Works of Art, 29 March 2021 by Webb's Auction House

29.03.21 Works of Art 0629 Auction Catalogue March 2021 Contemporary, Modern and Historical Art

Doris Lusk Imagined Projects III, Dam with Lake

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Foreword

Last year brought unique challenges and, surprisingly, opportunities that surpassed expectations. It may prove the case that 2021 is a time of even greater opportunity, especially within the realm of New Zealand art and the unique potential it offers. The market has been energetic. Our visual arts culture is enjoying a time in the sun. Auckland Art Gallery, Toi o Tāmaki presented its jaw-dropping show Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art, late last year, and it remains on show. This has seen an increased interest in art by Māori artists, and greater engagement with related discourse. In response to this, Webb’s are proud to present an excellent range of works by leading contemporary artists with Māori whakapapa. Early this year we were met with the sad news of Bill Hammond’s passing. Hammond is one of the great New Zealand painters, and his work is known and cherished by many; the iconic bird figures he created are the stuff of legends. A number of works by Hammond are presented in this catalogue. Naturally there is sadness at this time, though there is also cause for celebration of a great artist. His legacy will long continue. Work by women artists has historically been underrepresented in auction catalogues. In this catalogue we’re proud to present major works by Doris Lusk, Louise Henderson, Séraphine Pick and Fiona Pardington. We’re pleased to steward these works to auction for the first time. I know that they will be hotly contested. Among the many discoveries of 2020 was that Tony Fomison’s star is continuing to rise. The late painter has long been recognised by institutions, curators and keen-eyed collectors as one of the greats. It’s exciting to see him find a place among top sellers like Charles Goldie, Colin McCahon and Don Binney. It’s a matter of pride for Webb’s that we continue to present excellent works by him. Blue Self Portrait, painted in 1977, is a catalogue highlight. Grahame Sydney is represented in our catalogue by a suite of works. The Central Otago painter is a long-time favourite with collectors, and an enduring force in representational painting. Three of Sydney’s works are on offer, and they demonstrate a range of his career repertoire and chronology. A particularly touching highlight is Hawkdun Moon, an oil painting from 2004 that the artist gifted to his friend, the late great historian Michael King. This catalogue was produced by a team of passionate and dedicated people. We look forward to sharing these artworks with you.

Charles Ninow Head of Art

Ngā mihi nui, Charles Ninow Webb's

March

Auction Highlights

2 1

Notable recent highlights include various works that sold at record prices. 1 Tony Fomison Garden of Eden Aotearoa 1980-81, oil on jute on board, 855 × 1375mm est $300,000 - $600,000 Price Realised $516,537

2 Colin McCahon Load Bearing Structures, Series 2 1978-79, acrylic on canvasboard, 277 × 355mm est $65,000 - $85,000 Price Realised $109,314

3 Don Binney Te Henga 1967, oil on canvas, 835 × 745mm est $85,000 - $125,000 Price Realised $102,106 4 Philip Clairmont Buddha Vietnam 1971, acrylic on hessian, 1236 × 906mm est $100,000 - $200,000 Price Realised $240,250 5 Michael Smither Manifesto Café 2001, oil on board, 790 × 1200mm est $75,000 - $125,000 Price Realised $134,540 Webb's

2021

Works of Art

Auction Monday 29 March 6:30pm

Specialist Enquiries Charles Ninow Head of Art charles@webbs.co.nz +64 21 053 6504 AD Schierning Manager, Art ad@webbs.co.nz +64 27 929 5609 Lucy Backley Fine Art Specialist lucy@webbs.co.nz +64 22 406 5514 Condition Reports Tasha Jenkins Administrator, Art art@webbs.co.nz +64 9 529 5600 Webb's

2021

Studio at Gunson Street, Ponsonby 14 May 1977, Mark Adams, 1977, gelatin silver print. Collection of Te Papa Tongawera.

Table of Contents

Programme 17 Plates 21

Webb's

Terms & Conditions

111

Index of Artists

114

Absentee Bid Form

115

2021

List of Essays Louise Henderson untitled By Elizabeth Newton-Jackson Para Matchitt untitled By Christie Simpson Peter Robinson Easy Pay By Tasha Jenkins

Webb's

Milan Mrkusich Two Areas Blue By Victoria Munn

Yayoi Kusama Pumpkin, Dot, Infinity By Lucy Backley

Paul Hartigan Red Hand By Julian Mckinnon

100

Michael Smither Sarah After Bath By Christie Simpson

104

44-43

Hori Paraone Tāne and Wāhine By Julian Mckinnon

Fiona Pardington Portrait of a Female Huia By Victoria Munn

Ralph Hotere Pipiwharauroa By Samantha Taylor

Shane Cotton Poetics of Appropriation By Emil Mcavoy

58-60

Colin McCahon New Light By Neil Talbot

65-70

Grahame Sydney Three Works Interview by Julian Mckinnon

73-78

Andrew McLeod untitled By Billy Davis

Séraphine Pick High Rise By Samantha Taylor

Tony Fomison Blue Self Portrait By Megan Shaw

Matt Hunt SEEING ALL OF TOMORROW By Victoria Munn

Doris Lusk Imagined Projects III, Dam with Lake By Victoria Munn

Bill Hammond Limbo Bay By Billy Davis

Peter McIntyre Portrait of a Woman with Aloe By Neil Talbot

March

Programme

Wellington Preview Thursday 18 March

6pm - 8pm

Wellington Viewing Friday 19 March

10am - 6pm

Saturday 20 March

10am - 4pm

Auckland Preview Tuesday 23 March

6pm - 8pm

Auckland Viewing

Wellington Viewing 35 Ghuznee Street Te Aro Wellington 6011 New Zealand

Wednesday 24 March

10am - 5pm

Thursday 25 March

10am - 5pm

Friday 26 March

10am - 5pm

Saturday 27 March

10am - 4pm

Sunday 28 March

10am - 4pm

Monday 29 March

10am - 1pm

Auction Monday 29 March

6.30pm

Webb's 33a Normanby Rd Mount Eden Auckland 1024 New Zealand Webb's

2021

Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you Though I know that evening's empire has returned into sand Vanished from my hand Left me blindly here to stand, but still not sleeping My weariness amazes me, I'm branded on my feet I have no one to meet And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you Take me on a trip upon your magic swirling ship My senses have been stripped My hands can't feel to grip My toes too numb to step Wait only for my boot heels to be wandering I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade Into my own parade Cast your dancing spell my way, I promise to go under it Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you Though you might hear laughing, spinning, swinging madly across the sun It's not aimed at anyone It's just escaping on the run And but for the sky there are no fences facing And if you hear vague traces of skipping reels of rhyme To your tambourine in time It's just a ragged clown behind I wouldn't pay it any mind It's just a shadow you're seeing that he's chasing Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you And take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind Down the foggy ruins of time Far past the frozen leaves The haunted frightened trees Out to the windy beach Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky With one hand waving free Silhouetted by the sea Circled by the circus sands With all memory and fate Driven deep beneath the waves Let me forget about today until tomorrow Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you Bob Dylan, Mr. Tambourine Man, 1965. Bill Hammond, 1947 — 2021.

Plates

2021

1 Michael Parekōwhai Acts c1993 bronze 140 × 80mm (overall)

2 Terry Stringer untitled 1993 bronze signed TERRY STRINGER dated '93 and inscribed XX399 with incision lower edge 790 × 235 × 235mm

est $5,000 — $8,000 Provenance Private collection.

est $8,000 — $12,000

Exhibitions A Capella, Gregory Flint Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand, 1994.

Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Passed by bequest; private collection, Auckland. Acquired c1994.

Webb's

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3 Bill Hammond untitled 2006 lithograph on paper, edition of 100 signed Bill Hammond and dated 2006 in graphite lower right 580 × 430mm

4 Bill Hammond Singer Songwriter I 2001 lithograph on paper, edition of 100 signed Bill Hammond, dated 2001 and inscribed Singer Songwriter I in graphite upper edge 700 × 845mm

est $7,000 — $10,000

est $6,500 — $8,500

Provenance Private collection.

Webb's

2021

5 Peter Stichbury Constance (from the Vivian Girls series) 2002 graphite on paper signed P. STICHBURY and dated .02 in graphite in lower left 290 × 205mm

6 Kushana Bush Pat-a-Cake Assembly 2010 gouache and graphite on paper signed Kushana Bush, dated 2010 June and inscribed 'Pat-a-Cake Assembly'/Gouache and Pencil on paper in graphite verso 770 × 550mm

est $4,500 — $6,500 est $5,000 — $10,000 Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from Temple Gallery, Dunedin, 2003. Webb's

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Provenance Private collection. 24

7 Guy Ngan Landbirth 1976 aluminium, enamel, perspex on composite board signed NGAN and dated 1976 in brushpoint lower right 675 × 600mm est $8,000 — $16,000

est $7,000 — $12,000 Provenance Private collection, Wellington. Acquired from McLeavey Gallery, Wellington, 1990. Exhibitions Quote: Julian Dashper, McLeavey Gallery, Wellington, 1990.

Provenance Private collection, Welllington. Acquired from Antipodes Gallery, Wellington, 1977. Webb's

8 Julian Dashper Modern Painting 2 1990 oil on canvas, wooden frame signed JULIAN DASHPER, dated 1990 and inscribed MODERN PAINTING 2 in graphite verso 880 × 695mm

2021

Literature Julian Dashper et al, Quote: Julian Dashper (Wellington: McLeavey Gallery, 1990). 25

9 Philip Trusttum Looking Out 1974 oil on board 1465 × 920mm est $15,000 — $25,000 Provenance Private collection, Otago. Webb's

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11 Marti Friedlander Phillip Clairmont 1980 vintage cibachrome print signed Marti Friedlander in graphite verso 285 × 290mm

10 Gordon Walters Amoka screenprint on paper, 3/25 signed Gordon Walters and inscribed Amoka in graphite lower edge 860 × 418mm

est $7,000 — $9,000

est $15,000 — $25,000

Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from FHE Galleries, Auckland. Acquired from the Studio of Marti Friedlander, Auckland.

Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from Ferner Galleries, Auckland, 1994.

Literature Jim Barr, Mary Barr and Marti Friedlander, Contemporary New Zealand Painters Volume 1 (A-M) (Martinborough: Alister Taylor, 1980), 43.

Webb's

2021

Louise Henderson – untitled Essay by ELIZABETH NEWTON-JACKSON

The rapidity of Henderson’s painting technique, coupled with the blended fluency of the medium gives the work a quality of immediacy, reflecting the artist’s acute preoccupation with observing and recording elements of the natural world. This quality of immediacy also indicates a modernist enthusiasm for capturing a fleeting moment in time. For Paris-born Louise Henderson, New Zealand “was like a dream country” where the artist had freedom to pursue a career in painting.¹ Having been forbidden by her family to study formally at a fine art institution, Henderson was instead trained in the textile arts of embroidery and lace design at the School of Industrial Arts in Paris in the late 1910s. Henderson’s initial positioning within the under-recognised field of textile arts before her arrival in Christchurch in 1925 parallels her relative lack of recognition as a New Zealand Modernist at the forefront of her discipline. That Henderson should be memorialised in the same league as contemporaries such as Colin McCahon, Rita Angus and Milan Mrkusich is clear from even a cursory survey of the artist’s extensive output, spanning seven decades. Henderson’s paintings combine a keen observation of the natural world with the identifiable visual dialogue of European Modernist art. Frequently embarking on days-long painting excursions in the Canterbury plains, Henderson’s preoccupation with New Zealand landscapes acted as a visual embodiment of her creative liberation in Aotearoa. Influenced by the fluid rendering of the plein air paintings of Manet and Cezanne, and the deconstructed perspectives employed by Braque and Picasso, Henderson proved herself a noteworthy modern. In this untitled watercolour painting from 1972, Henderson’s bold, uninhibited use of vivid colour reflects her enduring sense of liberty in her life and career in New Zealand. Depicted is an abstracted, yet still visually decipherable floral composition; leaves and flower buds hang from interlocking sprays in a harmonious jumble of greens, blues, yellows, and reds. There is cubist compositional influence in the mixed viewpoint of the work. The forms appear to be presented from below, as if the viewer is located beneath a tree, staring up into dappled light. However, due to the depressed plane of the painting, and the merging of foreground and background, the drooping floral configuration is also viewed head-on. Henderson’s concentration on a natural subject has necessitated a softening of at-timessevere cubist geometry. However, the artist has utilised faceted, abstracted shapes and distinct, vivid shades, evidencing an enduring cubist influence. The thin, semi-transparent layers of watercolour have been swiftly worked in broad, fluid strokes. The rapidity of Henderson’s painting technique, coupled with the blended fluency of the medium gives the work a quality of immediacy, reflecting the artist’s acute preoccupation with observing and recording elements of the natural world. This quality of Webb's

March

immediacy also indicates a modernist enthusiasm for capturing a fleeting moment in time. The artist has arrested the rustling of wind through foliage in an evocative still image of light and motion. Henderson was not passively influenced by Modernist practice, but actively perused developments in avant-garde art throughout her career. She returned to Paris in 1952 for a year to immerse herself in the European context, and study under cubist artist and writer Jean Metzinger. In 1953, Henderson exhibited her works for the first time at the Auckland City Art Gallery, displaying her artistic interpretations of cubist methodology.² Having been relegated early in her artistic career to the “decorative” arena of textile craft, Henderson’s standing as an expert in embroidery and needlework should not be overlooked. This early textile training acted not merely as a second-best option for a budding woman painter. Henderson’s mastery of textile arts acted as a foundational building block, without which, her artistic production would not be the same. Henderson’s painting methods cannot only be attributed to a Modernist theoretical source, but also to her fluency in embroidery pattern design, a centuries-old practice which involves the mathematical organisation of a subject into near-abstracted shapes and patterns which make up a representational whole. Frequently working with wool also, Henderson herself regarded her tapestry production as just as important as her painting practice. Henderson’s unique technical background coupled with her jubilant recognition of her own artistic freedom has resulted in a lively and varied oeuvre. The artist can be definitively classified as a fervent pioneer of New Zealand modernism.

