‘Contact: Jim Allen talks to Wystan Curnow and
Article:
Tomory, P. A. ‘New Zealand Sculpture’, Art and Australia, Robert Leonard’, Art New Zealand, 95, 2000, pp. 48–55 and
Stocker, M. ‘Something Beautiful for God: The Sculpture of
Vol. 3, Number 2, Sept. 1965, pp. 108–13 99
Ria Bancroft’, Art New Zealand, 89, 1998–99, p. 80

Waghorn, R. J. ‘Travelling Scholarship in Art’, Year Book of Barton, C. ‘The Last Small World: Jim Allen’s New Zealand
the Arts in New Zealand, 4, Wellington, 1948, pp. 119–23 Environment No. 5’, Midwest, 1, 1992, pp. 29–31

Walsh, P. ‘The Passing of the Maori: An Enquiry into the Green, A. S. G. ‘Aspects of New Zealand Sculpture: Recent
Principal Causes of the Decay of the Race’, Transactions of Developments 1’, Education, Vol. 26, No. 8, 1977, pp. 27– Beadle, Paul (1917–1992)
the New Zealand Institute, Vol. 40, 1907, pp. 154–75 30 Books:
Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit,
‘What Price Sculpture?’, Home and Building, Vol. 17, No. 4, Theses:
Barton, C. ‘Post-Object Art in New Zealand 1969–1979: Auckland, 1996
Sept. 1954, pp. 36–37
Experiments in Art and Life’, Master’s thesis, University of Cape, P. Artists and Craftsmen in New Zealand, Collins,
Woodward, R. ‘Auckland 1971: The International Sculpture Auckland, 1987 Auckland, 1969
Symposium’, Art New Zealand, 78, 1996, pp. 86–91
Brake, J. ‘Jim Allen and the Introduction of Post-Object
Scarlett, K. Australian Sculptors, Nelson, Melbourne, 1980
Sculpture to New Zealand’, Research Essay, Unitec School
of Design, Auckland, 1997 Articles:
Docking, G. ‘Dialogue with Paul Beadle’, Art and Australia,
Vol. 6, No. 2, 1968, pp. 153–156

Shaw, P. ‘The Small Bronzes of Paul Beadle’, Art New

Apple, Billy (b. 1933) Zealand, 29, 1983, pp. 38–39
Books:
Stocker, M. ‘“Pommie-Aussie-Kiwi.” Paul Beadle, Medallist’,
Bett, E. New Zealand Art: A Modern Perspective, Reed/
The Medal, 33, 1998, pp. 83–97
Methuen, Auckland, 1986
Theses:
Brown, W. 100 New Zealand Paintings, Godwit, Auckland,
Franks, S. ‘Elam 1890–1983’, Master’s thesis, University of
1995
Auckland, 1984
Burnham, J. Beyond Modern Sculpture, Allen Lane, London,
Greenough, A. ‘Paul Beadle’, Master’s thesis, University of
1968
Auckland, 1986
Pitts, P. Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture: Themes and
Issues, Bateman, Auckland, 1998

Pound, F. 40 Modern New Zealand Painters, Penguin,

Auckland, 1985 Booth, Chris (b. 1948)
Catalogue: Books:
City Gallery, Wellington, As Good As Gold: Billy Apple Art Chris Booth: Sculpture, Bateman, Auckland, 1993
Transactions, 1981–1991, Wellington, 1991
Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit,
Articles: Auckland, 1996
Curnow, W. ‘Report: The Given as an Art-Political
Caughey, E. and Gow, J. Contemporary New Zealand Art 1,
Statement’, Art New Zealand, 15, 1980, pp. 26–33, 60–61
and 65 Bateman, Auckland, 1997

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Lucie-Smith, E. Art Today, Phaidon, London, 1995 Articles: Theses:
Dunn, M. ‘Aspects of New Zealand Sculpture, 5. The Art Duncan, M. ‘Russell Clark: A Sculptural Journey’, Master’s
Lucie-Smith, E., Scarlett, K. and O’Brien, G. Chris Booth: Schools 1890–1976’, Education, Vol. 26, No. 5, 1977, pp. thesis, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, 2001
Sculpture in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Godwit, 24–26
Auckland, 2001 Holmes, D. ‘The Family Group: A Work of Public Sculpture
‘Margaret Butler Returns’, Art in New Zealand, Vol. 6, No. 3, by Russell Clark’, BA Hons thesis, University of Canterbury,
Articles: 1934, p. 160 Christchurch, 1995
Cartwright, G. ‘Chris Booth’, Art New Zealand, 56, 1990,
pp. 60–62 Stocker, M. ‘Our Local Lady Praxiteles: Margaret Butler and
her Sculpture’, Art New Zealand, 81, pp. 74–79 and 87
Kirker, A. ‘Chris Booth at the Dowse’, Art New Zealand, 25,
1982, pp. 30–33 Thesis: Cullen, Paul (b. 1949)
Drury, F. ‘Margaret Butler: Sculptor’, Master’s thesis,
O’Brien, G. ‘Urgent Columns, Tall Rain: Recent Sculpture by Books:
University of Auckland, 1990
Chris Booth’, Art New Zealand, 85, 1997/98, pp. 51–54 Bieringa, L. Content/Context: A Survey of Recent New Zealand
Art, National Art Gallery, Wellington, 1986
Scarlett, K. ‘Ancient Materials — New Techniques’, World
Sculpture News, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1997, pp. 26–29 Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit,
Auckland, 1996
Cherrie, Derrick (b. 1960)
Books: Catalogues:
Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit, Johnston, A., in Sculpture 1986, Auckland City Art Gallery,
Browne, Mary-Louise (b. 1957) Auckland, 1996 Auckland, 1986 (Aspects of Recent New Zealand Art)

Book: Pitts, P. Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture: Themes and Smith, A. Paul Cullen, Centre for Contemporary Art,
Kirker, A. New Zealand Women Artists: A Survey of 150 Years, Issues, Bateman, Auckland, 1998 Hamilton, 1991
Reed/Methuen, Auckland, 1986; Craftsman House, Sydney,
1993 Catalogues: Article:
Barr, Mary (ed.). Headlands: Thinking Through New Zealand Bosworth, R. ‘Paul Cullen’, Art New Zealand, 20, 1981, pp.
Catalogues: Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 1992 58–59
Barton, C. and Lawler-Dormer, D. (eds). Alter/Image:
Feminism and Representation in New Zealand Art 1973–1993, Barton, C. After McCahon: Recent Configurations in New
City Gallery, Wellington, 1993 Zealand Art, Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, 1988

Bieringa, L. Content/Context: A Survey of Recent New Zealand Curnow, W. Island to Island, Cheju International Exhibition, Darragh, Judy (b. 1957)
Art, National Art Gallery, Wellington, 1986 Cheju Island, Korea, 1995
Books:
Curnow, W. Putting the Land on the Map, Govett-Brewster Derrick Cherrie, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland, 1992 Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit,
Art Gallery, New Plymouth, 1989 Auckland, 1996
Leonard, R. Nobodies: Adventures of the Generic Figure,
Pitts, P. (ed.). Mediatrix: New Work by Seven Women Artists, National Art Gallery of New Zealand, Wellington, 1989 Pitts, P. Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture: Themes and
Artspace, Auckland, 1993 Issues, Bateman, Auckland, 1998
Articles:
Articles: Barton, C. ‘New Moves: Physical Statements — Five Article:
Cunningham, R. ‘Mary-Louise Browne: Some Watched Sculptors at Hamilton’, Art New Zealand, 48, 1988, pp. 80– Green, N. ‘Is There a Doctor in the House? The Art of Judy
Inscriptions’, Art New Zealand, 63, 1992, pp. 70–72 and 96 83 Darragh’, Art New Zealand, 85, 1997–98, pp. 46–49

Ensing, R. ‘Hearts and Minds’, Art New Zealand, 49, 1988, Pitts, P. ‘Derrick Cherrie’, Art New Zealand, 41, 1987, pp.
p. 38 30–31

Knox, E. ‘Stony Verities: Mary-Louise Browne’s Rape to Skinner, D. ‘Derrick Cherrie’, Art New Zealand, 79, 1996, Dawe, Bing (b. 1952)
Ruin’, Midwest, 1, 1992, p. 28 pp. 30–31 Catalogue:
Bing Dawe: Acts of Enquiry, Robert McDougall Art Gallery,
Paul, M. ‘Listening to the Stones’, in Burke, G., Wedde, I.
Christchurch, 1999
(eds), Now See Hear, City Gallery, Wellington, 1990, pp.
229–230 Article:
Clark, Russell (1905–66) Pauli, D. ‘The Ecological Continuum: The Career of Bing
Book: Dawe’, Art New Zealand, 94, 2000, pp. 66–69
Dunn, M. Russell Clark: New Zealand Artist and Illustrator,
Collins, Auckland, 1975
Butler, Margaret (1883–1947)
Book: Catalogue:
Kirker, A. New Zealand Women Artists, A Survey of 150 Years, Dunn, M. Russell Clark 1905–1966: A Retrospective Dawson, Neil (b. 1948)
Reed/Methuen, Auckland, 1986; Craftsman House, Sydney, Exhibition, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch,
1975 Books:
1993 Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit,
Auckland, 1996

176
Pitts, P. Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture: Themes and Barr, J. and Barr, M. Contemporary New Zealand Painters, Duff, Alison (1914–2000)
Issues, Bateman, Auckland, 1998 Vol. 1, Alister Taylor, Martinborough, 1980
Book:
Catalogues: Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit, Cape, P. Artists and Craftsmen in New Zealand, Collins,
Barr, J. and Barr, M. Neil Dawson: Siteworks, 1981–1989, Auckland, 1996 Auckland, 1969
National Art Gallery, Wellington, 1989
Catalogues: Catalogue:
Barr, J. and Barr, M. Neil Dawson: The Japan–New Zealand Barr, M. (ed.). Headlands: Thinking Through New New Woodward, R. In Retrospect: Alison Duff 1914–2000, George
Cultural Exchange Exhibitions, Tokyo, 1993 Zealand Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 1992 Fraser Gallery, Auckland

Bieringa, L. Content/Context: A Survey of Recent New Zealand O’Reilly, R. N. Don Driver, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Articles:
Art, National Art Gallery, Wellington, 1986 Plymouth, 1979 Woodward, R. ‘Alison Duff: Sculptor’, Bulletin of New
Zealand Art History, 18, 1997, pp. 89–108
Ferns, City Gallery, Wellington, 1998 Pitts, P. (ed.). With Spirit: Don Driver a Retrospective, Govett-
Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, 1999 Woodward, R. ‘Alison Duff: Sculptor’, Art New Zealand, 85,
Wilson, T. L. Rodney, in Sculpture 1986, Auckland City Art 1997/98, pp. 58–61 and 68–69
Gallery, Auckland, 1986 (Aspects of Recent New Zealand Articles:
Art) Bell, L. ‘Don Driver: On the Margins’, Art New Zealand, 18,
1980, pp. 30–35
Articles:
Baloghy, G. ‘Works in Several Dimensions: The Hutchings, P. ‘Eight New Zealand Abstract Painters’, Art Field, Robert N. (1899–1987)
Constructions of Neil Dawson’, Art New Zealand, 16, 1980, International, Vol. 19, No. 1, 1975, pp. 18–27 and 32–35 Book:
p. 24 Petersen, A. K. C., R. N. Field: The Dunedin Years 1925–1945,
Rowe, N. ‘Don Driver Retrospective Exhibition’, Art New
Leech, P. ‘Elusive Objects: Recent Work by Neil Dawson’, Art Zealand, 15, 1980, p. 17 Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North, 1989
New Zealand, 25, 1982, pp. 24–29
Catalogues:
Leech, P. ‘Visuality in Visual Art: Neil Dawson’, Art New R. N. Field ARCA, Retrospective Exhibition: Paintings and
Zealand, 36, 1985, p. 24 Sculpture, Dunedin Public Art Gallery Society, Dunedin,
1969
Drummond, Andrew (b. 1951)
Pitts, P. ‘New Sculpture in Auckland’, Art New Zealand, 39,
1986, pp. 25–26 Books: Robert Nettleton Field, Retrospective Exhibition, Dunedin
Andrew Drummond, Jonathan Jensen Gallery, Christchurch, Public Art Gallery, Dunedin, 1979
Thomas, M. ‘Neil Dawson: House Alterations’, Art New 1994
Zealand, 12, 1978, p. 16 Articles:
Bett, E. New Zealand Art: A Modern Perspective, Reed Dunn, M. ‘Robert Field Sculpture 1925–32’, Bulletin of New
Thomas, M. ‘Neil Dawson: Rosemary Johnson’, Art New Methuen, Auckland, 1986 Zealand Art History, 1, 1972, pp. 1–11
Zealand, 20, 1981, pp. 21–22
Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit, Dunn, M. ‘Aspects of New Zealand Sculpture, 4. The
Auckland, 1996 Origins: 1920–50’, Education, 4, 1977, pp. 26–28

Pitts, P. Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture: Themes and Fraser, R. ‘Robert Nettleton Field’, Art New Zealand, 19,
Dibble, Paul (b. 1943) Issues, Bateman, Auckland, 1998 1981, pp. 28–33

Books: Catalogues: Petersen, A. K. C., ‘The Sculpture of R. N. Field in the

Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit, Andrew Drummond: Images from Another Archaeology, Context of English Modernism, 1922–1945’, Bulletin of New
Auckland, 1996 Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, 1989 Zealand Art History, 16, 1995, pp. 61–84

Dibble, P. and Dibble, F. (eds). Paul Dibble, Bateman, Drummond, A. and Lane, N. Between Rocks and Glass Wilson, E. ‘R. N. Field Interview’, Bulletin of New Zealand Art
Auckland, 2001 Houses, City Gallery, Wellington, 1992 History, 8, 1980, pp. 12–24

Catalogue: For Beating and Breathing, McDougall Art Annex, Thesis:

Dibble, P. Made in New Zealand, Manawatu Art Gallery, Christchurch, 1995 Petersen, A. K. C., ‘R. N. Field: The Dunedin Years 1925–
Palmerston North, 1995 1945’, Master’s thesis, University of Canterbury,
Articles: Christchurch, 1987
Article: Hurrell, J. ‘Andrew Drummond: Artbarns: After Kurt
O’Brien, G. ‘Free/Standing: Sculptor Paul Dibble in Schwitters’, Art New Zealand, 95, 2000, pp. 78–81
Wellington’, Art New Zealand, 80, 1996, pp. 48–50
Leech, P. ‘Art and Narrative: Colin McCahon and Andrew
Drummond’, Art New Zealand, 16, 1980, p. 21 Fisher, Charlotte (b. 1959)
Leech, P. ‘The Bodily Argument of Art: Andrew Drummond Book:
Driver, Don (b. 1930) at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery’, Art New Zealand, 43, Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit,
1987, pp. 84–87 Auckland, 1996
Books:
Allen, J. and Curnow, W. (eds). New Art: Some Recent New Article:
Zealand Sculpture and Post-Object Art, Heinemann, Green, P. ‘A Matrix of Movement: The Sculptures of
Auckland, 1976 Charlotte Fisher’, Art New Zealand, 80, 1996, pp. 58–60

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Fraser, Jacqueline (b. 1956) Graham, Fred (b. 1928) Catalogues:
Bieringa, L. Content/Context: A Survey of Recent New Zealand
Book: Books: Art, National Art Gallery, Wellington, 1986
Kirker, A. New Zealand Women Artists: A Survey of 150 Years, Adsett, S., Whiting, C. and Ihimaera, W. (eds). Mataora: The
Reed Methuen, Auckland, 1986; Craftsman House, Sydney, Living Face, Bateman, Auckland, 1996 Pitts, P. Exhibits, Artspace, Auckland, 1989
1993
Mataira, K. Maori Artists of the South Pacific, New Zealand Pound, F. NZXI, Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, 1988
Catalogues: Maori Artists and Writers Society, Raglan, 1984
Barr, M. (ed). Distance Looks Our Way, Sarjeant Gallery, Articles:
Wanganui, 1992 Nicholas, D. (ed.). Seven Maori Artists, Government Printer, Bell, L. ‘The Encyclopedic Vision: Exhibits at Artspace’, Art
Wellington, 1986 New Zealand, 50, 1989, pp. 48–51
Bieringa, L. Content/Context: A Survey of Recent New Zealand
Art, National Art Gallery, Wellington, 1986 Pitts, P. Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture: Themes and Paterson, A. ‘Making Sense of It: The Found and Structural
Issues, Bateman, Auckland, 1998 Art of Greer Twiss, Christine Hellyar and Terry Stringer’, Art
Burke, G. and Weiermair, P. (eds). Cultural Safety: New Zealand, 21, 1981, pp. 20–25
Contemporary Art from New Zealand, City Gallery,
Wellington, 1995 Pitts, P. ‘A Practical Wardrobe: Notes on Christine Hellyar’s
Aprons’, Art New Zealand, 41, 1986/87, pp. 64–67 and 94
Johnston, A. and Pound, F. NZXI, Auckland City Art Gallery, Gross, Richard Oliver (1882–1964)
Auckland, 1988 Tarlton, J. ‘Christine Hellyar: Recent Sculptures and
Article:
Drawings’, Art New Zealand, 14, 1979, p. 16
Phillips, J. ‘Richard Oliver Gross’, New Zealand Dictionary of
Articles:
Biography, Vol. IV, pp. 208–9 Tarlton, J. ‘Review’, Art New Zealand, 7, 1977, pp. 23–24
Barrie, L. ‘Jacqueline Fraser and Feminine Difference’, Art
New Zealand, 43, 1987, pp. 50–53
Thesis:
Pitts, P. ‘New Sculpture in Auckland’, Art New Zealand, 39, Pitts, P. ‘Christine Hellyar’, Master’s thesis, University of
1986, pp. 25–26 Auckland, 1984
Hartigan, Paul (b. 1953)
Pound, F. ‘The Lunar Eclipse: An Environment by Jacqueline Books:
Fraser at the Bosshard Galleries’, Art New Zealand, 12, Bett, E. New Zealand Art: A Modern Perspective, Reed/
1978, pp. 17 and 59 Methuen, Auckland, 1986
Kavanagh, John (1903–84)
Wilton, L. ‘Art in Dunedin: Installations and Performances Brown, W. 100 New Zealand Paintings, Godwit, Auckland, Catalogue:
by Artists from the South’, Art New Zealand, 32, 1984, pp. 1995 John F. Kavanagh, Sculptor, Auckland City Art Gallery,
20–23
Auckland, 1979
Dunn, M. Contemporary Painting in New Zealand, Craftsman
House, Sydney, 1996 Article:
Maguire, H. ‘On the Margin: John Kavanagh, Sculptor
Catalogues:
(1903–84)’, Art New Zealand, 87, 1998, pp. 69–73
Graham, Brett (b. 1967) New Zealand Light, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New
Plymouth, 1995
Books:
Adsett, S., Whiting, C. and Ihimaera, W. (eds). Mataora: The Pound, F. New Image, Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland,
Living Face, Bateman, Auckland, 1996 1983 (Aspects of Recent New Zealand Art)
Kidson, Charles (1867–1908)
Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit, Articles:
Auckland, 1996 Catalogue:
Elias, A. ‘A Report on Paul Hartigan in 1983’, Art New Roberts, N. Charles Kidson, Robert McDougall Art Gallery,
Zealand, 29, 1983, pp. 28–33 Christchurch, 2000
Pitts, P. Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture: Themes and
Issues, Bateman, Auckland, 1998 Wolfe, R. ‘Infinite Possibilities: The Evolving Imagery of Paul
Hartigan’, Art New Zealand, 100, 2001, pp. 106–9 and 128
Thomas, N. Oceanic Art, Thames and Hudson, London,
1995

Turner, C. (ed.). Tradition and Change: Contemporary Art of Lander, Maureen (b. 1942)
Asia and the Pacific, University of Queensland Press, Books:
Brisbane, 1993 Hellyar, Christine (b. 1947) Pitts, P. Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture: Themes and
Books: Issues, Bateman, Auckland, 1998
Articles:
Graham, B. ‘Seeing Twice: Putting Aside the Tired Eyes of Eastmond, E. and Penfold, M. Women and the Arts in New
Schamroth, H. 100 New Zealand Craft Artists, Godwit,
Monoculturalism’, in J. Holmes (ed.), Bi-Culturalism, Multi- Zealand: Forty Works 1936–86, Penguin, Auckland, 1986
Auckland, 1998
Culturalism and the Visual Arts, University of Tasmania, Hellyar, C. A Sculpture and a Drawing Book, Auckland, 1992
Hobart, pp. 18–26 Article:
Kirker, A. New Zealand Women Artists: A Survey of 150 Years, Sanderson, A. ‘Maureen Lander: The Drawing in of Breath’,
Ritchie, J. ‘Through the Eye of the Needle: Recent Work by Reed/Methuen, Auckland, 1986; Craftsman House, Sydney, Art New Zealand, 75, 1995, pp. 72–73 and 98
Brett Graham’, Art New Zealand, 76, 1995, pp. 58–61 1993