1 Baskett, “I was free…I could paint,” 2019. 2 Auckland Art Gallery, “Louise Henderson” 1 Baskett, “I was free…I could paint,” 2019. 28

12 Louise Henderson untitled 1972 watercolour on paper signed Louise Henderson and dated 72 in ink lower left 620 × 470mm est $10,000 — $15,000 Provenance Private collection, Tauranga. Acquired from The Koula Collection, Aesthete Gallery (satellite auction), Tauranga, 2017. Webb's

2021

13 Karl Maughan AWAHOU SOUTH 2007 oil on canvas signed Karl Maughan, dated 15/01/2007 and inscribed “AWAHOU SOUTH” in brushpoint verso 1020 × 1010mm est $20,000 — $30,000 Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from Milford Galleries, Queenstown, c2007. Webb's

March

14 Toss Woollaston Golden Bay c1949 oil on board signed Woollaston in graphite lower right 445 × 577mm est $22,000 — $32,000 Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Webb's

2021

15 Yvonne Todd Turquoise 2019 c-type print, 1/3 signed Yvonne Todd, dated 2019 and inscribed 'Turquoise'/1/3 in ink verso 1500 × 1140mm est $20,000 — $30,000

Exhibitions Darryn George & Yvonne Todd, McLeavey Gallery, Auckland Art Fair, Auckland, 1–5 May 2019.

Provenance Private collection. Webb's

March

16 Bill Hammond Manganese 2016 acrylic on canvas signed W D Hammond, dated 2016 in brushpoint left edge; inscribed MANGANESE in brushpoint upper edge 370 × 290mm est $25,000 — $35,000 Provenance Private collection. Webb's

2021

17 Richard Killeen Destruction of the Circle 1990 acrylic and collage on aluminium, 2/5 dated Aug 1 1990 and inscribed No 1216/ Destruction of the Circle on plate 298 × 210mm (each panel) est $5,000 — $8,000 Provenance Private collection, Wellington. Acquired from McLeavey Gallery, Wellington, 1990. Exhibitions Richard Killeen: Destruction of the Circle, Peter McLeavey Gallery, Wellington, 25 September - 13 October 1990. Webb's

March

18 André Hemer Day Painting #7 2018 acrylic and pigment on canvas signed André Hemer, dated 2018 and inscribed Day Painting #7/(Vienna) in graphite verso 1200 × 850mm est $12,000 — $16,000 Provenance Private collection. Webb's

2021

19 Nigel Brown What We Don’t Wish To See 1982 oil on board signed Nigel Brown and dated 1982 in brushpoint lower left; signed Nigel Brown, dated 1982 and inscribed ‘WHAT WE DON’T WISH TO SEE’/ OIL ON BOARD/THAMES in brushpoint verso 505 × 400mm est $5,000 — $8,000 Provenance Private collection, Wellington. Acquired from Louise Beale Gallery, Wellington, 1982. Exhibitions Louise Beale Gallery, Wellington, December 1982 Webb's

March

20 Russell Clark untitled ink and watercolour on paper 115 × 160mm est $6,000 — $9,000 Provenance Private collection, Queenstown. Acquired from Antique Sale, Cordys, Auckland, 4 November 1986, lot 255. 36

21 Don Driver Basmati 1984 hessian, canvas, belts, steel and scythe signed DON DRIVER, dated 1984 and inscribed “BASMATI” in ink verso 940 × 1240mm

22 Don Driver Coarse Sea Salt 1979 canvas, hessian and safety pins signed DON DRIVER, dated 1979 and inscribed “COARSESALT B.S.S.” in ink verso 1250 × 1510mm

est $3,500 — $7,500

Provenance Private collection, Queensland. Acquired directly from the artist, c1982.

Webb's

2021

23 Jake Walker How it Works oil on canvas on board, stoneware signed J Walker and inscribed 'HOW IT WORKS'/200016 in graphite verso 450 × 380mm

24 Dick Frizzell Rose 1986 oil on board signed FRIZZELL, dated 18/4/86 and inscribed ROSE in brushpoint lower edge 240 x 190mm

est $5,000 — $8,000

est $8,000 — $12,000

Provenance Private collection.

Provenance Private collection, Auckland.

Webb's

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26 Don Driver Fetish plastic bucket, plastic doll, enamel cups, leather, cotton, steel saw, mirror, aluminium dish, steel structure, AstroTurf, rope 1200 × 400 × 360mm (widest points)

25 Peter Madden Walk 2011 shoes, wood and paper collage 650 × 425 × 450mm (widest points)

est $5,000 — $8,000 est $4,000 — $8,000 Provenance Private collection, Queensland. Acquired directly from the artist, c1982.

Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Webb's

2021

27 Doris Lusk Sandhills North Auckland 1968 oil on board signed D LUSK and dated 1968 in brushpoint lower right 610 × 915mm est $10,000 — $15,000 Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from Ferner Galleries, Auckland, 1999. Webb's

March

Nigel Borrell's acclaimed exhibition Toi Tū Toi Ora wowed audiences when it opened in November last year. It is the largest exhibition ever presented by Toi ō Tāmaki Auckland Art Gallery. The exhibition spans 70 years of practice and offers insights into the development of Māori art from the 1950s to the present day. Art by Māori artists that engages in relevant discourses has long been a mainstay of auction catalogues. As an acknowledgement of Toi Tū Toi Ora, a landmark event, the following works are presented as sequential lots. The artists featured are Shane Cotton (Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Hine, Te Uri Taniwha), Chris Heaphy (Ngāi Tahu), Ralph Hotere (Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa), Robyn Kahukiwa (Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti), Para Matchitt (Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāti Porou), Hori Paraone (Te Arawa), Fiona Pardington (Ngāi Tahu, Kati Mamoe and Ngāti Kahungunu), Michael Parekōwhai (Ngāti Whakarongo) and Peter Robinson (Ngāi Tahu). Webb's

2021 2020

Para Matchitt – untitled Essay by CHRISTIE SIMPSON

Matchitt’s oeuvre offers an expert amalgamation of European modernist methodologies and indigenous concepts and designs. The artist accepts cross-cultural encounter and transformation in his artistic practice, recognising that “the modern Māori is not identical with his ancestors.”1 Paratene Matchitt is a true Māori modern artist. Integrating indigenous themes and motifs in works with a modernist stylistic execution, Matchitt recognises his Whakatōhea, Te Whānau-āApanui, and Ngāti Porou lineage. While influenced in his practice by Picasso and the cubist movement, he conveys a distinctly Māori view of the world. Matchitt’s works thematically embody a decolonisation of art practice in Aotearoa. Fittingly, the artist literally disrupted a Pākeka-dominated 20 th century New Zealand art world as one of the first Māori artists to exhibit works in the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. Matchitt’s oeuvre offers an expert amalgamation of European modernist methodologies and indigenous concepts and designs. The artist accepts cross-cultural encounter and transformation in his artistic practice, recognising that “the modern Māori is not identical with his ancestors.”¹ Having received training in traditional carving from master Ngāti Porou carver Pineāmine Taiapa, whakairo styles and practices are readily discernible in Matchitt’s works.² Matchitt’s immersion in an indigenous context extended beyond traditional methods to a fascination, developing in the 1960s, with Māori prophetic movements—particularly Ringatū and the prophet Te Kooti.³ This interest in early colonial Māori spirituality has seeped into Matchitt’s sculptural and painted designs, further emphasising his broader thematic focus on Māori perspectives in a post-colonial Aotearoa. While Matchitt is himself a creator of art, artistic creation is also a central and recurring theme in his work. In this untitled acrylic painting, a stylised hand is a repetitive, abstracted visual form. Three fingers and a thumb represent the hand of the carver, a symbol employed for centuries in Māori art. Matchitt has identified this carver’s hand motif as “the father” of all his paintings, this thematic root underlining the key influence of Māori carving techniques on his works.⁴ Three main figures are intermingled in a grouping comprised of nearly tessellating geometric shapes, decipherable as limbs, torsos, and faces. The corrugated carver’s fingers extend from upheld arms, which encircle stylised, abstracted faces reminiscent of the figures in centuries-old whakairo. There is little distinction in space between foreground and background. The figures are flattened against the picture plane, evidencing Matchitt’s abandonment of traditional Western rules of composition and perspective in favour of simplified visual accessibility. Originally an art advisor at the Department of Education in the period following World War II, Matchitt’s incorporation of Māori tradition in his artistic exploration of modernist styles, was encouraged by colleague and fellow artist Gordon Tovey. Webb's

March

Matchitt, along with other artists, including Ralph Hotere, Fred Graham, Arnold Wilson, Marilyn Webb and Sandy Adsett, comprise ‘the Tovey Generation’ as a result of Gordon Tovey’s thematic influence on their artistic production. Engaged in the pioneering practice of Māori modernist art, Matchitt was one of the first New Zealand artists to bring elements of dance to his works. Matchitt’s melded figures in this untitled work may be performing a haka, their arms upraised in a concluding motion of triumph. The use of a light, subdued colour palette emphasises form and Matchitt’s use of repeating patterns as the primary focus of the painting. The chests, biceps and hands of the simplified humanoid figures are clearly delineated by bold black and blue outlining, emphasising the rhythmic abstraction of Matchitt’s style, despite the relative visual decipherability of the forms. As well as delineating the figures from a depthless background, Matchitt’s bold outlines further highlight the melded, overlapping depiction of the figures. This fusing of forms points to a modernist approach to space, while also suggesting the movement and harmonious uniformity of the haka being performed. Matchitt has played a fundamental role in the development of contemporary Māori art, both in his own artistic production, and in his involvement in arts education as the president of Ngā Puna Waihanga, the national body of Māori artists and writers, from 1982 - 1999.⁵ This untitled artwork is a valuable part of an oeuvre which exemplifies the aim of the Māori modern artist in the unification of indigenous tradition with imported modernist influence.

1 Ron Brownson, “Para Matchitt’s vision of the haka!" 2015. 2 “Para Matchitt,” Auckland Art Gallery. 3 “Para Matchitt,” Auckland Art Gallery. 4 Brownson, “Para Matchitt’s vision of the haka!” 2015. 5 “Para Matchitt,” Auckland Art Gallery. 42

28 Para Matchitt untitled acrylic on board signed PARA MATCHITT in brushpoint right edge 440 × 690mm est $16,000 — $25,000 Provenance Private collection, Bay of Islands. Passed by bequest; private collection. Acquired directly from the artist, Waikato, c1962. Webb's

2021

Peter Robinson – Easy Pay Essay by TASHA JENKINS

When considering Robinson’s past political works certain slogans soon jump out: “Steal”; “Price War”; “Sell Out Sale”. These phrases appear to comment on Aotearoa’s colonial past and the economic, political and social plight of Māori throughout history. The colours of Easy Pay are another deft way of making this connection. Perhaps the solitary use of black and white divides New Zealand very simply into two shades those that buy and those that are bought. Webb's

March

At 1000 x 1000mm, Easy Pay (c1990s) by Peter Robinson (Ngāi Tahu) is neither very small nor very large. It seems small enough to be easily carried by one person if needed; but big enough to garner attention if you were to do so in public. This would be the perfect size for a shop placard, sandwich board or other advertisement: the exact subject matter of the work. Peter Robinson’s work from the 1990s is well known for being bold and provocative. It was at this time that his work began to unabashedly comment on ideas of ethnicity, identity and cultural value, often in regard to Robinson’s own Māori heritage. Works such as Say “Mouldy” Like in Cheese and the Percentage paintings are perfect examples of how Robinson pared these works down to their political yet still playful essence. Crudely painted, usually in black, white and red, the bold works carried simple tongue in cheek statements. One of these, “3.125% pure,” referred to Robinson’s percentage of Māori heritage and scorned the need for Māori to quantify their ethnicity.¹ These single statement works soon turned into patchwork-like paintings that carried multiple phrases, which we see here in the graphic black and white Easy Pay. “All stock massively reduced.” “Great opportunity.” “Save save save.” The viewer is immediately confronted by a barrage of block letter statements in this bold work. Easy Pay’s graffiti-like text frantically invites, or perhaps commands, the viewer to “buy now”. The erratic text runs in multiple directions, and it is difficult to focus on any one phrase closely - a similar feeling to being confronted with an overwhelming amount of advertisements in real life. Each phrase also appears to be squished into its small designated area; the size of the text widening or shrinking based on the designated border. This arrangement conjures thoughts of an overhead map of shops or stalls, with each vendor vying for their place and the attention of a customer. At first these slogans may seem like they are referring just to the capitalist nature of consumer society, which has only increased in the twenty something years since this work was made. However, when considering Robinson’s past political works certain slogans soon jump out: “Steal”; “Price War”; “Sell Out Sale”. These phrases appear to comment on Aotearoa’s colonial past and the economic, political and social plight of Māori throughout history. The colours of Easy Pay are another deft way of making this connection. Perhaps the solitary use of black and white divides New Zealand very simply into two shades - those that buy and those that are bought. Similarly, the placement of the words, each in their own box, could be read as a comment on identity and the need to conform in society, particularly for Māori. Even now, some twenty years after the work was made, there are still many issues with how Māori are treated and presented in society and the art world. Regarding Robinson’s 1995 exhibition New Lines/ Old Stock that showcased very similar works, Robert Leonard commented: “Robinson’s sales pitch is an ironic comment both on the present (the commodity status of contemporary Maori [sic] art) and history (the daylight robbery of Maori [sic] land).”² The opening of New Lines/Old Stock saw a peddler hover outside the exhibition, pestering the public to enter the exhibition and invest. In a roundabout satirical way, the salesman and the paintings’ brash slogans succeeded: Robinson’s artwork does indeed sell. In this case the advertisement is ironically also the product itself. A work such as Easy Pay visually camouflages into the very ideals of advertising and consumerism it is critiquing, which is what makes it so clever. The painting forces the viewer to consider what it means to buy and be bought in our society and who is allowed to do so. Subsequently, perhaps the new owners of Robinson’s paintings make perfectly intuitive choices in buying his work once they have considered all this for themselves. Or perhaps they too are unwittingly seduced by sandwich board slogans.

29 Peter Robinson Easy Pay c1990s acrylic and oilstick on plywood 1000 × 1000mm est

$20,000 — $30,000

1 Anna Jackson, Exhibition Text: Sold Out: Works From The 1990s | Peter Robinson, 2009 2 Robert Leonard, Art and Text, no. 50, 1995. Webb's

2021

29 Peter Robinson Easy Pay c1990s acrylic and oilstick on plywood 1000 × 1000mm est $20,000 — $30,000 Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Webb's

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30 Peter Robinson Painting 1993 1993 oil and bitumen on paper 775 × 585mm est $10,000 — $20,000 Provenance Private collection, Wellington. Acquired from McLeavey Gallery, Wellington, 1993. Webb's

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Exhibitions Peter Robinson: 9 Paintings, Peter McLeavey Gallery, 10 August 4 September 1993. 47

Hori Paraone – Tāne and Wāhine Essay by JULIAN MCKINNON Hori Paraone, also known as George Brown, was a self-taught art maker of Te Arawa ancestory. He was a highly regarded Māori orator, and rural kaumātua who resided in Kawakawa Bay, southeast of Auckland. Paraone was a self-taught artist; he had no institutional training. Self-taught artists are often highly inventive, and Paraone was no exception. He produced paintings, carvings and adornments, as well as constructing and decorating several pātaka and wharepuni on his farm. As Paraone was operating outside the realm of galleries and institutions, there is little documentation of his output; records of date can only be established in approximation. In light of what little evidence there is to go on, it is fair to say his work was mostly overlooked in his lifetime. However, it was picked up on by British-born writer and artist Alan Taylor, who immersed himself in learning Māori history, culture and artistic output after he arrived in New Zealand in the 1960s. Taylor’s 1988 book Māori Folk Art, a rare publication, offers important documentation of Paraone’s work. “Paraone’s distinctive and vigorous carvings are boldly coloured and decorate small buildings as well as covered gateways and posts,” said Taylor. He then described Paraone’s Kawakawa Bay property as follows, “The whole scene is suggestive of a deserted, ancient Māori village encompassed by palisades and posts surmounted by defiant gods and demons.”¹

Often constructed of tin and timber, painted and adorned with pāua shell, feathers, and other similar materials, Paraone’s unique works present viewers with a glimpse into the vividly creative imagination of a self-taught and highly driven artist. Often constructed of tin and timber, painted and adorned with pāua shell, feathers, and other similar materials, Paraone’s unique works present viewers with a glimpse into the vividly creative imagination of a self-taught and highly driven artist. The work under consideration here, Tāne and Wāhine, is a timber carving that has been painted with enamel and embelished with pāua, copper wire, pounamu, and tin. It is a gable figure; as such it would have been placed at the apex of a building. There are small patches of lichen on its surface – a consequence of its long years spent outdoors. The carving portrays two figures, half embracing, standing atop another face, larger than the other pair – perhaps two parents and their child. The wāhine wears a pounamu earring. The head of the tāne is adorned with tin painted as huia feathers. There are a number of nail holes from where the work was attached to the building. In its presentation of figure and stylistic motif, the work appears to reference some aspects of traditional whakairo, but it is not of that custom – Paraone was very much self-taught. The presentation of the figures is frontal and flat, the enamel paint applied with gusto. In that regard, this work could be read as art brut. In the 1980s New Zealand historicism ran hot and trade in works by Paraone bloomed. They frequently passed between the hands of art and antique dealers and collectors. This work was bought by artist and collector Paul Hartigan from Dominion Antiques on Vulcan Lane in 1982 and it has remained with him since. Though it was very expensive for him at the time, Hartigan was so taken with the extraordinary folk-art piece, that he bought the work with agreement to pay for it in installments over three years.

1 Taylor, Alan. Māori Folk Art, 1988. Page 70. Webb's

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31 Hori Paraone Tāne and Wāhine c1960s enamel on timber, pāua, copper wire, pounamu (Y14643), steel 1140 × 290 × 50mm (widest points) est $35,000 — $45,000 Provenance Collection of Paul Hartigan, Auckland. Acquired c1983. Webb's

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32 Para Matchitt II 1966 ink on paper signed Para Matchitt, dated 66 and inscribed II in ink lower right 270 × 370mm est $3,000 — $5,000 Provenance Private collection, Tauranga. Acquired 1989. Webb's

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33 Para Matchitt No II. 1973 ink on paper signed Para Matchitt, dated 73 and inscribed No II. in ink lower right 760 × 560mm

34 Para Matchitt Drawing for Sculpture in Concrete & Steel 1973 ink on paper signed Para Matchitt, dated 73. and inscribed drawing for sculpture in concrete & steel in ink lower right 760 × 560mm

35 Para Matchitt Drawing for sculpture, Concrete Steel & Water 1973 ink on paper signed Para Matchitt dated 73 and inscribed drawing for sculpture concrete steel & water in ink in lower right 760 × 560mm

est $1,500 — $2,500

est $2,000 — $4,000

est $1,500 — $2,500

Provenance Private collection, Manawatu. Passed by bequest c2000; private collection. Acquired directly from the artist, c1973.

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Fiona Pardington – Portrait of a Female Huia Essay by VICTORIA MUNN Not only does she favour subjects which are hidden from plain sight - subjects which are rarely afforded attention or forgotten by history - but Fiona Pardington (1961-), of Māori (Ngāi Tahu, Kati Mamoe and Ngāti Kahungunu) and Scottish (clan Cameron of Erracht) descent, is also drawn to those with spiritual intensity and weighty histories.¹ Considering their extinction, and status in Māoridom, the huia bird offers rich material for Pardington to explore through her camera lens. The huia’s white-tipped plumes often adorned the heads of highly-ranked rangatira, or were incorporated into their kahu huruhuru, connoting wisdom and dignity. Pardington’s photographic practice bridges artistic genres. Though the highly contrived, controlled arrangement of static objects in some compositions is evocative of still life, aligning with the European vanitas tradition, artworks such as Portrait of a Female Huia also engage with elements of portraiture. Pardington’s connection to her subjects is clear: “I’ve personalised them, made portraits of them,” she explains, “and just treated them like they were individuals.”² Thus a taxidermied huia may illustrate the species’ extinction, but it is also intimately presented as a solitary, once living creature. Cardinal characteristics of the huia are highlighted in Portrait of a Female Huia. The glossy black plumage fuses with the background, yet the precise lighting draws the eye to the striking bill and bright wattle. The elegant, slender, decurved bill immediately signifies that Pardington’s subject is female (male species sported heavier, less curved and shorter bills). The dim lighting of works such as Portrait of a Female Huia adds to the intensity and mysticism of Pardington’s subject, as do the deep, dark black backgrounds employed consistently in her oeuvre. Certainly, though her avian subjects often come from taxidermied specimens in museum repositories, Pardington’s photography works to strip away scientific or museological undertones. Her approach lifts her subjects out of the sterile metal cabinets to which they have been relegated in museum storage and back into the viewer’s consciousness. Pardington’s ornithological subjects extend beyond the species themselves; her 2005-2006 series The Heart Derelict photographed birds’ nests and eggs. Just as her photographs of taxidermied birds, stored in metal cabinets far removed from native bush, consider the effect of nineteenth-century collecting practices, ideas of place and belonging are conjured in images of their natural habitats. Of course, with a portrait of an extinct species comes a warning for the future. Like many New Zealand artists with a sustained interest in ornithological subjects, Pardington has expressed concern about the future of endemic avian species and native bush. Pardington has outlined her belief ‘that photography is very much a place of mourning for the things that are valuable in life.’³ Indeed, Portrait of a Female Huia mourns the loss of the endemic huia species, but it also elicits a greater reverence for the bird. This works places the museum specimen in its rightful place as cultural taonga.

1 Owen Craven, “Profile: Fiona Pardington” in Artist Profile, November 11 2014, 67. 2 “Shining the Torch” in On Arts: News from Creative New Zealand 29, March 2004, 8. 3 Rhana Devenport, “Fiona Pardington: Portraiture, Immanence and Empathy” in Art and Australia 48, no. 3, 2011, 533. Webb's

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36 Fiona Pardington Portrait of a Female Huia 2005 c-type print, edition of 10 signed Fiona Pardington and dated 2005 in ink verso 1180 × 1535mm est $50,000 — $70,000 Provenance Private collection, Waikato. Acquired from Nadene Milne Gallery, Arrowtown, 2008. Webb's

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37 Fiona Pardington Gold Nymph 2010 inkjet print on archival paper, edition of 5 1095 × 815mm est $15,000 — $25,000 Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from Starkwhite, Auckland, c2015. Webb's

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38 Fiona Pardington Male & Female Huia vs Flora and Fauna 2009 gelatin silver print signed Fiona Pardington, dated 2009 and inscribed Male & Female Huia vs Flora and Fauna in graphite verso 400 × 200mm (widest points) est $15,000 — $20,000 Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Gifted by the artist, 2009. Webb's

2021

Ralph Hotere – Pipiwharauroa Essay by SAMANTHA TAYLOR Employing literature and language as visual imagery was an important facet of Ralph Hotere’s (1931-2013) artistic practice. In the 1970s especially, Hotere was interested in developing a deeper knowledge of Māori history and language, and this manifests itself in his inclusion of te reo Māori in works such as Pipiwharauroa. The black background is covered with words in te reo Māori, though they differ in colour, scale and direction. The diagonal ‘pipiwharauroa’ (shining cuckoo) is dominant in the composition, overlapping other text and stretching from one side of the panel to the other. However, Hotere’s composition is also replete with words celebrating a different bird: the kūaka (bar-tailed godwit). Indeed, the text strewn across the rest of the picture plane is drawn from an ancient Te Aupōuri chant, taught to Hotere by his father, which celebrates the kūaka’s annual arrival in New Zealand following its 12,000 kilometre migration from Alaska:

Scattering, gathering, forming a single unit Exhaustion rises up It is the rope, koakoa [the cry of the bird] Binding you here to me The cry/chattering of the flock Come close together From inside its throat – a marauding party A godwit A godwit that hovers One bird Has settled on the sand bank It has settled over there It has settled over there They have settled here

On the verso of Pipiwharauroa, along with his signature and date, Hotere’s inscription labels this work a ‘Test Piece’. Fusions of line, word and colour, Ralph Hotere’s Test Pieces of 1977 were created in advance of the artist’s revered Godwit/ Kuaka mural. Though now housed at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Godwit/ Kuaka was initially commissioned for the arrivals hall at Auckland International Airport.¹ In Pipiwharauroa, Hotere is testing different ideas for his eventual 18-metre-long mural. The pīpīwharauroa and text from related poem ‘te tangi o te pipiwharauroa’ appear in several of Hotere’s Test Pieces: he was appraising the bird, which migrates to warmer islands during New Zealand winters, as the central concept for his airport commission. However, Hotere is also exploring the pictorial and metaphorical possibilities of the kūaka poem. Considering its impressive migratory pattern, the species served as a fitting metaphor for an artwork greeting international travellers in Auckland. It also draws upon the artist’s heritage: the kūaka was especially symbolic for northern Muriwhenua tribes and, according to one source, the above chant was authored by Taumatihina, a forebear of Hotere’s iwi, Te Aupōuri. Hotere was clearly content with both the visual and symbolic effect of the kūaka poem, as it also appears in the centre of the final Godwit/ Kuaka mural.