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Lye, Len (1901–1980) Panoho, Rangihiroa, ‘Paratene Matchitt: The Principle of Parekowhai, Michael (b. 1968)
Change in Maori Art’, Art New Zealand, 45, 1987/88, pp.
Books: 63–67 Books:
Curnow, W. and Horrocks, R. Figures of Motion: Len Lye Adsett, S., Whiting, C. and Ihimaera, W. (eds). Mataora: The
Selected Writings, Auckland University Press and Oxford Thomson, J. ‘Para Matchitt’s Design for an Opera’, Art New Living Face, Bateman, Auckland, 1996
University Press, Auckland, 1984 Zealand, 33, 1984, pp. 22–23
Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit,
Horrocks, R. Len Lye: A Biography, Auckland University Press, Auckland, 1996
Auckland, 2001
Pitts, P. Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture: Themes and
Issues, Bateman, Auckland, 1998
Nicholls, Peter (b. 1936)
Book: Thomas, N. Oceanic Art, Thames and Hudson, London,
1995
Macalister, M. (1920–1979) Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit,
Auckland, 1996
Books: Catalogues:
Cape, P. Artists and Craftsmen in New Zealand, Collins, Catalogues: Barr, M. (ed). Headlands: Thinking Through New Zealand Art,
Auckland, 1969 Crossings: Peter Nicholls, Centre for Contemporary Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 1992
Hamilton, 1992
Kirker, A. New Zealand Women Artists: A Survey of 150 Years, Burke, G. and Weiermair, P. (eds). Cultural Safety:
Reed/Methuen, Auckland, 1986; Craftsman House, Sydney, Johnston, A., in Sculpture 1986, Auckland City Art Gallery, Contemporary Art from New Zealand, City Gallery,
1993 Auckland, 1986 Wellington; Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, 1995

Catalogue: Mackle, A. Peter Nicholls: Survey 1972–74, Dunedin Public Leonard, R. Michael Parekowhai: Ten Guitars, Artspace,
Johnston, A. Molly Macalister: A Memorial Exhibition, Art Gallery, Dunedin, 1984 Auckland, 1999
Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, 1982
Articles: Leonard, R. and Strongman, L. Kiss the Baby Goodbye,
Articles: Leech, P. ‘Art in Public — Peter Nicholls at the University of Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, and Waikato
Macalister, M. ‘Henry Moore’, Home and Building, Vol. 19, Otago’, Art New Zealand, 39, 1986, p. 28 Museum of Art and History, Hamilton, 1994
1956, p. 68
Leech, P. ‘Sculpture and the Varieties of Illusion: Duane Strongman, L. Shared Treasures: The Chartwell Collection,
‘Molly Macalister: 1920–1979’, Art New Zealand, 14, 1979, Hanson, Derek Ball and Peter Nicholls’, Art New Zealand, Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton, 1993
pp. 26–27 51, 1989, pp. 49–51
Wedde, I. Dream Collectors: 100 Years of Art in New Zealand,
Nicholson, M. ‘Sculpture in Auckland’, Landfall 35, Lonie, B. ‘Peter Nicholls’, Art New Zealand, 32, 1984, pp. Te Papa, Wellington, 1998
September 1955, pp. 245–47 24–27
Articles:
Tomory, P. ‘New Zealand Sculpture’, Art and Australia, Vol.3, Pitts, P. ‘New Sculpture in Auckland’, Art New Zealand, 39, Barr, J. and Barr, M. ‘The Indefinite Article: Michael
No. 2, 1965, pp. 108–113 1986, pp. 25–26 Parekowhai’s Riff on Representation’, Art and Asia Pacific,
23, 1999, pp. 73–76
Thesis:
Woodward, R. ‘Public Sculpture in Auckland 1895–1971’, Daly-Peoples, J. ‘Exhibitions: Auckland’, Art New Zealand,
Master’s thesis, University of Auckland, 1972 67, 1993, pp. 30–31
O’Connor, Denis (b. 1947) Leonard, R. ‘Against Purity: Three Word Sculptures by
Book: Michael Parekowhai’, Art New Zealand, 59, 1991, pp. 52–54
Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit,
Auckland, 1996 Smith, A. ‘Michael Parekowhai: Kiss the Baby Goodbye’, Art
Matchitt, Paratene (b. 1933) New Zealand, 72, 1994, pp. 64–67
Books: Catalogues:
Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit, O’Connor, D. 13 Stemmata, Gow Langsford Gallery,
Auckland, 1996 Auckland, 1994

Mataira, K. Maori Artists of the South Pacific, New Zealand O’Connor, D. The Gorse King, Robert McDougall Art
Maori Artists and Writers Society, Raglan, 1984 Gallery, Christchurch, 1992
Pine, Matt (b. 1941)
Books:
Pitts, P. Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture: Themes and O’Connor, D. Lachrimae, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland, Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit,
Issues, Bateman, Auckland, 1998 1997 Auckland, 1996

Thomas, N. Oceanic Art, Thames and Hudson, London, 1995 O’Connor, D. Songs of the Gulf: Denis O’Connor, Auckland Pitts, P. Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture: Themes and
City Art Gallery, Auckland, 1984 Issues, Bateman, Auckland, 1998
Catalogue:
Bieringa, L. Content/Context: A Survey of Recent New Zealand Article: Catalogue:
Art, National Art Gallery, Wellington, 1986 O’Connor, D. ‘A Coat of Dust: Notes of a Sculptor’, Art New Schulz, D. (ed). Matt Pine: Selected Works 1965–85, Sarjeant
Zealand, 66, 1993, pp. 58–61 Gallery, Wanganui, 1985
Articles:
O’Reilly, R. ‘Art and the Encyclopedia, 2, Maori Art’, Ascent,
Vol. 1, No. 2, July 1968, pp. 51–61

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Rhodes, Pauline (b. 1937) Simmons, L. Terry Stringer’s Figures, Gow Langsford Gallery, Thomson, Elizabeth (b. 1955)
Auckland, 1989
Books: Book:
Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit, Stringer, T. Mask and Mirror, Auckland, 1994 Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit,
Auckland, 1996 Auckland, 1996
Stringer, T. Personal Museum, Bishop Suter Art Gallery,
Kirker, A. New Zealand Women Artists: A Survey of 150 Years, Nelson, 1998 Catalogues:
Reed Methuen, Auckland, 1986; Craftsman House, Sydney, Miles, A. Elizabeth Thomson: Waking Up Slowly, Auckland Art
1993 Wells, P. Terry Stringer, Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston Gallery, Auckland, 1996
North, 1981
Pitts, P. Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture: Themes and Miles, A. Elizabeth Thomson: Collected Works 1986–1996,
Issues, Bateman, Auckland, 1998 Articles: Hawke’s Bay Exhibition Centre, Napier, 1996–97
Ellis, S. ‘The Sculptures of Terry Stringer’, Art New Zealand,
13, 1979, pp. 20–21 Sutherland, B. ‘The Owl, the Ghost and the Moon’, in
Distance Looks Our Way: Ten Artists from New Zealand,
Ireland, K. ‘Recent Works by Terry Stringer’, Art New Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui, 1992, pp. 103–9
Roche, Peter (b. 1957) Zealand, 55, 1990, pp. 58–61
Articles:
Books: Paterson, A. ‘Making Sense of It: The Found and Structural Foster, S. ‘Elizabeth Thomson’, Art New Zealand, 44, 1987,
Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit, Art of Greer Twiss, Christine Hellyar and Terry Stringer’, Art p. 49
Auckland, 1996 New Zealand, 21, 1981, pp. 20–25
Sutherland, B. ‘The Fearless Five Hundred: The World of
Pitts, P. Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture: Themes and Simmons, L. ‘Tables/Tableaux: Some Recent Work by Terry Elizabeth Thomson’, Art New Zealand, 57, 1990–91, pp.
Issues, Bateman, Auckland, 1998 Stringer’, Art New Zealand, 32, 1984, pp. 38–41 and 60 54–57
Catalogue: Woodward, R. ‘Art Outdoors: Three New Zealand Sculpture
Trophies and Emblems: Kinetic Sculpture, Auckland, 1990 Parks’, Art New Zealand, 99, 2001, pp. 70–73 and 105

Woodward, R. ‘The Artist’s Hand and Eye: Terry Stringer’s

Personal Museum’, Art New Zealand, 89, 1998, pp. 48–51 Thomson, Jeff (b. 1957)
and 87
Books:
Shurrock, Francis (1887–1977) Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit,
Auckland, 1996
Book:
Stocker, M. Francis Shurrock: Shaping New Zealand Sculpture, Thomson, J. Any Old Iron, Icon, Auckland, 1992
University of Otago Press, Dunedin, 2000 Szirmay, Marté (b. 1946)
Articles:
Books:
Articles: Binney, D. ‘In or Upon Iron: Part One’, Art New Zealand, 41,
Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit,
Dunn, M. ‘Aspects of New Zealand Sculpture, 4. The 1986/87, pp. 60–63
Auckland, 1996
Origins: 1920–50’, Education, 4, 1977, pp. 26–28
O’Brien, G. ‘Wild and Cultivated Iron: Recent Sculpture by
Cape, P. Please Touch: A Survey of the Three-Dimensional Arts
Dunn, M. ‘The Life and Art of Francis Shurrock’, Bulletin of Jeff Thomson’, Art New Zealand, 100, 2001, pp. 77–81
in New Zealand, Collins, Auckland, 1980
New Zealand Art History, 7, 1979, pp. 21–29
Thomson, J. ‘The Farm Meets the Gallery’, Art New Zealand,
Stocker, M. ‘Francis Shurrock Revisited’, Bulletin of New Eastmond, E. and Penfold, M. Women and the Arts in New
29, 1983, pp. 42–45
Zealand Art History, 18, 1997, pp. 49–86 Zealand: Forty Works 1936–86, Penguin, Auckland, 1986

Kirker, A. New Zealand Women Artists: A Survey of 100 Years,

Reed Methuen, Auckland, 1986; Craftsman House, Sydney,
1993
Stringer, Terry (b. 1946) Articles: Trethewey, William Thomas
Books: Ensing, R. ‘All Things Flow’, Art New Zealand, 79, 1996, pp. (1892–1956)
Brown, W. Another 100 New Zealand Artists, Godwit, 58–59 and 83
Thesis:
Auckland, 1996 Wilson, P. G. ‘Sculpting a New Zealand Identity: The Life
Green, A. S. G. ‘Sculpture: Recent Developments’,
Education, 8, 1977, pp. 27–30 and Sculpture of William Thomas Trethewey’, Master’s
Cape, P. Please Touch: A Survey of the Three-Dimensional Arts
thesis, University of Canterbury, 2001
in New Zealand, Collins, Auckland, 1980
Little, P. ‘Aotea Square Water Sculpture’, Art New Zealand,
Pitts, P. Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture: Themes and 15, 1980, p. 20
Issues, Bateman, Auckland, 1998
Mansfield, D. ‘Sculptural Practice: New Work by Marté
Catalogues: Szirmay’, Art New Zealand, 60, 1991, pp. 74–77 Twiss, Greer (b. 1937)
Dunn, M. The Persuasion of the Real, New Objectivity,
Pitts, P. ‘Marté Szirmay: An Interview’, Art New Zealand, 39, Books:
Auckland, 1995
1985, pp. 32–34 Allen, J. and Curnow, W. (eds). New Art: Some Recent New
Levine, B. (Re)visioning the Real, Lopdell House Gallery, Zealand Sculpture and Post-Object Art, Heinemann,
Auckland, 1998 Auckland, 1976

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Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 1992
Cape, P. Artists and Craftsmen in New Zealand, Collins,
Auckland, 1969 Bieringa, L. Content/Context: A Survey of Recent New Zealand
Art, National Art Gallery, Wellington, 1986
Pitts, P. Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture: Themes and
Issues, Bateman, Auckland, 1998 Articles:
Davis, F. ‘Maori Art and Artists’, Education, 8, 1976, pp. 26–
Catalogues: 28
Decoys and Delusions: Greer Twiss, Fisher Gallery, Pakuranga,
1993 Mané-Wheoki, J. ‘Arnold Manaaki Wilson: The Godfather of
Contemporary Maori Art’, Art New Zealand, 96, 2000, pp.
Greer Twiss: A Survey 1959–1981, City Gallery, Wellington, 94–98 and 111
1981

Articles:
Barber, B. ‘Completing the Incomplete: Greer Twiss,
Sculptor’, Islands 14, Summer 1975, pp. 405–40

Brown, G. ‘Aspects of Recent New Zealand Sculpture’, Art Wright, William (1886–1943)
New Zealand, 41, 1986–87, pp. 52–55 and 94
Articles:
Brown, G. ‘Greer Twiss: A Three Legged Device; Recent Dunn, M. ‘The Career of William Wright, Sculptor’, Bulletin
Works’, Art New Zealand, 22, 1981–82, p. 18 of New Zealand Art History, 2, 1974, pp. 2–16

Green, A. ‘Greer Twiss and Illusion’, Art New Zealand, 41, Redmarsh, D. ‘The Sculpture of W. H. Wright’, Art in New
1986–87, pp. 40–43 Zealand, Vol. 9, No. 33, 1936, pp. 41–43

Paterson, A. ‘Making Sense of It: The Found and Structural

Art of Greer Twiss, Christine Hellyar and Terry Stringer’, Art
New Zealand, 21, 1981, pp. 20–25

Theses:
Maré, B. ‘Greer Twiss: Sculpture’, Master’s thesis, University
of Auckland, 1988

Bendall, K. ‘After the Tripods: Greer Twiss in the Last

Decade’, Research Essay, Unitec School of Design,
Auckland, 1996

Viscoe, W. (b. 1935)

Catalogue:
Paton, J. Warren Viscoe: Life and Limb, Sarjeant Gallery,
Wanganui, 2000

Wilson, Arnold (b. 1928)

Books:
Adsett, S., Whiting, C. and Ihimaera, W. (eds). Mataora: The
Living Face, Bateman, Auckland, 1996

Mataira, K. Maori Artists of the South Pacific, New Zealand

Maori Artists and Writers Society, Raglan, 1984

Pitts, P. Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture: Themes and

Issues, Bateman, Auckland, 1998

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List of Figures and Plates

Figures
1 John Kinder, A Carved Sternpost of a Maori Canoe, Terrace, Wellington. Bronze, height 3010 mm 24 Margaret Butler, The Dreamer, c.1932, Museum of
Ornamented with Feathers, c.1867, Hocken Library, New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New
Dunedin. Albumen print, 223 x 170 mm 13 Alfred Drury, The Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Zealand. (B28230) Plaster, 464 x 348 x 186 mm
Relief Plaque on base of Queen Victoria Memorial, 1902–
2 Unknown artist, Madonna and Child, c.1845, Auckland 05, Kent Terrace, Wellington. Bronze, 992 mm x 810 mm 25 Margaret Butler, La Nouvelle Zélande, 1938, Museum
Museum Te Papa Whakahiku. Wood and paua of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New
14 Alfred Drury, Spring, 1902, Wintergarden, Auckland. Zealand. (B32702) Bronze, 540 x 460 x 340 mm
3 John Louis Godfrey, Carved Pulpit, 1873, First Church, Marble, height 1980 mm
Dunedin. Oamaru stone, 2350 x 2600 x 2600 mm 26 William T. Trethewey, Captain Cook, 1931–32, Victoria
15 Carlo Bergamini, Boer War Memorial, 1906, Dunedin. Square, Christchurch. Marble, height 2745 mm
4 William Brassington, Two Hands, 1865, Provincial Marble, figures life size
Council Chambers, Christchurch. Stone, life size 27 William T. Trethewey, Christchurch Citizens’ War
16 James Kilgour, Dunedin School of Art, c.1891, Hocken Memorial, 1937–38, Cathedral Square, Christchurch.
5 Anton Teutenberg, Queen Victoria, 1866, High Court, Library, Dunedin. Oil on canvas, 756 x 1093 mm Bronze, total height with cross 16 metres
Auckland. Stone, height 260 x 260 x 240 mm
17 William Morison, Dr Stuart, 1894–97, Queens 28 William T. Trethewey, The Coming of the Maori, 1939–
6 Anton Teutenberg, Potatau Te Whero Whero, 1867. Gardens, Dunedin. Bronze, height 2100 mm 40, New Zealand Centennial Exhibition, Wellington.
From Shortland Street Post Office, Auckland. Stone, height, Plaster, height 6710 mm. Installation photograph
401mm 18 Charles Kidson, John Grigg, 1905, Baring Square,
Ashburton. Stone, height of figure 2400 mm 29 William T. Trethewey’s Model of Pioneer Women for
7 Anton Teutenberg, Queen Victoria, 1867. From the National Centennial Exhibition, Wellington, 1939
Shortland Street Post Office, Auckland. Stone, height, 19 Allen Hutchinson, Gottfried Lindauer, 1902, Auckland
401mm Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki. Bronze, height 302 mm 30 Richard Gross, Wellington Citizens’ War Memorial,
1932, Wellington. Bronze and marble, total height 20
8 Thomas Woolner, John Godley, 1863–65, Cathedral 20 Allen Hutchinson, Old Woman, Te Arawa, 1900, Bishop metres
Square, Christchurch. Bronze, height 2972 mm Museum, Honolulu. Plaster, height 560 mm, width 395 mm
31 Richard Gross, The Will to Peace, exhibited at Royal
9 Herbert Hampton, William Rolleston, 1905–06, 21 Nelson Illingworth Modelling the Seddon Bust, 1907, Academy, London, before installation on Wellington
Canterbury Museum Forecourt, Christchurch. Marble, National Assembly Library, Wellington. Bust, marble, height Citizens’ War Memorial.
height 2408mm 840 mm
32 Richard Gross, The Henry Holland Memorial, 1937,
10 Francis Williamson, Sir George Grey, 1901–04, Albert 22 Nelson Illingworth, Tupai, 1907–08, Museum of New Bolton Street Cemetery, Wellington. Marble, height of
Park, Auckland. Marble, height 2700mm. Photograph of Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington. Plaster, height 725 central figure 1830 mm
the unveiling ceremony, Auckland Public Library mm
33 Richard Gross, The Henry Holland Memorial, 1937,
11 Francis Williamson, Sir George Grey, 1901–04, Albert 23 Nelson Illingworth, The Signing of the Deed of Sale of detail
Park, Auckland. Detail Lake Wairarapa to the Crown, 1911, Museum of New Zealand
Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington. Relief from the Papawai 34 William Wright, Louise Tilsey, 1929, Auckland Art
12 Alfred Drury, Queen Victoria Memorial, 1902–05, Kent Monument. Bronze, height 1120 mm, width 635 mm Gallery Toi o Tamaki. Bronze, height 345 mm

182
35 Francis Shurrock modelling Rewi Alley, Christchurch, 56 Paul Beadle, Bus Stop, 1969, Private collection. 77 L. Budd et al, Art Across Oceans, installation,
1937 Bronze, 115 x 245 x 115 mm Copenhagen, 1996. Television set, painted slide screens,
books, tape-recorder
36 Francis Shurrock, Christopher Perkins, 1932, Dunedin 57 Paul Beadle, University of Auckland Mace, 1969,
Public Art Gallery, Dunedin. Bronze, height 445 mm University of Auckland (detail). Bronze on wooden staff, 78 Richard Reddaway, Untitled, maquette, 1994, Private
total height 1000 mm, bronze 260 x 130 mm collection. Cardboard on wood, 1800 x 900 mm
37 Robert N. Field, Grief, 1927, Private collection. Plaster,
height 150 mm 58 Paul Beadle, University of Auckland Mace, 1969, 79 Neil Dawson, Impact, 1985, Private collection.
University of Auckland (detail) Mixed media, 1200 x 1200 x 800 mm
38 Robert N. Field, Head of Tilly Frankel, c.1930, Auckland
Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki. Oamaru stone, height 235 mm 59 Greer Twiss, Athletes, Group 1, 1964, Private collection, 80 Peter Roche, Conduit, 1998, Collection of artist.
Auckland. Bronze, height 270 mm Fluorescent lights, 3500 x 3500 x 3700 mm
39 Robert N. Field, Francis Shurrock, 1930, Private
collection, Dunedin. Oamaru stone, height 368 mm 60 Greer Twiss, Frozen Frame, 1968, Private collection,
Auckland. Bronze and aluminium, 310 x 610 x 310 mm
40 John Kavanagh Modelling a Portrait Bust, Auckland,
1971 61 Greer Twiss, Decoys and Delusions, 1993, Installation,
Fisher Gallery, Auckland. Galvanised iron, lead, audiotape,
41 Molly Macalister, Cat, 1938–39, Private collection. site specific
Oamaru stone, height 410 mm Plates
62 John Panting, Untitled III, 1972, Auckland Art Gallery
42 Alison Duff, Manaia, 1954, Hocken Library, Dunedin. Toi o Tamaki. Mixed media
Kauri, height 1830 mm 1 Anton Teutenberg, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert,
63 Len Lye, Trilogy (A Flip and Two Twisters), 1977, Govett- 1866, High Court, Waterloo Quadrant, Auckland. General
43 Alan Ingham, Bookend, 1941, Private collection, Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth. view. Stone, 260 x 240 x 220 mm
Christchurch. Wood, height, 445 mm Stainless steel with motors, 7500 x 1200 x 7000 mm
2 George Lawson, William Sefton Moorhouse, c.1884,
44 Russell Clark’s Studio, Christchurch, circa 1954. 64 Don Driver, Mid-West, 1965, Private collection, New Botanical Gardens, Christchurch. Bronze, over life size
Plymouth. Mixed media, 1837 x 1508 mm
45 Russell Clark, Two Figures, 1953–54, Private collection, 3 Henry Pegram, Sir John Logan Campbell, 1904–06,
Christchurch. Concrete, height 591 mm 65 Marté Szirmay, Sulis (All Seeing Eye), 1995, Private Cornwall Park, Auckland. Bronze, height 2897 mm
collection, Auckland. Polyester resin, concrete and pumice,
46 Russell Clark, Girl with Ponytail, c.1955–58, Museum of 1300 x 500 x 500 mm 4 Sir John Steell, Robert Burns, 1884–87, Octagon,
New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington. Marble, 250 Dunedin. Bronze, height 2700 mm
x 135 x 385 mm 66 W. R. (Jim) Allen, Arena, 1970, Barry Lett Galleries,
Auckland. Mixed media with barbed wire, installation 5 Francis Williamson, Queen Victoria, 1897–99, Albert
47 Alan Ingham, Girl’s Head, 1953, Private collection, Park, Auckland. Bronze, height 1800 mm
Sydney. Oamaru stone, height 165 mm 67 W. R. (Jim) Allen, O-AR II, 1975, Auckland City Art
Gallery. Installation 6 Charles Kidson, Stooking, 1905, Relief plaque on base
48 Alan Ingham in his Studio, Auckland, 1954. of the Grigg statue, Baring Square, Ashburton. Granite, 550
Photograph 68 Leon Narbey, Real Time, 1970, Govett-Brewster Art x 580 mm
Gallery, New Plymouth. Installation
49 Alan Ingham, Standing Figure, c.1954, Private 7 Charles Kidson, Daughter of Eve, 1907, Robert
collection, Sydney. Plaster maquette, height 330 mm 69 Bruce Barber, Mt Eden Crater Performance, 1973 McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch. Marble, height 295
mm
50 Contemporary New Zealand Sculpture Show, Auckland 70 Juliet Batten, 100 Women Performance, Te Henga, 1985
City Art Gallery, 1955 8 Francis (Guy) Lynch, Devonport War Memorial,
71 Gundred Witt & Others, Winter Solstice Performance, 1919–24, Auckland. Bronze, life size
51 Russell Clark, Anchor Stones, 1959, Bledisloe Place, Auckland, c.1984
Auckland. Hinuera stone, height 1850 x depth 1400 x 9 William T. Trethewey, Dr. Margaret Cruickshank,
width 2100 mm 72 Peter Roche, Transformation, 1979. Performance, 1922–23, Seddon Square, Waimate. Marble, height 2700
Auckland mm
52 W. R. (Jim) Allen, Conversation Piece, 1965, Pakuranga
Shopping Centre, Auckland (destroyed). Concrete, height 73 Billy Apple, Towards the Centre, The Idea of Art as the 10 William T. Trethewey, Christchurch Citizens’ War
3050 mm Centre, 1979, Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui. Photograph and Memorial, 1937–38, Cathedral Square, Christchurch.
typewritten sheet, 29.5 x 21 cm. Detail of Victory, over life size
53 Molly Macalister, Maori Warrior, 1964–66, Queen
Elizabeth II Square, Auckland. Bronze, height 3225 mm 74 Matt Pine, Weka, (Lost Generations), 1994, pencil, 11 Richard Gross, Cambridge War Memorial, 1923,
paper, sheet metal, 215 x 350 x 85 cm. Sarjeant Gallery, Cambridge. Marble, height of figure, 2700 mm
54 Alison Duff, Frank Sargeson, 1962, Auckland Public Wanganui
Library. Bronze, height 500 mm 12 Richard Gross, Athlete, 1936, Domain Gates, Auckland.
75 Christine Hellyar, Skin, 1987, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Bronze, height 2745 mm
55 Alison Duff, Bird Flying Over Water, Private collection. Tamaki. Clay, 1850 x 1450 mm
Steel, height 300 mm 13 William H. Wright, Molly Woolcott, 1930, Auckland Art
76 Christine Hellyar, Skin, 1987, detail Gallery Toi o Tamaki. Bronze, height 750 mm