1 Hotere’s mural was originally entitled The Flight of the Godwit, but the artist renamed the work when it was deaccessioned by the airport’s collection and purchased by the Chartwell Trust. Webb's

Ruia ruia, opea opea, tahia, tahia Kia hemo ake Ko te kaka koakoa Kia herea mai Te kawai korokī Kia tatata mai I roto i tana pukorokoro whaikaro He kūaka He kūaka mārangaranga Kotahi manu I tau ki te tāhuna Tau atu Tau atu Kua tau mai

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39 Ralph Hotere Pipiwharauroa 1977 enamel on board signed Hotere, dated 77 and inscribed Test Piece in brushpoint verso 690 × 600mm est $50,000 — $70,000 Provenance Private collection, Dunedin. Acquired from Bosshard Galleries, Dunedin, c1977. Webb's

2021

Shane Cotton – Poetics of Appropriation Essay by EMIL MCAVOY Shane Cotton’s important early paintings 100 Revolutions (1993) and Ko Wai Koe? (1994) represent a prototypical moment in an illustrious career now spanning three decades. These two seminal works signify a pivotal arrival and departure for Cotton (Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Hine, Te Uri Taniwha), one of Aotearoa’s leading and most celebrated artists. Prior to landing on Cotton’s iconic signature style evidenced here, the artist had been painting in a more ambiguous and open-ended fashion, reworking biomorphic abstraction in a contemporary context. 100 Revolutions and Ko Wai Koe? demonstrate his breakthrough into the more figurative style for which he is now well known. They also signal future developments we can retrace across his substantial body of work, in recurring themes, motifs, palette and complex treatment of pictorial space. Cotton is one of a number of Māori artists who came to prominence in the 1990s, alongside figures such as Michael Parekōwhai and Peter Robinson, who challenged the status of Māori within Aotearoa and who have exerted a profound influence on the development of contemporary New Zealand art. Cotton’s dual Māori and Pākeha heritage also guides his approach, speaking to these deeply interwoven cultures and their complex interactions, past and present. These two paintings are emblematic of the artist’s examination of early contact histories and cross-cultural exchange between Māori and European settlers, excavating such influential moments for material with which to address the complexities and contradictions of our postcolonial present. Central to his work is an address of the postcolonial condition, grounded in the present while also explicitly referencing the past. They are alternative – indeed speculative – history paintings. The artist engages the politics and poetics of appropriation: both referring to, and drawing from, the borrowings of others. Cotton’s personal iconography borrows from an array of contemporary cultural and historical sources, co-opted into an evolving visual grammar we see first tested here. His strategy appears to pose the question: how do we differentiate between quotation, borrowing, remix and theft? In particular, these works demonstrate Cotton’s interest in nineteenth century Māori figurative painting which reflects the impact of European settlers on the lives of Māori and their modes of representation. A prime example can be found at Rongopai, the wharenui built at Waituhi near Gisborne in 1887. Constructed for the prophet and resistance leader Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Tūruki, Rongopai contains unique and significant figurative paintings. In Shane Cotton: Cultural Surrealist, curator and writer Robert Leonard notes: After the Land Wars, Māori society was fragmented, in strife, reduced and ravaged through conflict and disease. However, on the East Coast, meeting houses associated with Te Kooti, the rebel chief and founder of the Ringatū faith, were being decorated with idyllic, folksy paintings reflecting Pakeha influence. In these houses, paintings took the pride of place formerly reserved for carvings. The iconography included potted plants and flowers, flags, ships and trains, kings and queens, and representational variants of traditionally abstract kowhaiwhai patterns. While the new art found East Coast Māori assimilating means, motifs, and manners from the very culture bearing down on them, the work was also freighted with resistance. The appropriations were recoded through Māori frames of reference and concern. Today, when we look at Māori folk art, it seems amazing and inventive, but also problematic.1

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40 Shane Cotton Ko Wai Koe? 1994 oil on canvas signed Shane W Cotton and dated 1994 in brushpoint verso 730 × 900mm est $35,000 — $45,000 Provenance Private collection. Webb's

2021

Influenced by Māori figurative painting, in the 1990s Cotton first established a visual vocabulary that he has gone on to rework inventively for thirty years. Recurring motifs include ships, stars, flags, potted plants, birds, chairs, tea pots, cups, cowboy boots, typography and architectural structures. These evidence the artist’s interest in the fertile tensions between the native and the introduced, the coloniser and colonised. Here, Cotton’s characteristic flattened yet surrealist picture plane allows for complex topographies, which also refer to layered and shifting understandings of the land. In particular, he refers to land ownership and protection, and to differing understandings of the natural world: from European concepts of the land as something to be surveyed, divided and sold as property, or for the purposes of economic production, to contrasting Māori cosmologies in which the earth possesses a spirit – the land owns you. A key example is the potted plant, which is said to symbolise guardianship of the land in Māori figurative painting, yet can also connote containment and even possession. A potted plant features in 100 Revolutions, also particularly unusual in its composition across three component boards: two circular and one rectangular. The plant’s wilted appearance is perhaps in need of loving attention, while the words ‘Swell Ground’ float strangely above. Despite the monumental size of the pot, the ground it contains may not be in such a fertile ‘swell’ state after all. Cotton’s characteristic doubles and foils – both visual and verbal – may also connote the idea of a ‘groundswell’, a widespread shift in popular opinion. This is particularly loaded in the context of revolution, whether collective and political, or spiritual and personal. Another potted plant sits precariously alongside a chair atop a giant pile of paper documents. In the context of Cotton’s themes, these suggest a vast volume of land deeds, an unstable legal foundation for the colonial seat of power, given Pākeha appropriation of Māori land at the time of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, subsequent revolutions and the resonance of their violent consequences. While other objects such as a colonial era teapot also sit precariously, European boots hang from the firmament, and others such as tobacco pipes float freely in a complicated, contradictory space. Mountain ranges skirt the perimeter of both circular canvases, as if the view is framed inside a colonial telescope which the artist has turned inside out. Rendered in a rusty palette of umber and sienna, the artist’s textured underpainting is prominent here, providing a coarse surface with which to collect layered applications of oil paint and the signs of their repeated rubbing back. These worked surfaces appear old and weathered, akin to sepia-toned photographs and topographies which reveal the impacts of their inhabitants. Ko Wai Koe? echoes such histories and tensions in similar and differing ways. The composition is grounded by a mountain range tracing its bottom edge, while an abstracted scaffolding structure sprouts from this ground to bisect the canvas and provide a thin, precarious framework to support maunga and a host of other signs. Adorned with koru forms at its tips, its form suggests a kind of family tree through which to retrace complex yet potentially fragmented whakapapa. Nested letter forms take on architectural qualities alongside mountains and digital clock displays, layering landscapes with differing languages, values, cosmologies and concepts of time. The stacked landforms also echo the sketches of Aotearoa made by Sydney Parkinson, the artist onboard Captain Cook’s first voyage to New Zealand. In a review of a Cotton exhibition for Art and Text, Leonard unpacks these contexts further: …his works are thick with heraldic and fragmentary images, mostly derived from post-contact Māori art when European images, materials, and ideas were being absorbed and recoded, and it still wasn’t clear if Māori were taking advantage of new Webb's

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things or being done in by them. Just as ancient orators located their images within a given architecture, Cotton’s contents are stashed into preexisting formats: shelves, scaffolding, stacks, trees. The paintings seem both ordered and not, like a museum storeroom packed with jumble. Though things are in their places, perhaps no one can remember what they were doing there. Indeed Cotton’s antiqued, bituminous paintings might themselves be mistaken for museum pieces. 2 Inscribed along the scaffolding in the upper left of the canvas, the painting’s title is framed as a question: “who are you?” Typical of Cotton’s critical positioning, this question is far more ambiguous and ambivalent than it appears. Framed within the context of bicultural politics particularly volatile in the 1990s when this work was produced, it can be addressed to the viewer and wider culture alongside the artist himself. Beyond a question of identity (who are you and what do you stand for?) it can also potentially question someone's right of involvement or opinion (who are you to make this work, or this claim, or to question me?). How might one navigate such complicated and contradictory terrain? And in doing so, how might one find their tūrangawaewae anew – a place to stand and look again? Leonard notes: …Cotton suggests the way nineteenth-century Pākeha and Māori alike recognised and misrecognised what they saw through what they knew. In forging his images Cotton isn’t just illustrating how this happened in the past, he’s making it happen now. Our readings of his obscure images depend on our predilections. Cotton’s work isn’t pitched to an ideal reader grounded in this stuff, but to a diversity of partial readers trying to find their way in through what they know. It’s premised on the possibility of misrecognition, generative misreading.3

1 Robert Leonard, Shane Cotton: Cultural Surrealist (Auckland Art Gallery, 2004). 2 Robert Leonard, 'review of Shane Cotton', Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington, 1998, Art and Text, no. 63 (1998). 3 Leonard, Shane Cotton: Cultural Surrealist. 60

41 Shane Cotton 100 Revolutions 1993 oil on board signed S.W.C, dated 1993 and inscribed 100 Revolutions in brushpoint lower edge 2440 × 400mm; 910mm (diameter); 910mm (diameter) est $70,000 — $120,000 Provenance Private collection, Wellington. Acquired from Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington, 1993. Exhibitions Groundswell, Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North, 23 July - 12 September 1993; Māori Art Now, Wellington Town Hall, Wellington, 6 February 1996. Webb's

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42 Robyn Kahukiwa Papa 2018 acrylic on canvas signed Robyn F Kahukiwa in brushpoint lower left 760 × 760mm est $8,000 — $12,000 Exhibitions Papatūānuku/Earth Mother, Warwick Henderson, Auckland, 2018.

Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Webb's

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43 Chris Heaphy A Sunny Afternoon with Phar Lap on the lsland of La Grande Jatte 2016 acrylic on linen signed Chris Heaphy, dated 2006 and inscribed ‘A Sunny Afternoon with Pharlap on the Island of La Grande Jatte’ in ink verso 1900 × 2800mm est $40,000 — $60,000 Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Webb's

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44 Michael Parekōwhai Mare of Tranquillitatis 2007 c-type print 190 × 141mm est $3,000 — $6,000 Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from Michael Lett, Auckland, c2007. Webb's

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Colin McCahon – New Light Essay by NEIL TALBOT

Pilot Station, Otago Head, Burton Brothers studio, 1880s.

Webb's

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“We should always remember that the work of art is invariably the creation of a new world, so that the first thing we should do is to study that new world as closely as possible, approaching it as something brand new, having no obvious connection with the worlds we already know.” When writing on Colin McCahon, one is confronted by the sheer weight of historical account. McCahon has inspired more column inches than any other artist from Aotearoa; a writer could cover their desk in stacks of articles, books, and catalogue essays and still barely have scratched the surface. In the face of this, a writer’s mind can too readily be clouded by the words of others, by the brute force of the painter’s influence, or by their own preconceptions. Put simply, McCahon is an artist of great mana. McCahon’s visual language is so distinctive, his vision so uncompromising and relentless, his artworks so omnipresent in the national visual lexicon that the very mention of his name sparks an elaborate array of mental imagery and visual association. And herein lies a problem. Much as is the case with writing about McCahon, the act of seeing is encumbered by historic legacy. When faced with a work by New Zealand’s most iconic Modernist, one too readily sees ‘McCahon’, and not the work itself. Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov once said, “We should always remember that the work of art is invariably the creation of a new world, so that the first thing we should do is to study that new world as closely as possible, approaching it as something brand new, having no obvious connection with the worlds we already know.” Nabokov’s particular insight is both simple and surprising – each and every artwork comprises its own singular and unique microcosm. The truth of this is selfevident, to really be present and engage with the details of an artwork is to see a world anew. Yet, when it comes to McCahon, how does one put aside their preconceptions and truly see the work itself? North Otago, an ink drawing from 1967, speaks singularly in the language of McCahon. The ominous poetry of the New Zealand landscape is invoked in the sweeping washes of black ink on white paper. In its light, gestural brushstrokes, one can interpret the inclement weather of the deep south: clouds spilling rain on to a deserted shoreline with an eerie burst of supernatural light splitting the sky. The bleed of ink into the weave of paper suggests surging waves and the sublime chaos of nature. A stark line that could be read as ocean horizon caps the image. Yet, all this can slip away into an interpretation of paint applied with an enquiring hand and eye to paper. Webb's

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45 Colin McCahon North Otago 1969 ink on paper signed Colin McCahon, dated 1969 and inscribed North Otago in ink lower left 370 × 550mm est $65,000 — $85,000 Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from Fine Art Society, Auckland, 2005; private collection. Acquired from McLeavey Gallery, Wellington, c1970s. Webb's

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42 Colin McCahon North Otago 1969 ink on paper signed Colin McCahon, dated 1969 and inscribed North Otago in ink lower left 370 × 550mm est $65,000 — $85,000

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46 Colin McCahon Kauri Bush, Titirangi 1953 watercolour on paper signed McCahon and dated '53 in graphite lower right 265 × 225mm est $35,000 — $55,000 Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Passed by bequest, c2012; private collection, Auckland. Webb's

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Note Colin McCahon Online Catalogue (www.mccahon.co.nz) number: CM000506. 69

This strikes at some of the existential questions of Modernism: what is a painting? When is it, and when is it not, a depiction of the observable world? Such philosophical queries sit quietly behind the painted surface of this work. One could say that this is true of much of McCahon’s oeuvre. Deep questions about the essence of painting are every bit as evident in his body of work as his questions of faith, and they recur as frequently. Yet, this work presents its own unique world every bit as much as it presents another answer to one of McCahon’s enduring questions. In its loose, gestural brushwork, one can see a sensitivity and lightness of touch that McCahon’s more heavily rendered oil paintings rarely possess. For some, the work will conjure the skies and shoreline of Otago, the stark and bittersweet entanglement of beauty and isolation native to the South Pacific. For others, it will speak to the intellectual substance interwoven in the very fabric of Modernist painting. Whichever the case, North Otago is a collector’s unicorn. It is instantly recognisable as the work of our most distinctive and influential artist, but at the same time it is an unknown quantity, a new world. Figuratively speaking, it is a McCahon that everybody recognises though no one has seen before. When it comes to Kauri Bush, Titirangi, a small but exquisite watercolour from 1953, a similar dynamic exists for the viewer. Again, one has to suspend the mana of the artist to see the work. It is a relatively early painting, made by the artist in his mid-thirties, and so it is not quite so distinctively of the McCahon aesthetic; nevertheless, its makers touches are undeniable. It is a ‘McCahon’, and that can so easily cloud one’s perceptual interpretation. But the joy of this work is in really looking, seeing past the artist to the artwork, and revelling in the details.

Landscape theme and variations (series B), Colin McCahon, 1963, oil on canvas 1765 x 7225mm Collection of Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington. Webb's

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47 Colin McCahon Landscape Theme and Variations (H) c1963 oil on jute 1770 × 830mm est $300,000 — $500,000 Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from Important Painting & Contemporary Art, Webb's, Auckland, 29 November 2016, lot 26. Exhibitions 1963 McCahon: Landscape Theme with Variations, Ikon Gallery, Auckland, 14 May 1963 - 31 May 1963. Note Colin McCahon Online Catalogue (www.mccahon.co.nz) number: CM001101. Webb's

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47 Colin McCahon Landscape Theme and Variations (H) c1963 oil on jute 1770 × 830mm est $300,000 — $500,000

48 Toss Woollaston Untitled - Two Women, Wellington 1962 ink on paper signed TW and dated 14.10.62 in ink in lower edge 260 × 365mm

49 Toss Woollaston untitled ink on paper signed TW in ink in lower right 200 × 180mm

est $2,500 — $3,500

est $1,500 — $2,500

Provenance Private collection, Manawatu. Passed by bequest c2000; private collection, Manwatu. Acquired directly from the artist.

Provenance Private collection, Manawatu. Gifted by Helena Marple, c1990s; collection of Helene Marple (the sitter). Acquired directly from the artist.

Webb's

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Grahame Sydney – Three Works The artist, interviewed by JULIAN MCKINNON

Grahame Sydney, Storm on the Hawkduns II

Grahame Sydney’s paintings are much loved and have been sought after by collectors for decades. He is particularly well known for his highly detailed renderings of the starkly beautiful Central Otago landscape. Some of his works speak simply to the power of nature in landscape; some focus on rural existence, and the human structures that exist in the vastness of the environment; yet others feature a gentler, more human touch in the form of portraiture. Altogether, Sydney’s paintings are among the most detailed and technically skilled by any New Zealand painter. Webb's

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Hawkdun Moon (2004) addresses the central Otago landscape, as much of your work does. There’s something almost overpowering about the natural environment in this country, and your paintings capture that wonderfully. I understand that you have a view of the Hawkdun Range from where you live, so it features strongly in your day-today experience. This is drawn from the terrace of my house here at Cambrian Valley, as are many of my paintings over the years. The house was built for me in 1999/2000 on a site which allows me to watch the Hawkdun Range and Mount St Bathans in their daily and seasonal changes of light and mood. Their proximity is the major reason for me building on this land. It’s an ever-changing widescreen backdrop to our days here and I never tire of it, nor does it ever cease to be inspiring. My landscapes have become more and more descriptors and confessions of my feelings of belonging to this Central Otago landscape, a sense I've recognised since my first boyhood experiences in this "foreign country" away from the damp, grey and breezy Dunedin coast where I grew up. Now the older I get the less I feel the need to travel far to find themes and subject matter - my world is getting smaller but richer, and in the last few years I'm aware my paintings are all derived from close-to-home sources. What is it which appeals so much about this empty, semi-arid inland territory? That's not something easily put into words, far more easily revealed in the paintings.

50 Grahame Sydney Hawkdun Moon 2004 oil on canvas signed Grahame Sydney, dated 2004 and inscribed For Michael King in bushpoint lower left 500 × 550mm est

$60,000 — $80,000

That appeal is universal, I think. Though in some ways it’s also very personal, and paintings can also be personal things. My paintings are first and foremost personal things, made for noone else but me; made for my own satisfaction and pleasure with no thought whatsoever for others. The life they have beyond me is the life all paintings assume – whatever anyone wants to make of them, and is of no concern to me at all. Of course, the personal can perform a universal function, and that's one of the miracles of art. I gifted this small oil to my friend, the wonderful historian and writer Michael King during his brave battle with cancer. I offered it as a token of appreciation and hope, and inscribed it to him accordingly. His cancer did miraculously dissolve, but soon after that thrilling news of his unexpected remission, he and his wife died in a car accident. That was a real tragedy, and a loss for the entire country. Though even more so for those who knew him, I imagine. I have a picture of him looking at the painting on his study wall. It’s a photograph I value very much, of a wonderful man who left a great legacy for New Zealand culture. Looking at Fats (1972) , I wonder if it is a reflection on the passage of time. I think of the different scales of human and geological timeframes, and how human structures are fleeting. The building here is one of the early colonial board-and-batten farm sheds built on the steep slope behind Larnach's Castle on the Otago Peninsula, on Larnach's original farm. It was painted during my second (and last) year of secondary school teaching, one of many works I did on the peninsula at that time. Built of timbers likely pit-sawn on the property as the colonial settlers cleared native bush from the hills, the buildings were no longer in use, unseen by most, and slowly being claimed by rot and rain. At some distant time a shearer had written his daily tallies on the exterior boards, hence the title Fats (a shearer’s term for sheep of a particular age). The numbers can be seen on the panels to the left of the window. I used to love exploring these deserted places, and I did several paintings here - most notably Downpipe (egg tempera, 1970) and Midwinter at Miss Nyhon's (egg tempera, 1974), both works which considerably assisted my early professional career.

New Zealand historian Michael King with Hawkdun Moon, photograph by Grahame Sydney, 2004. Webb's

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This painting was shown in my first ever solo show – at Moray Gallery in Dunedin in November 1972 – just before I left for London. I believe the buyer from then has kept it ever since. The show sold out, so I left for UK with my tail up, and feeling like I could paint as a way to survive. On arrival in London, I learned almost instantly that I was making a mistake. I belonged in New Zealand, particularly in the South. I used to dream of Central Otago and home. The second lesson then was through exposure to the great galleries and great paintings. When you see them in reality, not small scale on a printed book page, you realise they've been done by another human, not a God. You can watch the decisions being made and that human hand at work. It transcends time and history, and is immensely inspiring - and so encouraging.

51 Grahame Sydney Drying Hair 1988 oil on linen signed Grahame Sydney and dated 1988 in brushpoint lower right 300 × 300mm est

The human body in all its temporal frailty contrasts with the immutability of the land. I’m intrigued by the way these subjects interrelate – the human body being our only means of experiencing the environment. Do you see these themes as connected, or are they simply different ways of working with paint? When my father died slowly of bone cancer in the mid-1980s I made the deliberate decision to focus at least some of my time on the long history of the female nude, hoping I could find a way to add something of my own to that noble and difficult tradition, and to emphasise the beauty I so much appreciated there. Having witnessed the sad, inexorable decline of my father's physical state, watching that helplessly, I was – and still am – determined to make something of the natural, classical purity of that human form. Dad’s death drove me directly to a whole series of figurative paintings, because I wanted to celebrate how beautiful healthy life can be. This work was part of that series. The challenge of finding my own way within the tradition of the nude, adding something of my own character, experience and time, continues to stimulate me today. While my figure studies are unknown to many, to me they are major challenges, matters of pride and distinction; it remains a matter of interest that in New Zealand the human form is so absent from the painted heritage. I'm aware of the heightened sensitivity surrounding the nude in some quarters, the male gaze and other political overtones etc, but I see these images within a great tradition, working from a position of the greatest respect, and only with models who understand the process and are keen to be in the paintings. It’s a partnership, and I can't paint anyone I don't care about. When my wife poses for me the paintings become my permanent love letters to her, and I give those works to her as testament of my admiration - my feelings for her will live forever in the paintings. Drying Hair was posed by a wonderful model who contributed to several paintings in the later 1980s; I felt very fortunate to have her to work with. It takes stubbornness to survive as an artist, and keeping an ear to the audience is fatal. Art comes from instinctive voices within. It’s a sad thing when painters are driven by an audience. I don’t believe in that. I work on impulse. I never take for granted that the market will be there, but that said, I care a great deal about the long run, history, and my place within it. As an artist you have to keep working, pleasing only yourself and imposing your own standards. Last year I returned to the classical theme of the nude, and to egg tempera. I look forward immensely to far more figure studies this year and next, giving that permanent form to the simplest and most natural beauty.

$35,000 — $45,000

52 Grahame Sydney Fats 1972 oil on panel signed Grahame C Sydney and dated 1972 in brushpoint lower left 600 × 350mm est Webb's

$60,000 — $80,000 2021

50 Grahame Sydney Hawkdun Moon 2004 oil on canvas signed Grahame Sydney, dated 2004 and inscribed For Michael King in bushpoint lower left 500 × 550mm est $60,000 — $80,000 Provenance Private collection, Waikato. Acquired from Important Modern & Contemporary Paintings & Sculpture, Webb's, Auckland, 2 April 2007, lot 24. Webb's

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51 Grahame Sydney Drying Hair 1988 oil on linen signed Grahame Sydney and dated 1988 in brushpoint lower right 300 × 300mm est $35,000 — $45,000 Provenance Private collection, Wānaka. Acquired Dunedin, 1988. Webb's

2021

52 Grahame Sydney Fats 1972 oil on panel signed Grahame C Sydney and dated 1972 in brushpoint lower left 600 × 350mm est $60,000 — $80,000 Provenance Private collection, Dunedin. Passed by bequest. Acquired from Moray Gallery, Dunedin, 1972. Exhibitions Grahame Sydney: Recent Paintings, Moray Gallery, Dunedin, 1972. Note This work is also accompanied by two preliminary graphite studies for the painting. Webb's

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52a Grahame Sydney Study for Fats 1970 graphite on paper, signed G Sydney and dated 12 Dec 70 in graphite lower right, 345 ×245mm

52b Grahame Sydney Study for Fats 1970 graphite on paper, signed G Sydney and dated 12 Dec 70 in graphite lower right, 345 ×245mm

Webb's

2021

Andrew McLeod – untitled Essay by BILLY DAVIS Andrew McLeod’s fantastical paintings often reference the history of art, especially renaissance era religious painting. At other times, he engages more of a pop cultural, contemporary surrealist lexicon. This untitled oil painting on canvas from 2008 fits more into the latter category. It is a detailed figurative painting which shows a world of McLeod’s own imagining, riffing on an invented visual culture drawn from fantasy. The composition is dominated by the central tree and the rainbow that passes over it. Houses and a rudimentary structure formed by logs give the work a reference to architecture, as do stacks of geometric objects in the corners of the image. There are stairways, a cut apple, wheat and a bird resting in a nest. A nude woman draped over a black deer, a piece of rope, a tiny figure, can be seen stepping up on one of the bones that run across the top of the image like a heraldic banner – what do these images mean? To view the work is to engage with its internal iconography, its strange but satisfying collision of visual ideas. One could delve into dreamlike interpretations of this imagery; its symbolism is more intelligible in a hallucinatory reading than by standard narrative interpretation. It is a benign if bewildering mix of imagery – a surprising dream, though not a nightmare. Consistent with many of McLeod’s works of this nature, the viewer encounters a complex weave of images and motifs that may have an occult or otherworldly reading, though they are not conjurations of darkness. Perhaps another way of reading this work could be via the endless mashup of imagery offered by the internet. The memes, image sharing sites, and visual games of the online world sees images piled up in such a way that one might need a new language to describe it; it is an imagery of everything-allat-once. But McLeod’s image craft is more sophisticated than the endless permutations of internet play. Informed by the back catalogue of Western art history, McLeod offers the viewer some of the playfulness and zeitgeist of the internet, but also the skill of a master painter who knows his craft inside and out. Writer and cultural critic Andrew Paul Wood has written, “McLeod is a painter of visions and wonders drawn from imagination, art history (particularly illustration and graphic design) and autobiography. From these he creates surreal bricolages of the strange and unexpected, which, nonetheless, always conform to a logic that makes sense to the artist in the ambiguous space he has created for them.” McLeod has enjoyed many years of recognition as a leading New Zealand painter. He won the National Drawing Award in 2004, the McCahon House Artists’ Residency in 2007 and in 2010, was awarded a New Zealand Arts Foundation Award for Patronage Donation from Gus and Irene Fisher. His work is held in several significant collections including Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, The James Wallace Arts Trust, Te Papa Tongarewa, The University of Auckland and the National Gallery of Victoria.