List of Plates — 183

14 Robert N. Field, Wahine, 1934, Dunedin Public Art 35 Chiara Corbelletto, Gold Disks Installation, 1996, Archill Private collection, Wellington. Wood, each 3000 x 250 mm
Gallery. Cornish serpentine, 150 x 130 x 120 mm Gallery, Auckland. 2500 styrene disks, 4500 brass links
55 Fred Graham, Kereana, 1984, Waikato Museum of Art
15 William H. Wright, Auckland Centennial Memorial, 36 Tom Taylor, Transit, 1976, University of Auckland. Steel, and History, Hamilton. Steatite, 640 x 520 x 745 mm
1938–39, Auckland Domain. Bronze, height 2020 x width 2700 x 4200 x 3300 mm
630 x length 3080 mm 56 Para Matchitt, Bridge Sculpture, 1993, Civic Square,
37 Edward Bullmore, Hikurangi No. 8, 1964, Robert Wellington. Timber and mixed media (detail)
16 Molly Macalister, Head, 1941–42, Private collection, McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch. Mixed media, 1220 x
Auckland. Jarrah, height 190 mm 870 x 130 mm 57 Para Matchitt, Heritage Fountain, 1996, Marine Parade,
Napier. Galvanised steel, height 8000 mm
17 W. R. (Jim) Allen, Female Nude, 1951, University of 38 Carl Sydow, Meander I, 1970, Robert McDougall Art
Auckland. Stone, height 1100 mm, depth 450 mm Gallery, Christchurch. Perspex, hose and aluminum base, 58 Para Matchitt, Heritage Fountain, 1996, galvanised steel.
1832 x 920 x 308 mm Marine Parade, Napier. Detail
18 Molly Macalister, Birds, 1954, Private collection,
Auckland. Bronze, height 203 mm 39 Don Driver, Relief No.10, 1972, Private collection, 59 Selwyn Muru, Waharoa, 1990, Aotea Square, Auckland.
Auckland. Acrylic on canvas panels, 1455 x 1860 x 65 mm Timber and paint, width 10,000 mm
19 W. R. (Jim) Allen, Conversation Piece, 1965, Pakuranga
Shopping Centre, Auckland (destroyed). Concrete, height 40 Don Driver, Large Cosmos, 1975, University of Auckland. 60 Cliff Whiting and others, Te Hono ki Hawaiki, 1998,
3050 mm Wood and perspex, 2020 x 1380 x 300 mm Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington,
New Zealand. (F.4383/3)
20 Molly Macalister, Standing Figure, 1959, Auckland Art 41 Don Driver, Tooled Diptych, 1996, Collection of artist.
Gallery Toi o Tamaki. Concrete, height 1035 mm Mixed media, diameter 1630 mm 61 Robert Jahnke, Koha, 1998, Installation, Artis Gallery,
Auckland. Totara and bronze, each work 700 x 40 x 100 mm
21 Paul Beadle, Dial a Vice or Virtue, 1978, Private 42 Peter Nicholls, Luff, 1988, cedar, jarrah and bronze,
collection, Auckland. Bronze, 242 x 175 mm 5000 x 5000 x 3000 mm. Private collection, Auckland 62 Brett Graham, Manu Tawhiowhio, 1996, Auckland
Institute of Technology. Wood, copper and riverstone, height
22 Paul Beadle, The Relief of Algiers 1942, 1973, Auckland 43 Peter Nicholls, Rakaia, 1996–97, Keystone Trust 7000 mm, base 650 mm in diameter
Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki. Bronze, 200 x 195 mm Collection. Australian hardwood with timbercryl,
4500 x 60,000 x 5000 mm 63 Brett Graham, Lapita, 1998, Tjibaou Centre, Noumea.
23 Greer Twiss, Marchers, 1967, Private collection, Stone, 2000 x 800 x 800 mm
Auckland. Bronze and paint, 1130 x 640 x 600 mm 44 Warren Viscoe, Fifteen Bird Calls, 1982, Sarjeant Gallery,
Wanganui. Mixed media. 64 Michael Parekowhai, Kiss the Baby Goodbye, 1994,
24 Greer Twiss, The Karangahape Road Fountain, 1967–69, Chartwell collection. Powder coated steel, 4000 x 4000 x
Auckland. Bronze, height, 2445 mm 45 Marté Szirmay, Smirnoff Sculpture, 1969, Newmarket, 200 mm
Auckland. Aluminium sheet, 2600 x 4900 x 2000 mm
25 Greer Twiss, Touch, 1972, University of Auckland. 65 Michael Parekowhai, Ten Guitars, 1999, Artspace,
Bronze and paint, 160 x 170 x 140 mm 46 Marté Szirmay, Untitled, 1975, University of Auckland. Auckland. Guitars, cases, straps, raisers. Each guitar 1040 x
Stainless steel, 1350 x 1600 x 1350 mm 430 x 130 mm
26 Greer Twiss, Link, 1976, University of Auckland. Steel
and lead, 1525 x 2340 mm 47 Marté Szirmay, Chase Plaza Water Sculpture, 1987, 66 Jacqueline Fraser, The Illumination of the 38 Dresses,
Auckland (destroyed). Stainless steel, 7000 x 2000 x 6000 1995, Sue Crockford Gallery. Wire, 2500 x 1500 mm
27 Paul Dibble, Under the Hula Moon, 1998, Private mm
collection. Bronze, 2400 x 1120 x 450 mm 67 Maureen Lander, String Games, 1998, Museum of New
48 W. R. (Jim) Allen, New Zealand Environment, No. 5, Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand.
28 Paul Dibble, Snapshot, 1997, Private collection. 1969, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth. Mixed Installation, mixed media
Bronze, 1020 x 240 x 240 mm media 1830 x 1830 x 5486 mm
68 Hariata Tangahoe, Whakapapa Hou, 1997, Waikato
29 Terry Stringer, Schoolgirl, 1983, Collection B. Grossman, 49 Bill Culbert, Colour Theory, 1991. Neon, installation Museum of Art and History, Hamilton. Installation, mixed
Auckland. Bronze, height 1200 mm Wellington City Gallery media

30 Terry Stringer, Table in Two Planes, 1987, Collection 50 Paul Hartigan, Flush Arena (with Timekeeper), 1987–95, 69 Paul Hartigan, Nebula Orion, 2001, Christchurch. Neon,
J. Gibbs Trust, Auckland. Bronze, height 1400 mm Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth. Neon, 2800 x 11530 x 7060 x 100 mm
5800 mm
31 Terry Stringer, Seize the Day While You May, 1998, 70 Chris Booth, Cave, 1994–97, Takahanga Marae,
Collection artist. Bronze, height 1500 mm 51 Mary-Louise Browne, Rape to Ruin, 1990, Govett- Kaikoura. Stone, stainless steel cable and wire, 3000 x 3000 x
Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth. Granite and gold leaf 5000 mm
32 Denis O’Connor, High Court Triptych, 1990, Auckland. 2820 x 300 mm
Mt Somers stone, height 500 mm, width 1700 mm (each 71 Chris Booth, Cave, 1994–97, Takahanga Marae,
section) 52 Mary-Louise Browne, Body to Soul, 1994, Wellington Kaikoura. Detail
Botanic Gardens. Granite, 7020 x 1000 mm
33 Denis O’Connor, UA (Out of, from), 1994, Private 72 Chris Booth, Wiyung Tchellungnai-najil (Keeper of the
collection. Oiled slate, 1874 x 1460 mm 53 Arnold Wilson, He Tangata, He Tangata, 1956, Auckland Flame), 1997, Evandale Sculpture Walk, Gold Coast City Art
Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki. Wood, 1170 x 360 x 300 mm Gallery, Queensland, Australia. Stone, 9000 x 7500 x 7500
34 Bronwynne Cornish, The Dreamer, 1989, Private col- mm
lection, Whangarei. Clay, sand and plants, 3000 x 2000 mm 54 Arnold Wilson, Pou Whenua III (Three Poles), 1998,