Consistent with many of McLeod’s works of this nature, the viewer encounters a complex weave of images and motifs that may have an occult or otherworldly reading, though they are not conjurations of darkness. Webb's

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53 Andrew McLeod untitled 2008 oil on canvas signed Andrew McLeod and dated 2008 in brushpoint lower right 1215 × 1365mm est $45,000 — $55,000 Provenance Private collection. Webb's

2021

Séraphine Pick – High Rise Essay by SAMANTHA TAYLOR

The one unifying strand that is a constant throughout Pick’s oeuvre is her works honest connection to self. Although her works have morphed and changed over her years as a painter, they have always held an intrinsic connection to their maker. Shifting and growing with the passing of time. Séraphine Pick was born in Kawakawa, a small town and early settlement in the Bay of Islands, in 1964. She studied at Ilam School of Fine arts in Christchurch and has often been grouped together with other painting giants and graduates from the school, Shane Cotton, Tony de Lautour, Saskia Leek and Bill Hammond under the moniker of the ‘Pencil case Painters’. The 90s were a kickstart to Pick’s success as an artist with her winning the Olivia Spencer Bower Award in 1994 and going on to receive the Rita Angus Residency in 1995. Curator Felicity Milburn discussed Pick’s work from this time, saying, “One of the first things that hits you about the paintings Pick produced during her year as the Rita Angus artist-in-residence in 1995 is how full of things they are: baths, dresses, more of those beds and kitchen colanders, and containers of almost every kind imaginable.”¹ It is around this time that Pick turned to painting full time and created the magnificently intricate High Rise (1995). The work is an impressive scale for a portrait orientation piece, hanging just over two metres tall. At first, a viewer is taken by the contrastingly bright structure in the foreground, an impressively high tower built from shoe boxes. Such boxes are often used to contain not only shoes but memories, letters or secrets. One can only ponder the contents of the foundations for this building. They seem to contain a deep meaning that is not necessarily intended for the viewer; it is closed and hidden away as though we see a glimpse of the artists own musing on her inner thoughts. These stacks sit within the legs of an elegant table and atop of a precariously placed chair. A delicate balancing act, the structure seems temporal and unstable. At the summit is another vessel a small toolbox or lunch pail. It sits, as the cherry on top, an adornment to this magnificent, layered structure. A pink high heel sits solitary at the top of the first floor of the structure, without its matching partner this item seems to allude to the idea of a partnership or lack thereof. As we look to the background, we see several of the items that are common signifiers of this period for Pick, colanders, Webb's

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cheese graters and tea pots among a few of the domestic and familiar items that stand out against the deep tones of the background. A 1950s styled dress, also an often-used motif of the time for the artist, paired with common household items nods to the illusion of the domestic goddess of that era. Deeper into the background, two figures are depicted in various positions of intimate entanglement. Etched into the dark paint, they are delicate and mysterious. Sometimes only partially portrayed, the intimacy of these moments is given a certain respect, their privacy maintained. High Rise is layered with signifiers that are not perhaps intended to convey meaning to an audience, but more the artists own personal and private symbolism that leads the viewer to draw their own conclusions and meaning from the work. The one unifying strand that is a constant throughout Pick’s oeuvre is her works honest connection to self. Although her works have morphed and changed over her years as a painter, they have always held an intrinsic connection to their maker. Shifting and growing with the passing of time. Lara Strongman, another leading curator, had this to say: “As public stagings of the private self, Pick’s works visualise the frequently surreal and uncanny defences the unconscious invents to protect itself.”² Her inner working laid bare but not entirely shared with the viewer, a mystery that we unpack based on what each of us bring before her works.

1 Milburn, Felicity, “Tell Me More,” in Seraphine Pick, (Christchurch: Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna ō Waiwhetū, 2009), 13. 2 Strongman, Lara, “Absence of Gravity”, in Seraphine Pick, (Christchurch: Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna ō Waiwhetū, 2009), 33. 82

54 Séraphine Pick High Rise 1995 oil on canvas signed Séraphine Pick and dated 95 in graphite verso est $50,000 — $70,000 Provenance Acquired from Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington. Exhibitions Séraphine Pick: In the Flesh, Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington, October 1995; Drift North McDougall Art Annex, Christchurch, 22 June – 21 July 1996; Still Life, Hawkes Bay Museum, Napier, 31 July – 5 September 1999; Alive! Still life into the twenty-first century Adam Art Gallery, Wellington, 27 February –29 April 2001; Séraphine Pick, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna ō Waiwhetu, Christchurch 23 July – 22 November 2009, City Gallery Te Whare Toi, Wellington, 19 February – 16 May 2010. Literature Felicity Milburn, Lara Strongman et al., Séraphine Pick (Christchurch: Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, 2009), 28, 51; FLASH ART Vol. XXVIII No 185 Nov-Dec 1995, 138. Webb's

2021

Tony Fomison – Blue Self Portrait Essay by MEGAN SHAW On the 14th of May 1977, Mark Adams photographed Tony Fomison at work in his Ponsonby studio. The long-haired artist is pictured in side-profile painting left handed on a semicircular board. On the left of the photograph at the same height as Fomison himself is a shelf – the second highest in the room. In this recess, we at first see the artist’s distinctive reflection in a mirror, but it is not a mirror at all. Jutting out over its shelf space sits Fomison’s Blue Self Portrait, then unframed, painted two months earlier between the 1st and 2nd of March. Both the photograph and the self-portrait in studio “record the life, and the study… they record [Fomison] studying himself.”¹ A fascination with faces and ethnology populates Fomison’s art with profiles from mythology, film, history, photography and copies from art history. However, his face, painted with an almost obsessive, searching honesty here, features less frequently in his oeuvre.² Blue Self Portrait is instantly recognisable, drawing on the long tradition of the artist as subject. In his logbook entry for this work Fomison wrote “#174 shows an attempt at the self-portrait as artist type.”³ The engagement of his own body and sight in the process of selfrepresentation is distinct in the fact of the artist’s corporeality, not a sitter but a moving subject. Fomison believed that “painting is a communication in the same way that dreams are a communication.”⁴ The artist is a narrator, sometimes biographer, and always a transmitter of ideas. The ghosting illusory quality of this work suggests he is possessed or perhaps dispossessed. Are we awake or dreaming? Is he? Are we awake enough to see what he shows us? Or can we only see him because we too are dreaming? His glance is full of an emotion that is difficult to ascertain. The face in Blue Self Portrait commands more space than it has been given, the constriction adding to the intensity contained within. The thick furrowed eyebrow extends into his deep nasolabial fold – evidence of smiling that is not active here. The seemingly impromptu work is hazy and dark, his direct gaze muffled by a grey swathe over his left eye. The tired eyes are half focused and half unfocused, brought alert by sudden viewing. The haze is enhanced by the quick, ‘brushy,’ hairy outlines, reminiscent of his earlier werewolf pictures. Many of his portraits and caricatures imitate the form of a convex mirror, distorting the nose so as to peer out of a bubble, periscope or window, suggesting entrapment.⁵ The cliché of the self-portrait as a window into the soul or mind is explored more literally in his frequently exhibited Self portrait (1977, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki) which followed the precedent of this work. In the 1960s, Fomison joined a street gang of pavement chalk drawers in Paris reproducing works including ‘blue period’ Picasso’s. This came to an abrupt end with an arrest and sentence of three weeks in La Santé prison for vagrancy.⁶ Blue Self Portrait is the first of Fomison’s portraits from his own ‘blue period’ where he began his paintings with “the risky favour of using colour right from the start” rather than black “tube-given” underpainting.⁷ By September 1977 he had finalised the decision born by the experimentation of March’s seminal Blue Self Portrait, his logbook recording “I wanted a cold blue-y colour… I’ve decided that I shouldn’t use strong colours in brushey ptgs (ie portraits & self portraits, sketches, etc)…”⁸ This work embodies his emotional use of colour as communication. Blue Self Portrait entered the collection of Jens Hansen between 1978 and 1979. Hansen exhibited regularly at Auckland’s New Vision Gallery and his Nelson home and jewellers’ workshop had been a hub for the South Island arts community, including Fomison. Blue Self Portrait was exhibited in the 1979 Fomison Survey at the Dowse Art Gallery and the Suter Art Gallery Collectors’ Exhibition in 1981.

Marti Friedlander, Tony Fomison, painter, 1978, gelatin silver print. Tony Fomison with Self portrait, 1977, collection of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.

Studio at Gunson Street, Ponsonby 14 May 1977, Mark Adams, 1977, gelatin silver print. Collection of Te Papa Tongawera.

1 Ian Wedde, “Tracing Tony Fomison,” in Fomison: What Shall We Tell Them? ed. Ian Wedde (Wellington: City Gallery, 1994), 12. 2 Natasha Conland, “Telling Pictures: Narrative and Tony Fomison” (MA thesis, The University of Auckland, 1998), 19. 3 Unpublished Logbook notes, #174, 1-2/03/77 quoted in Conland, 2,21. 4

Manurewa Newsreel #718.

5 Marianna Torgovnick, “‘The Blood is One Blood’: D H Lawrence and Tony Fomison,” in Wedde, Fomison, 57. 6 Dowse Art Gallery, Tony Fomison: A Survey of His Painting and Drawing from 1961 to 1979. (Lower Hutt: Dowse Art Gallery, 1979), 5. 7

ibid., 16.

8 Logbook page for #196, reproduced in Wedde, Fomison, 62. Webb's

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55 Tony Fomison Blue Self Portrait 1977 oil on canvas signed Fomison, dated March 1977 and inscribed #174 Blue Self Portrait in ink verso 224 × 332mm est $100,000 — $150,000 Provenance Private collection, Nelson. Passed by bequest c1999; collection of Jens Hansen, Auckland. Acquired from Elva Bett Gallery, Wellington c1980. Webb's

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Exhibitions Tony Fomison; a survey of his painting and drawing from 1961 to 1979, Dowse Art Gallery, Wellington, 15 October – 18 November 1979; The Self: An Exhibition of Self-Portraits, City Gallery Wellington, Wellington, 18 September – 22 October 1986. 85

Matt Hunt – SEEING ALL OF TOMORROW Essay by VICTORIA MUNN Matt Hunt’s SEEING ALL OF TOMORROW offers the viewer a visual feast, with an intriguing cast of unearthly creatures, familiar imagery and nonsensical forms. From the bottom right of the composition extends a concrete plank, upon which stands an archetypal businessman. Before him are two worlds, ‘dimensions of the forever fate,’ representing good and evil or, considering the prevalence of biblical imagery in Hunt’s work, heaven and hell. In SEEING ALL OF TOMORROW, the eye is drawn to Christ, central in the composition, surrounded by organic lemon-yellow forms, his arm outstretched, and head crowned with a glowing halo. He reappears in the top left-hand corner, on a purple crucifix, though here his stone-like body exhibits no signs of life. Hunt’s personal beliefs play a crucial role in his practice. The artist describes himself as a born-again Christian, and links his conversion to Christianity, aged 27, to a new phase in his career, where apocalyptic, existential and purgatorial themes unite with pop culture and imagery from contemporary society.¹

Hunt’s practice often considers thresholds, whether between life and death, heaven and hell, possibility and impossibility or reality and imagination. Certainly, though SEEING ALL OF TOMORROW presents an apocalypticlike world, the viewer is also presented with familiar objects from contemporary life. In the colourful landscape stretching across from the left foreground, one finds quintessential utopian forms including an idyllic pond complete with waterfall and moss-covered boulders. A winged canine sits atop a conveyor belt, surrounded by abundant and varied flora. Tigers lie lazily atop architectural structures, accompanied by wry speech bubbles. Conversely, in the other half of Hunt’s composition, the eye encounters fiery pits with jagged rocks, which immediately recall the chaotic scenes of Hieronymus Bosch. We see piles of snakes and skulls, cyborg forms filling the sky, a weta-like insect cowering over a helpless human, and menacing, muscly, reptilesque figures. This rich iconography and imagery are presented in a landscape dominated by biomorphic forms that echo those of veristic surrealists. The impressive scale of SEEING ALL OF TOMORROW helps to draw the viewer into Hunt’s realm. Hunt increased his scale following his emotional encounters with large-scale artworks in museums and galleries in the United States and Europe. Upon his return to New Zealand, Hunt’s compositions increased in size, and with this monumentality Hunt ‘found that another whole dialogue started.’² Hunt’s practice often considers thresholds, whether between life and death, heaven and hell, possibility and impossibility or reality and imagination. Certainly, though SEEING ALL OF TOMORROW presents an apocalyptic-like world, the viewer is also presented with familiar objects from contemporary life. Science fiction film and video game imagery play recurring roles in Hunt’s oeuvre. Hunt collects objects from his childhood, such as toys and objects from cultural phenomena like Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica. Along with their nostalgic appeal, Hunt’s collected items form a bank of imagery for him to draw upon in his paintings and, though they are personal to Hunt, they are also recognisable for the viewer. Though the arena Hunt presents in SEEING ALL OF TOMORROW sits outside of our parameters of reality, it is not completely foreign or alien. Lured by a compelling mix of familiar imagery and fantastical scenes rendered with an impressive level of detail, the viewer cannot help but be drawn into Hunt’s world.

1 Paul McCredie, “Parallel Universe” in HOME New Zealand, February/March 2011, 42. 2 “Chairman of the cardboard” in Dominion Post 3 June 2010, 15. Webb's

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54 Séraphine Pick High Rise 1995 oil on canvas signed Séraphine Pick and dated 95 in graphite verso est $50,000 — $70,000 Provenance Acquired from Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington.