184
73 Bing Dawe, Eel – Birdling’s Flat – Black Stones, Waitaki
River, 1997, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch.
Wood, canvas, paint, 500 x 600 x 260 mm
Photo Credits
74 Charlotte Fisher, The Arc, 1991, Private collection,
Auckland. Australian sandstone and hinuera stone, 2000 x
1100 x 500 mm
Stephen A’Court, pl. 76
75 Jeff Thomson, H.Q. Holden, 1991, Museum of New
Artis Gallery, pl. 61
Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand
Artspace Gallery, Auckland, pl. 65
(B.28157)
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, figs 19, 34, 38, 62, 67,
76 Jeff Thomson, Pirouette, 1993, Collection of artist. 75, 95; plates 13, 20, 22, 53, 77, 85
Corrugated iron, height 3000 mm Auckland Museum Te Papa Whakahipu, fig. 2; pl. 89
Auckland Public Library, figs 10, 50
77 Christine Hellyar, Clutch, Brood and Echo, 1990, Auckland Star, figs 50, 53, 66
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, fig. 20
New Zealand. (B.36380) Mixed media Chris Booth, plates 70, 71, 72
Christopher Braddock, pl. 86
78 Christine Hellyar, Armlet, 1993, University of Auckland.
Patinated bronze, three units, height 1370 mm Mary-Louise Browne, pl. 52
Karl Buckley, pl. 4
79 Judy Darragh, Two Graces, 1994, Collection of artist. City Gallery, Wellington, pl. 52
Mixed media, 1600 x 1600 mm Chiara Corbelletto, pl. 35
Sue Crockford Gallery, pl. 87
80 Elizabeth Thomson, Southern Cross Parterre, 1997–98, Bing Dawe, pl. 73
James Wallace Trust, Auckland. Bronze, oil paint patina,
Neil Dawson, fig. 78
1800 x 1060 mm
Dunedin Public Art Gallery, fig. 36; pl. 14
81 Neil Dawson, Horizons, 1995, Keystone Trust Collection. Michael Dunn, figs 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18,
Steel mesh, length 35,000 mm 26, 27, 30, 32, 34, 35, 37, 39, 40, 41, 43, 46, 47, 49,
51; plates 6, 9
82 Neil Dawson, Ferns, 1998, Civic Square, Wellington. Patricia Dunn, pl. 11
Painted aluminium, diameter 3600mm Paul Gilbert, pl. 88
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, figs 63, 64, 68; plates 39, 41,
83 Andrew Drummond, Listening and Viewing Device,
48, 50, 51
1994, Wellington Botanic Gardens. Copper and steel, 5000 x
Gil Hanly, figs 69, 70, 71, 77; plates 34, 42, 47, 54, 56, 59,
4500 x 600 mm
64, 66, 74, 79, 81, 83
84 Andrew Drummond, Coal Wheel, 1998, Jensen Gallery, Paul Hartigan, pl. 53
Auckland. Brass and coal, diameter 2000 mm Hocken Library, Dunedin, fig. 16
Andrew Jensen Gallery, pl. 84
85 Derrick Cherrie, Studio, 2001, Museum of New Robert McDougall Art Gallery, plates 7, 37, 38
Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Galvanised steel, cedar, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, figs 21, 22,
aluminium, copper, plywood, including chattels and mixed
23, 24, 25, 28; plates 60, 75, 77, 85
media components, 3700 x 5000 x 4000 mm
Peter Nicholls, pl. 43
86 Christopher Braddock, Suck, 1997, Private collection, Max Osborne, fig. 14; plates 3, 8, 78
Auckland. Wood 1960 x 3230 x 1960 mm Clive Ralph, plates 57, 58
Peter Roche, figs 72, 79
87 Ani O’Neil, Rainbow Country, 2001, Courtesy Sue Haru Sameshima, plates 29, 30, 31, 67
Crockford Gallery. Wool, steel rings, 200 pieces, 1550 x Sarjeant Gallery, figs 73, 74; pl. 44
2440 mm Duncan Shaw-Brown, plates 2, 10
Grant Sheehan, pl. 82
88 Richard Shortland Cooper, Millennium Sculpture, He
University of Auckland, figs 11, 57, 58; plates 1, 5, 12, 15,
Taonga Hiranga Whakanui Whanau, 2000, Manukau City.
Reinforced concrete, height 11 metres 17, 18, 21, 24, 25, 26, 32, 36, 40, 45, 46, 62
Waikato Museum of Art and History, plates 55, 68
89 Maureen Lander, Glorified Scales, 2001, Auckland Peter Webb Galleries, pl. 23
Museum, Te Papa Whakahiku. Multimedia installation

Photo Credits — 185

Index

Note: For artists who are mentioned or discussed more than once in this book, the more important page references are
given in boldface type. Page numbers in italic refer to illustrations, but illustrations located on the same pages as the
relevant text are not separately indexed.

Aitken, Chrystabel, 48, 68 Centennial Memorial, 65, 66 Auckland Savings Bank, 83, 170
Albert Park, Auckland, 20, 21, 24, 28, 124, 148 Chase Plaza, 116 Auckland Sculpture Symposium (1971), 112
Albert, Prince, 13, 14, 17 Cornwall Park, 21–2 Auckland Society of Arts, 37, 54, 87, 136
Allen, W. R. (Jim), 9, 56, 72, 75–7, 78, 79, 81, 82, 95, 103, Domain Gates, 50, 53–4 Auckland Teachers’ Training College, 130, 134, 158
114, 118–22, 123, 124, 130, 160 Fletcher Challenge, Penrose, 141
Alley, Rewi, 59 Freyberg statue, 67 Bancroft, Ria, 82, 101, 102
Alvarez, Alberto Garcia, 158 Girls’ Grammar School, 116 Bank of New Zealand, 11, 161
Andrew Jensen (dealer gallery), 165 Grammar School, 50 Barber, Bruce, 119, 120, 122–3
Angus, Rita, 43, 67 High Court, 10, 13–14, 101 Barclay, Phil, 136
Aotea Square, Auckland, 83, 90, 98, 134, 136, 137 Karangahape Road fountain, 81, 93 Barry Lett Galleries, Auckland, 107, 119, 120, 126
Apple, Billy, 125–6, 127, 142 National Bank, 50 Batten, Jean, 67
Archipenko, Alexander, 97 Newton Post Office (now Artspace), 117 Batten, Juliet, 123
Ardmore Teachers’ College, 133, 136 One Tree Hill, 54 Bay of Islands College, 131
Armitage, Kenneth, 90, 107 Pakuranga Shopping Centre, 81, 82 Beadle, Paul, 9, 86–90, 93, 94, 95, 114, 119, 121, 136
Art & Asia Pacific, 148 Pitt Street Methodist Church, 14–15 Bennett, Graham, 165
‘Art and how the Sculptor views It’ (Gross), 50 Queen Victoria statue, 24, 25–6 Bergamini, Carlo, 29
Art Deco, 63, 72 ‘Rannoch’, Epsom, 153 Beuys, Joseph, 129, 156
Artis Gallery, Parnell, 95 Shortland Street Post Office, 15–16 Blake, Sir Peter, 171
Arts Centre, Christchurch, 161 Sky City, 151 Bledisloe Place, Auckland, 79
Artspace, Auckland, 117, 129, 147, 164, 170 St John’s Methodist Church, 16 Bolton Street Cemetery, Wellington, 50, 53, 54
Ashburton, 33, 34, 102 St Patrick’s Cathedral, 65 Booth, Chris, 133, 147, 148–50, 170
Ashken, Tanya, 117 State Insurance building, 84 Botanic Gardens, Wellington, 128, 129, 164–5
assemblage, 94, 105, 109, 138, 139 Sun Alliance Centre, 159, 165 Bourdelle, Émile-Antoine, 40, 41, 54
Association of New Zealand Art Societies, 75 Supreme Court, 10, 13–14, 101 Boyd, Helen, 28
Auckland University, 88, 105, 113, 115, 140, 141, 145, 165 Braddock, Christopher, 165, 167
Albert Park, 20, 21, 24, 28, 124, 148 Auckland City Art Gallery, 30, 37, 39, 54, 56, 58, 65, 73, 77, Brancusi, Constantin, 62, 117, 136
Aotea Centre, 161 78, 79, 81, 100, 108, 120, 122, 123, 126, 146, 154, Braque, Georges, 59
Aotea Square, 83, 90, 98, 134, 136 164, 170 Brassington, Claudius, 13
ASB headquarters, 170 Auckland City Council, 65 Brassington, William, 12–13
Bledisloe Place, 79 Auckland International Airport, 67 Bridge of Remembrance, Christchurch, 44
Burns statue, 23 Auckland Memorial Museum Te Papa Whakahiku, 39, 170 Brisbane, 161

186
British Museum, 56 Clark, Russell, 72, 73–5, 77, 79–81, 84, 101 Queen Victoria statue, 28
Brock, Sir Thomas, 22, 46 clay modelling. See modelling South African War memorial, 29
bronze casting, 73, 77, 86, 87–8, 91, 95, 104, 125, 157 Clemens, Benjamin, 43 St Joseph’s Cathedral, 12
Browne, Mary-Louise, 128–9 conceptual art, 118–29 Dunedin School of Art, 30, 55, 56, 58, 65
Budd, L., 156–7 Connelly, Pierce Francis (Frank), 31 Dunedin Teachers’ Training College, 133
Buis, Linda, 124 Constructivist art, 138 Düsseldorf Kunstakademie, 159
Bullmore, Edward, 105–7 contemporary New Zealand sculpture (exhibition, Auckland
Burgess, Roderick, 21 City Art Gallery, 1955), 78–9 Earle, Augustus, 7
Burke, Sir Joseph, 9 Cook, James, 45, 46, 54 East Sydney Technical College, 43, 69, 72
Burns, Robert, 22–5 Cooper, Richard Shortland, 168–9 Edmiston Trust, 170
Butler, Margaret, 9, 40–3, 54, 114 Corbelletto, Chiara, 102 Elam School of Fine Arts (earlier, of Art and Design), 30, 31,
Butler, Reg, 90 Cornish, Bronwynne, 101 55, 56, 58, 67, 81, 87, 90, 93, 95, 98, 103, 104, 105,
Butler, Samuel, Erewhon, 8 Courbet, Gustave, 19 112, 114, 118, 119, 120, 121, 124, 125, 126, 128–9,
Cragg, Tony, 140 129, 130, 134, 136, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 153, 154,
California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, 139 Creative New Zealand, 147 158, 160, 167
Camberwell School of Art, 49, 63, 117 Crockford, Sue, 165 Ellis, Joseph, 40, 44, 55, 56, 59, 67
Cambridge Technical College (UK), 86 Crowley, Lisa, 154 Ellis, Robert, 136
Cambridge war memorial, 49, 50, 52 Cruickshank, Dr Margaret, 45–6, 54 Epstein, Jacob, 54, 59, 72, 79
Camden Society (Cambridge, UK), 10 Cubism, 40, 59, 97 Erewhon (Butler), 8
Campbell, Sir John Logan, 21–2, 30–1, 31, 54 Culbert, Bill, 126–7, 138 Escobedo, Helen, 122
Canterbury College School of Art. See Canterbury School of Cullen, Paul, 129
Fine Arts Curnow, Wystan, 119, 125 Fairclough, John, 145, 168
Canterbury Provincial Council Chambers, 12–13 Cutcher, Betty, 87 Featherston, Dr Isaac, 29
Canterbury School of Fine Arts (earlier, of Art), 30, 32, 33, 34, female nude, 75, 76, 96
44, 55, 56, 59, 68, 72, 73, 104, 105, 107, 124, 129, Dada, 111 fibreglass, 93, 103, 111
148, 150, 156, 160, 165, 167 Dadson, Philip, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123–4, 129 Field, Robert N., 9, 55, 58, 59, 61–5, 67, 68
Canterbury Society of Arts, 39, 44, 54, 124 Dadswell, Lyndon, 69, 73 First Church, Dunedin, 11, 12
Cape, Peter, 86 Dalou, Aimé-Jules, 19, 23, 26, 40 Fisher, A. J. C. (Archie), 56, 130
Caro, Anthony, 73, 103, 138 Darragh, Judy, 157–8 Fisher, Charlotte, 147, 150–1
cement casting, 87 Davies, Shona Rapira, 146 Fisher Gallery, Pakuranga, 95, 168
Cenotaph, Wellington, 50, 51, 52–3 Dawe, Bing, 147, 148, 150 FitzGerald, James, 65
Centennial Exhibition of New Zealand Art (1940), 68, 69 Dawson, Neil, 9, 160–4 Flavin, Dan, 126
Centennial Memorials, 48, 67 Deacon, Richard, 140, 170 Flaxman, John, 17
Central School of Art (earlier, of Arts and Crafts), 33, 44, 73, Deakin University, 149 Fletcher Challenge, Penrose, 141
86, 104, 117 Department of Education, 55, 75, 130, 131 Florence Academy, 82
Chadwick, Lynn, 79 Despiau, Charles, 40 Fluxus movement, 156
Chantrey, Sir Francis, 19, 20 Devonport war memorial, 43, 44, 45 Ford Motor Company, 134
Cherrie, Derrick, 165, 166–7 Dibble, Paul, 95–7, 98, 99 Frances Hodgkins Fellowship, 115
Chilcott, Gavin, 126 digital technology, 168–70 Frankel, Tilly, 62
Christchurch direct carving, 56, 62, 69, 86–7 Fraser, Alexander, 54, 67
Anglican Cathedral, 13, 44 D.M.S. Foundries, 83, 87 Fraser, Jacqueline, 142–3
art gallery, 163 Dobson, Frank, 75, 87 Free School of Art, Auckland, 31
Arts Centre, 161 Docking, Gil, 87, 88 Freyberg, Lord, 67
Bridge of Remembrance, 44 Domain Gates, Auckland, 50, 53–4 Frizzell, Dick, 126, 151–2
Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, 101 Doudney, Eric John, 67, 105, 160 Furlonger, Stephen, 94, 103–4, 105, 107, 138
Cathedral Square, 17–19, 46–7, 162, 165 Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt, 100
Cook statue, 45, 46, 54 Driver, Don, 105, 108–11, 153 Galerie Hébrand, Paris, 43
FitzGerald statue, 65 Drummond, Andrew, 108, 119, 124, 164–5, 171 Gaudier-Brzeska, Henri, 55, 59, 72
Godley statue, 13, 17–19 Drury, Alfred, 26–8, 34, 39 Giacometti, Alberto, 93
Haywright’s Shopping Centre, 79 Duchamp, Marcel, 129, 141, 145 Gibbs, Paul, 121
High Court, 136 Duff, Alison, 48, 56, 67, 68–70, 77, 82, 83, 84–5, 101, 131 Gibson, John, 19, 26
Orion building, 147 Duggan, Eileen, 43, 68 Gilbeys New Zealand Limited, 114
Provincial Council Chambers, 12–13 Dunedin Gill, Eric, 56, 60, 72, 86, 87
war memorial, 46–7 Bank of New Zealand, 11 Glasgow Art Gallery, 58
Christchurch Exhibition (1906), 37–8 Burns statue, 22–3, 25 Godfrey, John Louis, 11–12
Christchurch Group, 58, 62, 68 Centennial Memorial, 67 Godfrey, Louis, 12
Christchurch Polytechnic, 161 First Church, 11, 12 Godley, John Robert, 13, 17–19
City Gallery, Wellington, 129, 147 Larnach Castle, 11, 12 Goldie, Charles F., 37, 38
Civic Square, Wellington, 134, 162 Otago Medical School, 115 Goldsmiths College of Art, 117
Clark, Helen, 147 Post Office, 10, 11 Goldsworthy, Andy, 148
Clark, R. L., 13 Public Art Gallery, 113 Gordon, Charles George, 13

Index — 187
Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, 107, 109, 122, Jensen, Andrew, 165 male nude, 50–4
127 John Weeks Trust, 140 Mansfield, Edgar, 117
Gow/Langsford (dealer gallery), 165 Johnston, Thomas, 133 Manship, Paul, 44
Grace, A. A., Tales of a Dying Race, 37 Judd, Donald, 103, 10 Manukau City, 81, 136, 168
Graham, Brett, 9, 130, 139–41 Manukau School of Art, 117, 129
Graham, Fred, 133–4, 139 Kaiapohia Memorial, 33 Manukorihi Marae, New Plymouth, 46
Gray, Kim, 123 Kaiapoi war memorial, 44–5 Manzù, Giacomo, 81, 83
Greco, Emilio, 81, 91, 93 Kaikoura, 148 Maori Artists and Writers Group, 136
Greenberg, Clement, 103 Kakanui Point, Kaipara Harbour, 148 Maori carving, 6–8, 130, 131
Grey, Sir George, 12, 14, 15, 20, 21, 30, 37 Kapoor, Anish, 140 Maori Festival of the Arts (Turangawaewae, Ngaruawahia,
Grierson, Aimer and Draffin, 52 Kavanagh, John, 9, 67, 90, 95, 98, 119, 122, 130 1963), 131
Grigg, John, 33, 34 Keith, Hamish, 86, 105, 120 Maori notables, portrait busts of, 38
Gross, Leo, 50 Kelly, Ellsworth, 103 Maori sculptors, 130–46
Gross, Richard Oliver, 49–54, 65, 77, 78 Kennington, Eric, 55 Maori types, relief sculptures of, 36–7
Gummer, William, 50 Kidson, Charles, 31, 32–5, 39 Marini, Marino, 81, 81–2, 83, 91
Gurnsey, Frederick George, 44 Kilgour, James, 30 Mason, Helen, 101
Killeen, Richard, 154 Mason, William, 10
Hall, Adrian, 94, 123 Kinder, Revd John, 7 Massey University, 140, 159
Hall, Sir John, 33, 34 kinetic sculpture, 84, 107–8, 165 Massey, William, 40, 65
Hall-Jones, Sir William, 41 King Edward Technical School, Dunedin, 134 Masterton war memorial, 43
Hamilton King, Virginia, 150–1 Matauri Bay, Northland, 148
Little Bull statue, 83 Kingston, John, 77 Matchitt, Para, 134–6
Waikato Hospital, 134 Kirk Smith, Rodney, 126 Matthews, John, 107–8
Waikato Museum of Art and History, 145, 161 Kollwitz, Käthe, 101 Maunsell, John, 111
Hamilton, Augustus, 37, 39 Kuala Lumpur, 162 Maynard, John, 122
Hampton, Herbert, 20–1, 28 Kum, Denise, 129, 154 McCahon, Colin, 67, 127, 142
Hanly, Pat, 93 McCarthy, Albert, 139
Hansells Sculpture Award, 111 La Trobe, William Sanderson, 55 McCormick, Eric, Letters and Art in New Zealand, 68
happenings. See performance art Lander, Maureen, 142–3, 143–5, 146, 147, 168, 170 McLintock, A. H., 68
Hartigan, Paul, 126–7, 147 Landfall, 68, 78 Megert, Christian, 159
Hawke’s Bay Community College, 136 Lanteri, Edouard, 36, 55, 58, 59, 61 Mestrovic, Ivan, 72, 101
Haywright’s Shopping Centre, Christchurch, 79 Larnach Castle, Dunedin, 11, 12 Mildura Sculpture Triennial, 120
Heketa, Miriama, 43 Larnach, William James Mudie, 12 Milles, Carl, 50
Hellyar, Christine, 9, 101, 147, 153–7 Lawson, George, 19–20, 31 Minimalist art, 103, 105
Hepworth, Barbara, 55, 62, 63, 68, 69, 75, 79, 80, 81, 93, Le Witt, Sol, 38, 105 modelling, 87
103, 117, 133 lead, 94–5, 139 Moore, Henry, 54, 55, 58, 63, 68, 69, 73–4, 75, 78, 79, 80,
Hetherington, Eleanor, 59 Len Lye Foundation, 108 81, 83, 90, 91, 93, 103, 107, 136
High Court, Auckland, 10, 13–14, 101 Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, 125 Moore, William, Story of Australian Art, 43
High Court, Christchurch, 136 Lett, Barry, 126 Moorhouse, William Sefton, 19–20, 31
Hillary, Edmund, 84, 101 Letters and Art in New Zealand (McCormick), 68 Morandi, Giorgio, 102
Hobson, William, 26 light sculpture, 126–7 Morison, William Leslie, 31–2
Hodgkins, Frances, 31, 40, 41, 43, 68 Lindauer, Gottfried, 36, 37 Morris, Robert, 103, 109
Hodgkins, William Mathew, 31 Livingstone, David, 13 Mount Albert Grammar School, 131
Hoff, Rayner, 43, 69 London Group, 73, 107 Mountfort, Benjamin, 12
Hokitika, 22 Loopstra, Fred, 112 Muru, Selwyn, 136–7
Horner, Maree, 119, 123 Lower Hutt, 100 Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 39, 43, 48, 81,
Hornsey College of Art, 138 Lucchesi, Andrea, 28 137, 157
Hotere, Ralph, 111, 126, 138, 139 Lusk, Doris, 67
Hunter, Ian, 122 Lye, Len, 107–8, 126, 163 Napier, 117, 134
Hutchinson, Allen, 36–7, 39 Lynch, Francis (Guy), 43–4 Narbey, Leon, 121–2, 126
Lyons, Kieran, 122, 123 Narrative of a Nine Months’ Residence in New Zealand, A
Ihara, Michio, 122 (Earle), 7
Illingworth, Nelson, 36, 37–9 Macalister, Molly, 9, 56, 67, 68, 70–2, 77, 78, 81, 82–5, 98, Nash, Paul, 63
Ingham, Alan, 56, 72–5, 77–8, 79 101, 114, 131, 153 National Art Gallery, Wellington, 43, 54, 65
installations, 95, 118–22, 124, 125–9, 145, 147, 156 Mackelvie, James Tannock, 30 National Bank, Auckland, 50
International Sculpture Symposium (Auckland, 1971), 122 Mackelvie Trust, 54, 73 Nelson Centennial Memorial, 48
Internet, the, 170 Mackennal, Sir Edgar Bertram, 49 Nelson, Digby, 72
Intersections (Twiss exhibition, 1972), 94 Madonna and Child carving, 7, 8 Nerli, Girolamo Pieri, 32
Ioane, John, 168 Mahupuku, Tamahau, 39 Nevelson, Louise, 114
Maillol, Aristide, 79, 96 New Art (ed. Allen and Curnow, 1976), 119
Jahnke, Robert, 139, 140, 142 Malcolm, Monna, 58, 67 New Gallery, Auckland, 133

188
New Image artists, 126 Queensland Art Gallery, 161 Stringer, Terry, 95, 97–100, 170
New Plymouth, 46, 107–11 Stuart, Dr Donald, 31–2
New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition (1925), 56 Ranby, Ron, 77, 83, 87 Sue Crockford Galleries, 165
New Zealand Centennial Exhibition (1940), 43, 47–8 ‘Rannoch’, Epsom, 153 Summers, Charles Francis, 29
New Zealand Exhibition (Dunedin, 1865), 12 Recent American Art (travelling exhibition, 1972), 105 Summers, Llew, 101–2
Ngan, Guy, 117 Reddaway, Richard, 159–60 Sun Alliance Centre, Auckland, 159, 165
Ngata, Sir Apirana, 54, 130 Reserve Bank, Wellington, 117 Supreme Court, Auckland, 10, 13–14, 101
Nicholls, Peter, 111–13 Rhodes, Pauline, 125 Sutherland, Jane, 165
Nicholson, Ben, 63 Rickey, George, 170 Sydney Botanic Gardens, 43
Nicholson, Michael, 78 Robb, Dr Douglas, 67 Sydow, Carl, 103, 107, 138
Nicoll, Archibald, 59 Roche, Peter, 108, 119, 124, 164, 165–6, 171 Szirmay, Frank, 114
Nightingale, Florence, 13 Roddis, John, 13 Szirmay, Marté, 105, 114–17
Nolan, Sidney, 136 Rodin, Auguste, 36, 41, 59
Noland, Kenneth, 103, 108 Rolleston, William, 20–1 Taiapa, Hone (John), 130, 131
Northland Polytechnic, 140 Roskill Sheet Metal Works, 114 Taiapa, Pine, 130, 131, 134, 136
Noumea, 141, 145 Rothenstein, William, 55 Takahanga Marae, Kaikoura, 148
Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, 123 Rotorua, 29, 94, 130, 131 Takapuna City Council, 84
Royal Academy, 17, 19, 26, 33, 36, 52, 73 Tan, Yuk King, 129
Oamaru stone, 12, 56, 61, 62, 69, 75, 140, 145 Royal Albert Memorial, 17 Tangahoe, Hariata, 145–6
Oamaru war memorial, 29 Royal College of Art, 43, 55, 56, 59, 67, 75, 94, 103, 104, Taylor, Tom, 9, 105, 124-5, 160
O’Connor, Denis, 100–1 114, 117, 125, 126 Te Kooti, 136
Okamoto (Japanese sculptor), 140 Royal Society of British Sculptors, 54 Te Pahau, Pirimi, 37
O’Neill, Ani, 168 Rumsey, Edward, 10, 15 Te Papa Tongarewa, 39, 43, 48, 81, 137, 157
Op Art, 166 Ruskin, John, 10 Te Toi Hou (Elam programme), 136, 141
Opie, C. H., 34 Russell, Thomas, 30 Te Waka Toi, 134
Orion (electricity company), 147 Rutter, Frank, 52 Te Wherowhero, Potatau, 15
Otago Art Society, 61 Tempsky, Gustavus von, 15
Otago Medical School, 115 Salisbury, Marquess of, 13 Teutenberg, Anton, 13–16, 31, 101
Otago Polytechnic School of Art, 113 Salon des Tuileries, Paris, 43 Thatcher, Frederick, 10
Outhwaite, Isa, 39 Sargeson, Frank, 68, 84, 101 Thomson, Elizabeth, 158–9
Sarjeant Gallery, Wanganui, 125-6, 139 Thomson, Jeff, 147, 151–3
Pakuranga Shopping Centre, 81, 82 School of Design, Wellington, 30, 40, 41, 54, 55, 56, 100 Thornycroft, Hamo, 50–2
Palmerston North, 96, 133, 139 Seager, Samuel Hurst, 32–3, 39 Tilsey, Louise, 57, 58, 59
Panting, John, 94, 103, 104–5, 107, 138, 159 Seddon, Richard John, 22, 31, 33, 38 Timaru, 22, 79
Papawai Pa, Wairarapa, 39 Selwyn, Bishop George Augustus, 10, 36 Tjibaou Cultural Centre, Noumea, 141, 145
Parekowhai, Michael, 141–2, 168 Severs, Anne, 81, 82 Toft, Albert, 49, 50
Paris, 41, 43, 161, 167 Shelley, James, 59 Toi Hou, Te (Elam programme), 136, 141
Parliament, Wellington, 38, 54 Shurrock, Francis A., 9, 55, 56, 58, 59–61, 62–3, 65, 67, 68, Tomory, Peter, 79, 86
Partridge, Henry E., 37, 39 72, 75 Tovey, Gordon, 75, 130, 134, 136
Pegram, Henry, 21–2 Simeon, Sir John, 17 Trethewey, William Thomas, 9, 44–9, 54, 62, 69
performance art, 118–19, 122–5, 147 Six-and-Four Club, 56 Trollope, Anthony, 19
Perkins, Christopher, 60–1, 65 Skeaping, John, 63 Tuffery, Michel, 168
Petre, Francis William, 12 Sky City, Auckland, 151 Tuhare, Paora, 15
Pevsner, Nikolaus, 12 Smith, David, 103 Turangawaewae Marae, Ngaruawahia, 131, 134
Picasso, Pablo, 59, 96, 130, 136 Smith, Lyndon, 83, 90–1 Tweedie, Merylyn, 156
Pine, Matt, 103, 137–9 Smith, Peter, 130 Twiss, Greer, 9, 81, 83, 90–5, 97, 98, 105, 107, 111, 140, 153
Pitt Street Methodist Church, Auckland, 14–15 Smith, Tony, 105
Pomare, Sir Maui, 46 Société des Artistes Français, 41 Underwood, Leon, 55
Pomeroy, Frederick, 23, 25 Society of Portrait Sculptors, 67 Unit One exhibition (London, 1934), 63
Pompallier, Bishop Jean Baptiste, 65 Society of Sculptors and Associates, Sydney, 86 Unitec School of Art, 167
Pop Art, 93, 109, 125, 126, 151 Songs of the Gulf (O’Connor exhibition, 1984–85), 100 University of Auckland, 88, 105, 113, 115, 140, 141, 145, 165
Post-Object art, 9, 118–29, 147, 156, 171 South Kensington School of Art, 31, 33 University of Otago, 113
Post Offices Southwick, Alfred, 86
Auckland, 15–16, 117 St John’s Methodist Church, Auckland, 16 Venice Biennale, 143, 170
Dunedin, 10, 11 St Joseph’s Cathedral, Dunedin, 12 Victoria, Queen, 13, 14, 15, 24–8
Timaru, 79 St Martin’s School of Art, London, 103 Victorian College of the Arts, 161
Powell, Terry, 103, 104, 105, 112 St Patrick’s Cathedral, Auckland, 65 Virgin in a Condom controversy, 170
Prince, Diane, 146 State Insurance building, Auckland, 84 Viscoe, Warren, 113–14
Pugin, Augustus Welby, 10 Steell, Sir John, 22–3 Vorticist movement, 59
Stocker, Dr Mark, 9
Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council, 147 Stones, Anthony, 67 Waikato Hospital, 134

Index — 189
Waikato Museum of Art and History, 145, 161 Watkins, Denys, 158 Wellington Technical School, 55
Waimate, 45–6, 54 Watson, Alexander, 65 Wesley, Charles, 15
Waitangi, 130 Watts, George Frederick, 52 Wesley, John, 15
waka taua, 6, 7 Weeks, John, 130 Westbrook, Eric, 77, 79, 85
Waka Toi, Te, 123 Wellington Whangaparaoa Peninsula, 100
Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 14 BNZ Centre, 161 Whatipu Beach, 123
Wallace, James, 153 Bolton Street Cemetery, 50, 53, 54 Whiting, Clifford (Cliff), 136–8
Walters, Gordon, 141, 166 Botanic Gardens, 128, 129, 164–5 Williams, Henry, 26, 28
Wanganui, 29, 125-6, 139, 158 Citizens’ War Memorial (Cenotaph), 50, 51, 52–3 Williamson, Francis, 21, 25–6
war memorials Civic Square, 134, 162 Wilson, Arnold Manaaki, 130–3
Auckland Grammar School, 50 Coming of the Maori, The (Trethewey), 47–8, 54 Wilson, Gordon, 80
Cambridge, 49, 50, 52 Holland Memorial, 50, 53, 54 Witt, Gundred, 124
Christchurch, 46–7, 48 Massey relief, 65 wood carving, 11–12, 69, 72
Devonport, 43, 45 Museum of New Zealand, 39, 43, 48, 81, 137, 157 Woodward, Dr Robin, 9
Dunedin, 29 National Art Gallery, 43, 54, 65 Woolcott, Molly, 58, 59
Kaiapoi, 44–5 National War Memorial (Buckle Street), 90 Woollaston, M. T., 67
Masterton, 43 Parliament House, 38, 54 Woolner, Thomas, 13, 17–19
Oamaru, 29 Queen Victoria statue, 25, 26–8 word sculpture, 127–8
Wanganui, 29 Reserve Bank, 117 Wrestlers, The (Wanganui replica marble), 125–6
Wellington, 50, 51, 52–3 Te Papa Tongarewa, 39, 43, 48, 81, 137, 157 Wright, William H., 55, 56, 57–9, 65–7
Ward, Barbara, 102 wooden fretwork on colonial buildings, 13
Ward, Joseph, 33, 37 Wellington Polytechnic, 159 Zadkine, Ossip, 55
Warhol, Andy, 125 Wellington Sculpture Trust, 128 Zealandia (sculpture park), 100

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Bibliography — 191