56 Matt Hunt SEEING ALL OF TOMORROW 2012 oil on canvas signed M Hunt and dated 2012 AD in brushpoint upper right; inscribed SEEING ALL OF TOMORROW in brushpoint upper left 1800 × 3000mm est $45,000 — $55,000 Provenance Private collection, Wellington. Acquired from McLeavey Gallery, Wellington. Webb's

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Exhibitions Solo 2012: Four Wellington Artists, Dowse Art Museum, Wellington, 12 May - 19 August 2012. 87

2021

Doris Lusk – Imagined Projects III, Dam with Lake Essay by VICTORIA MUNN

The Imagined Projects unite landscapes and imagined hydro and factory structures, and Lusk’s interest in these industrial sites is both pictorial and contemplative. Reflecting on her career, Lusk wrote that she ‘tried to get to the heart of the matter, involved with the complexity rather than simplicity in describing the nature of our land.’ Having retired after over fifteen years of lecturing at University of Canterbury’s School of Fine Arts, in 1983 Doris Lusk (1916-1990) undertook her series of Imagined Projects & Imagined Views. Exhibited in 1984 at the Louise Beale Gallery in Wellington, Lusk’s seven Imagined Projects rendered in acrylic on canvas, continue the exploration of the relationship between industry and land threaded throughout her oeuvre. The Imagined Projects unite landscapes and imagined hydro and factory structures, and Lusk’s interest in these industrial sites is both pictorial and contemplative. Reflecting on her career, Lusk wrote that she ‘tried to get to the heart of the matter, involved with the complexity rather than simplicity in describing the nature of our land.’¹ Imagined Projects III, Dam with Lake, for example, considers the visual effect of the manmade dam in the natural landscape. The geometrical concrete structure sits in contrast to undulating hills, the strong outlines and pale tones of the dam pop out from the earthy landscape. Lusk’s artistic approach does not fuse built and natural environments, but rather juxtaposes them, to explore complex ideas about the tension between industry and nature, and human extraction of natural resources. The architectural structures present in Lusk’s series of Imagined Projects recall those of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, the eighteenth-century Roman artist who depicted both extant classical architecture and imagined edifices. Lusk outlined her appreciation of the ‘monstrous structures and exaggeration of built structures’ encountered in Piranesi’s engravings.² But where the gargantuan scale of Piranesi’s structures is often emphasised by the artist’s inclusion of comparatively tiny figures, Lusk’s Imagined Projects are void of human forms. Instead, human presence is felt through the man-made edifices’ imposition on the land. Webb's

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The Imagined Projects were not the first instance in which Lusk included hydro structures in her artworks. Anne McCahon (née Hamblett) (1915-1993) remembers Lusk’s fascination during their time together at King Edward Technical College: “Doris always did a different sort of thing,” she explained. “Buildings and water stations…She liked doing big water pipes and machines.”³ Previously, though, Lusk had opted to depict specific New Zealand sites, including a hydro-electric structure at Lake Waikaremoana in the late 1940s, along with a series dedicated to Canterbury’s Benmore Dam in 1974. In her Imagined Projects, Lusk takes a leaf from Piranesi’s book, inventing dominating structures which, though retaining a practical function, also exude an impressive monumentality similar to that of classical ruins. Lusk was in strong command of her artistic licence and, in a 1987 Kaleidoscope interview, explained that she never approached her subjects with complete realism. “The landscape,” she remarked, “had to be controlled, restructured, composed into pictorial space.”⁴ 1 Doris Lusk, C.S.A. News, no. 46, November/ December 1972, n.p. 2 Brett Riley, ‘Geometry in Landscapes’, New Zealand Listener, July 5-11 1986, 34. 3 Anne McCahon, interview with Lisa Beaven, 12 February 1987. Quoted in Lisa Beaven and Grant Banbury, Landmarks: The Lansdcape Paintings of Doris Lusk (Christchurch: Robert McDougall Art Gallery, 1996), 18. 4 ‘Attitudes Towards Landscape’, Kaleidoscope, 1987. Available at https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/ kaleidoscope-attitudes-towards-landscape-1987/overview. 88

57 Doris Lusk Imagined Projects III, Dam with Lake 1983 acrylic, graphite and coloured pencil on canvas signed D. LUSK and dated '83 in brushpoint lower left; signed D. LUSK, dated 83 and inscribed IMAGINED PROJECTS III "DAM WITH LAKE"/ACRYLIC ON CANVAS in ink verso 515 × 910mm est $35,000 — $45,000 Provenance Private collection, Wellington. Acquired from Louise Beale Gallery, Wellington, 1984. Webb's

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Exhibitions Doris Lusk: Imagined Projects & Imagined Views, Louise Beale Gallery, Wellington, 1984; Landmarks: The Landscape Paintings of Doris Lusk, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch, 6 April - 9 June 1996. Literature Grant Banbury and Lisa Beaven, Landmarks: The Landscape Paintings of Doris Lusk (Christchurch: Robert McDougall Art Gallery, 1996), 30, 49, 116, 124. 89

Bill Hammond – Limbo Bay Essay by BILLY DAVIS At this time, so soon after his passing, it is impossible to write about the great W.D. Hammond without acknowledging the sadness of this time for those who knew and cherished him. For those of us who did not know him personally, but had met him through his work, there is also a sense of loss. Hammond was unquestionably one of New Zealand’s greatest ever painters. His work has captivated and delighted many who have encountered it, adding a key ingredient to the still-evolving artistic identity of Aotearoa. Hammond’s distinctive bird figures, and the unique vision they represent, are familiar to many art lovers. For those yet to encounter them, a fascinating catalogue of intrigue and delight awaits. While Hammond’s earlier works show the development of his visual language, and are excellent works in their own right, it is the humanoid bird figure paintings which he is best known for. Limbo Bay is from the era when Hammond’s work really came into its own, the early 2000s. At this stage, the bird figure motifs were well established, and ever-present in his work – their otherworldly grace adorning the canvasses and paper that flowed from his studio. One gets the sense in Limbo Bay that Hammond was at ease with what he had created in the bird form. So much so that the figures in the painting seem like pieces moved at will across the board, configured to suit the compositional games the master painter played with his own skill. In some instances, there are arrangements of figures that recurred in a number of Hammond’s works – the pattern of hunched over forms that set up a receding line in the image plane being an example. In that sense, and in the distinctive nature of the bird figures themselves, this is an archetypal Hammond painting. Limbo Bay, however, also offers some standalone features that distinguish it. Some of these figures are mere apparitions, silhouettes that outline figures though do not offer detail. In contrast, the prominent foreground bird head is detailed and defined. This of course is a deliberate act on behalf of the painter, drawing the viewers’ attention, and focussing it on the specific detail of the large and prominent figure. What might the painter want us to see? This bird is separate from the others, both in detail and in depth of picture plane. Though it is also linked to the others around it. Perhaps it could be interpreted as still living bird in the company of spirits of its departed kin. Such an interpretation is fanciful of course, it could be read any number of ways. Part of the beauty of Hammond’s paintings is their mystique, and the interpretive space this creates for the viewer. As discussed, there is a level on which this painting is a configuration of forms, an experiment in composition. In that sense, it might be related to the work of Richard Killeen, and his endlessly configurable glyph assemblages. But Hammond’s work is his own. It does not need the contextual reading of his peers to be recognised and understood as work by one of New Zealand’s greats. Though Hammond’s passing brings sadness, it is also a time to celebrate the remarkable legacy he leaves.

One gets the sense in Limbo Bay that Hammond was at ease with what he had created in the bird form. So much so that the figures in the painting seem like pieces moved at will across the board, configured to suit the compositional games the master painter played with his own skill. Webb's

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58 Bill Hammond Limbo Bay 2001 acrylic and graphite on marbled card signed W D Hammond and dated 2001 in brushpoint upper right 700 × 1000mm est $70,000 — $120,000 Provenance Private collection, Queenstown. Webb's

2021

Peter McIntyre – Portrait of Woman with Aloe Essay by NEIL TALBOT

McIntyre was ever the painter; he continued working in traditional media of watercolour and oil throughout. For all this, one can see subtle innovation in much of his work, in the gestural moments within the virtuoso classical demonstration of technique. Perhaps Peter McIntyre is best known for his wartime paintings. As New Zealand’s official war artist during the Second World War, McIntyre painted unforgettable images. His battle paintings of Crete and Monte Cassino captured the drama and chaos of war and brought it life. His portraits of soldiers rendered visible the courage and poise of young men facing the peril of conflict. Some of these images were widely reproduced in news and educational publications, making McIntyre well known to many New Zealand households in the 1950s. Post-war, McIntyre continued to work prolifically in both landscape and portraiture. As modernist tendencies began to develop, McIntyre stayed true to his romanticist roots, largely unswayed by a cultural trajectory that was moving away from the traditions of painting he had studied at London’s Slade School of Fine Art in the early 1930s. Classical draughtsmanship was emphasised at the Slade, and this training is evident throughout McIntyre’s career output. Portrait of Woman with Aloe shows a Māori woman standing in a field. Grey hair peeks from beneath a bonnet, showing the woman is an elder. She is dressed in striking blue and white, contrasting with the leaden grey sky above, and holding a small aloe plant in her hand. A rustic farm house is set against a small grove of trees in the distance behind her. McIntyre’s classical skill with paint is evident, though some of the gestural qualities en vogue within painting of the time are also on show; in the pasture, there is a delightful looseness to the paintwork. The work could well lend itself to a number of readings and historic perspectives, though it is easily appreciated as a work of expressive portraiture that shows the lifetime learnings of a distinguished painter. Further, the painting cleverly interweaves McIntyre’s skill in landscape painting. The figure dominates the majority of the canvas, yet the field, building and trees in the backdrop manage to hold their own. Adding just enough visual information to convey to the eye the essentials of landscape image, they are subdued yet persuasive. Webb's

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McIntyre was ever the painter; he continued working in traditional media of watercolour and oil throughout. For all this, one can see subtle innovation in much of his work, in the gestural moments within the virtuoso classical demonstration of technique. The work is medium-specific, painting for the love of painting, though delicately considered and inventive. One can perhaps relate this to his familial background. McIntyre grew up in Dunedin, and his artistic inclinations were no doubt influenced by his artisan father who was the founder of a successful lithographic printworks the Caxton Printing Company. This artisanal background, coupled with McIntyre’s classical training ensured McIntyre’s technical finesse was both multifaceted and well-grounded in image-craft. McIntyre’s extensive travel, both in wartime and times of peace, left a legacy of artistic documentation, detailing travels in Europe, North Africa, New Zealand, and later Asia, the Pacific and the American West. What can all of this tell us about this one delicate portrait painting? In the contrasting paintwork, dominated by the foreground figure in its striking ultramarine dress, one could read stories of a life lived through paint. But there are two life stories being told here, the life of the figure portrayed, and the life of the artist who painted it. McIntyre enjoyed recognition and popularity during his lifetime, though his work perhaps became less fashionable in its later stages, with the rise of abstract painting, pop art, and other modes of practice. In recent years, however, collectors with an eye for virtuoso skill and timeless elegance have begun to rediscover his paintings. McIntyre is in demand for those who love painting, and those who love its craft. For those who also enjoy the rich history this master painter brings to the work, of war and peace, changing times in New Zealand and abroad, it is the complete package.

59 Peter McIntyre Portrait of Woman with Aloe c1960s - 70s oil on board signed PETER MCINTYRE in brushpoint lower right 580 × 485mm est $85,000 — $125,000 Provenance Private collection, Wellington. Acquired in Featherston, c2004. Webb's

2021

Milan Mrkusich – Two Areas Blue Essay by VICTORIA MUNN

In 1985, Mrkusich explained that he did not consider his use of colour to be a conscious choice; “I do not choose my colour. Colour is not mine alone. Colour just exists. Achromatic and chromatic colours are material facts.” Two Areas Blue exemplifies the ‘area’ paintings produced by Milan Mrkusich (1925-2018) in the early 1980s. Though the series marks a specific point in the artist’s artistic development and oeuvre, Two Areas Blue is also representative of Mrkusich’s consistent exploration of colour, fused with considerations of form, surface and scale. By the 1980s, Mrkusich had long abandoned figurative paintings, and embraced geometry and abstraction. Two Areas Blue is formed by two amorphous rectangular panels, made of a compressed wood fibre board, mounted together on a wooden support. This joining of the two customwood panels is seamless, discernible only by close observation. The adjacent panels in Mrkusich’s area paintings position colours edge to edge, and accordingly they have been romantically interpreted as stories of colour: like words on a page, or pages in a book, the viewer goes from one panel to the next, experiencing the colour and reading the painting.¹ With two differing blue tones, in Two Areas Blue Mrkusich opts for tonal progression between the two panels, rather than the juxtaposition of two contrasting colours demonstrated by other works in the series. But while the artwork embraces variation of colour, the paint and surface density are impressively consistent across the two panels. Having applied the ground, Mrkusich worked thoughtfully, patiently applying various thin layers of paint all over the surface to play with the resulting colours. Using paint rollers allowed him to achieve greater control and consistent surface texture. This even paint application ensures one panel is not emphasised over another, allowing the fields of colour to speak for themselves, compete with one another for the viewer’s eye. In 1985, Peter Leech perceptively likened Mrkusich’s layers of acrylic paint to taut skin - smoothly covering the panel’s surface and lacking a heavy opacity.² Despite this assiduously steady surface, the painting is not static. The hazy speckled pattern across the two panels results in a slight oscillation, imbuing the composition with life and movement. This liveliness, and different perceptions of tone, are also engendered by changes in light, the artwork’s placement, and the viewer’s position. Mrkusich may have approached new artworks with a basic chromatic (or achromatic) scheme in mind, but the final colours were often subject to artistic instinct, guided by intuition and long periods of consideration. In 1985, Mrkusich explained that he did not consider his use of colour to be a conscious choice; “I do not choose my colour. Colour is not mine alone. Colour just exists. Achromatic and chromatic colours are material facts.” Although superficially, the flat surface of Two Areas Blue lacks any depth - void of thick, sculptural paint application - the acrylic seemingly sinking into the panels - it is in the thin layers of paint that Mrkusich successfully achieves a depth of colour.

1 Alan Wright and Edward Hanfling, Mrkusich: The Art of Transformation (Auckland: Auckland University Press, 2009), 87. 2 Peter Leech, “Painting, Object, Relation: A decade of Milan Mrkusich painting,” in exhibition catalogue Milan Mrkusich: A decade further on 19741983, 27. 3 Quote from a letter responding to questions by T. L. R. Wilson, E. H. McCormick Research Library, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, cited in William McAloon, Milan Mrkusich: Six Journeys exhibition catalogue (Auckland: Auckland City Art Gallery, 1996). Webb's

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60 Milan Mrkusich Two Areas Blue 1980 acrylic on board signed Mrkusich, dated '80 and inscribed TWO AREAS BLUE 1980 in brushpoint verso 1240 × 1830mm est $80,000 — $160,000

Exhibitions Milan Mrkusich: a decade further on 1974 - 1983, Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, 14 August - 25 September 1985.

Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from Trish Clark, Auckland, c2007.

Literature Milan Mrkusich: a decade further on 1974 - 1983 (Auckland: Auckland City Art Gallery, 1985), cat. no. 35.

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Yayoi Kusama – Pumpkin, Dot, Infinity Essay by LUCY BACKLEY Yayoi Kusama is widely regarded as one of the most successful artists of the 21st century - without a doubt the most successful female living artist. Her elegant, brightly coloured, and obsessively repetitive pattern formations have made her practice and her name iconic throughout the world. Kusama grew up in Matsumoto, Japan, and received an education in traditional Japanese nihonga painting at the Kyoto School of Arts and Crafts. In 1958 she moved to New York where she remained for 16 years. Here she was thick in the avantgarde movement and became heavily inspired by Minimalism and Pop Art. The intersection of these traditional Japanese and international Modernist influences has been uniquely evident throughout her work ever since. Intersecting painting, sculpture, printmaking, installation, performance, film, fashion, poetry and fiction; Kusama’s practice is nothing if not interdisciplinary. Printmaking however has been a longstanding and central aspect of her art – and one for which she is very much celebrated. Both polka dot and pumpkins are recurrent motifs; deeply rooted in Kusama’s psyche and constant players in her oeuvre. The concept and exploration of infinity is also present throughout her work. 波, Wave (1998) is a stunning example of Kusama’s preoccupation with the visual representation of infinity and follows on from her renowned Infinity Net series (1958-ongoing). Denying the viewer a focal point, the picture plane is filled with thousands of interconnected dots of varying sizes. Kusama would be consumed by this repetitive practice, often working for fifty of sixty hours on end. Though such work took a toll on her mental health – she checked into a psychiatric hospital in Tokyo in 1977 where she has lived ever since; Kusama has always maintained this focus on the notions of infinity, accumulation and immersion. Another polka-dot heavy work is 夜の花 Flowers of the Night (2003), a beautiful landscape in a rare purple colour palate. Dream-like and heavily hallucinogenic, the more subtle background dots are foregrounded by jagged yet elegant flower forms – made up again almost exclusively of dot and loop patterns. Methodical and mesmerising, the concept of infinity and our place in the world again dominates. Without the prickled black outlines breaking up the space, the flower-like figures might be totally enveloped by the incredible polka-dot pattern. The pumpkin is perhaps Kusama’s most famous icon. PUMPKIN (2005) is a fantastic example of the artist’s black and yellow polka dot pumpkin forms. Here however, black is the more unusually the dominant colour and provides an incredible standout aesthetic alongside the geometric background pattern. Kusama’s fascination with pumpkins dates back to her childhood, where she often experienced hallucinations in which pumpkins would speak to her. Her pumpkin artworks have become fixtures of both contemporary art history and popular culture, helping to mould the iconic level of art-world status she has today. Yayoi Kusama’s expansive oeuvre naturally transcends the confines of a specific art movement or an individual cause. Yet she has consistently sought to respond to the human experience – both personal and collective. Kusama explains: “In creating art pieces, I translate a number of images and ideas existing within myself into works, not just covering canvases with paints.”¹ Her hypnotic dreamworlds have become images we can engage with and perceive – distinctive within the contemporary world.

1 Seung-duk Kim, Yayoi Kusama (Paris: Les presses du reel/Janvier, Studio Kusama, 2001), 36. Webb's

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61 Yayoi Kusama PUMPKIN 2005 screenprint on paper, 153/380 signed Yayoi Kusama, dated 2005 and inscribed 153/380 PUMPKIN in graphite lower edge 135 × 195mm est $35,000 — $55,000 Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from 20th Century and Contemporary Works of Art, Christies, Shanghai, 22 December 2016. Webb's

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62 Yayoi Kusama 波, Wave 1998 screenprint on paper, 29/30 signed Yayoi Kusama, dated 2003 and inscribed 波 in graphite lower edge 595 × 475mm est $50,000 — $70,000 Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from 20th Century and Contemporary Works of Art, Christies, Shanghai, 22 December 2016. Webb's

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63 Yayoi Kusama 夜の花, Flowers of the Night 2003 screenprint on paper, 87/120 signed Yayoi Kusama, dated 1998 and inscribed 夜の花 in graphite lower edge 275 × 655mm est $55,000 — $65,000 Provenance Private collection Auckland. Acquired from iArt Auctions, Tokyo, 2015. Webb's

2021

Paul Hartigan – Red Hand Essay by JULIAN MCKINNON

Take a little walk to the edge of town Go across the tracks Where the viaduct looms, Like a bird of doom As it shifts and cracks Where secrets lie in the border fires, In the humming wires Hey man, you know You're never coming back Past the square, past the bridge, Past the mills, past the stacks On a gathering storm comes A tall handsome man In a dusty black coat with A red right hand

Paul Hartigan is an individual that inspires intrigue. He’s an artist who has been around for decades, though has never stopped pushing his practice into new places. Whether rendered in paint, print or neon, his work is always distinctive. Red Hand is an enamel painting from the late 70s, that sees Hartigan mashup pop-culture and horror within a fine art context into an image that seems both gory and comical. In conversation, Hartigan was animated when discussing Red Hand. “These enamel paintings are rare as hen’s teeth. I paint 20 paintings in one painting, that’s the way I look at a work like this. Everything is condensed down. I might have a universe of thought and it’s compressed into one final resolution.” The genesis of that universe was intriguing to explore, “The origin of these early pop enamel paintings is in American comics. The shiny, glossy covers, the 50s horror comics – Adventure into Fear, Weird, Tales of the Crypt are some of the titles – they were a source of stimulation. The motivation or drive in those early paintings was sort of in mimicking the glossy comic cover.” This work, however, is painted to a high finish in enamel paint, a material Hartigan is enamoured with, “It’s about the lusciousness of paint, the love of materials. Some people love oil paint, though personally I think it’s greasy, nasty stuff. I don’t want the scrubby, modulated effect you get with oil paint. I want surface, I want beauty, sublime colour and application.” His intentions are evident in the finish of the work. The background to the work could be traced to the artists personal history. “My mother was very glamourous, something of a Greta Garbo character. She was Lebanese, and very elegant, and dressed up in high heels and glitzy outfits in a way that was very different from New Zealand mainstream. We didn’t have a lot of books at home. I grew up on a diet of comics, Hollywood movies, and glossy magazines. I looked at a lot of printed paper, and I was always fascinated by it. Ink and slippage and misprint. That all informed the layering and slippage and surface treatment of my paintings.” Other ideas at play for Hartigan were discussed, “Deconstructed figuration, the image as glyph, text or symbol.” Though its titular image came from the artist himself. “It’s a tracing of my own hand – very crude – though it’s sort of revealing an inside that is something like marshmallow – like a chocolate fish. It’s comical but it’s also horror. It’s all sort of like the fairground ghost train art. The way the lettering is done references the work of British graphic artist Peter Blake. Seeing his work when I was young was huge, it was so compelling. Looking at the painting, I think of Nick Cave’s Red Right Hand, from the Bad Seed’s 1994 album Let Love In. The track was written more than a decade after Hartigan made his glossy, horror-comic painting, though it captures the mood of it perfectly.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Red Right Hand (excerpt), from the Album Let Love In, 1994. Webb's

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64 Paul Hartigan Red Hand 1978 enamel on board signed Paul Hartigan, dated 1978 and inscribed Red Hand in graphite verso 915 × 610mm

Exhibitions Paul Hartigan: Vivid, Gus Fisher Gallery, Auckland30 October - 19 December 2015. Return of the Hand, Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui, 2006

est $15,000 — $25,000 Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired privately, Auckland c1990s. Webb's

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Literature Don Abbott, Vivid: The Paul Hartigan Story (Auckland: RF Books, 2015), 89. 101

65 Bill Hammond Unisex Drummers 1985 oil on board signed W Hammond, dated 1985 and inscribed UNISEX DRUMMERS in brushpoint lower right 305 × 560mm est $8,000 — $12,000 Provenance Private collection, Christchurch. Gifted by the artist 1995. Webb's

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66 Bill Hammond Collection Plate 1991 enamel on wood signed W D Hammond and dated 1991 in brushpoint lower right; inscribed COLLECTION PLATE in brushpoint upper left 883 × 978mm est $50,000 — $70,000 Provenance Private collection, Queenstown. Acquired from Fine New Zealand Paintings, Jewellery & Decorative Arts, Webb's, Auckland, 19 March 2002, lot 22. Webb's

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Michael Smither – Sarah After Bath Essay by CHRISTIE SIMPSON Art historian Bernard Smith appositely describes Michael Smither as an “artist who uses paintings as a language which reveals every aspect of his personal experience.” This statement rings particularly true when one considers the present work, an intimate portrayal of Smither’s daughter unclothed after bathing. For Smither, the construction of familial scenes began in 1964, when his eldest child, Sarah – the subject of this work – was born. Sarah’s birth marked the beginning of a new artistic divergence for Smither, whose subsequent observation-inspired domestic narratives are among his most celebrated works. This significant shift in his personal life to embrace the caring required for parenthood is directly reflected in the care and love for humanity shown in the narrative works post 1964. There is a tangible element of human warmth and emotive intimacy present in Sarah After Bath, a work whose viewing experience is governed by an acute awareness of the relationship present between both painter and subjects, and the two painted figures. This sentiment of fatherly tenderness enhances Sarah’s vulnerability and further emphasises the viewer’s awareness of her exaggeratedly awkward stature in comparison to the crouching adult form of her mother behind her. Despite the familial closeness of this scene, however, it is crucial to acknowledge that Smither yields no stylistic deference to sentimentality: on the contrary, the tender undertones of the work are brilliantly tempered by the stark, almost jarring quality of Smither’s hyper-realistic style. Acknowledging the significance of this realism is key to appreciating the work: the carefully planned and tightly constructed canvas has been stripped down to its essentials. Vividness of colour, extreme linear clarity and painstakingly constructed treatment of human form therefore combine to effect a sense of contrived theatricality in the work. This is present, for example, in the way Sarah is encircled by her mother Elizabeth’s arms: the resulting pose, combined with her naked form, is reminiscent of Classicism and the traditional pose of Madonna and child. The subjects glow, luminescent with life, with Sarah central to the framing of embracing arms. There is an obvious close relationship between the figures in the painting and the artist: wife and mother Elizabeth, daughter Sarah, and painter, father and husband Michael Smither. This relationship is emphasised in the careful way Elizabeth drapes the towel over Sarah, her eyeline focused down towards her daughter; and is echoed in the careful way Smither paints the two of them together. Elizabeth’s arms and hands, stretched out of proportion and into the foreground, accentuate the protective nature of the gentle embrace. While only the two female figures are visible, Sarah’s sharp eyes look slightly right of the viewer, focusing on her father, closing the triangular connection between the three members of the family. The distinctive hard-edged realist style seen here has become emblematic of Smither’s painting. The artist has been able to apply his own regionalist realism to a variety of subject matter, from Taranaki landscapes to still life and imagery of his daughter. Sarah After Bath is a triumphant example of Smither’s ability to juxtapose a deeply intimate and sentimental moment with a highly realist and formal composition.

There is a tangible element of human warmth and emotive intimacy present in Sarah After Bath, a work whose viewing experience is governed by an acute awareness of the relationship present between both painter and subjects, and the two painted figures. Webb's

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67 Michael Smither Sarah After Bath 1967 oil on board signed M D Smither and dated 1967 in brushpoint lower right; signed M D Smither and dated 67 in brushpoint verso; dated 1968 and inscribed Sarah after bath/300 in graphite on frame 910 × 610mm est $50,000 — $80,000 Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from John Brebner, Fielding, c1971. Webb's

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68 Philip Trusttum Move oil on board inscribed Move N54 in brushpoint verso 1204 × 2470mm est $8,000 — $16,000 Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from New Zealand Contemporary Art with New Zealand Historical and European Paintings, Webb's, Auckland, 1993, lot 106. Webb's

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69 Peter McIntyre Clutha 1962 oil on canvas on board signed PETER MCINTYRE in oil in lower right 750 × 580mm est $25,000 — $35,000 Provenance Private collection, Dunedin. Acquired from Tinakori Gallery, Wellington 2002. Webb's

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70 Ralph Hotere FAR MORE BLUE 1992 oil on canvas signed Hotere and dated '92 in brushpoint top left; dated 18. V. 92 and inscribed For B & M in brushpoint lower edge; inscribed FAR MORE BLUE in brushpoint right edge 300 × 400mm

71 Mervyn Williams Postscript 2005 oil on canvas signed MERVYN WILLIAMS, dated 2005 and inscribed POSTSCRIPT in brushpoint verso 950 × 800mm est $10,000 — $15,000

est $33,000 — $38,000 Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from Aesthete Gallery, Auckland, 2007. Webb's

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Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from Important Paintings & Contemporary Art, Art+Object, Auckland, 26 November 2015, lot 19. 108

72 Sam Harrison Red Christ 2001 woodcut on paper, 1/12 signed Samuel Harrison and dated 01 in graphite lower right 880 × 620mm est $4,500 — $6,500 Provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from Christchurch Centre of Contemporary Art, Christchurch, 2009. Webb's

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73 Yuk King Tan Just flying another kite 1994 paper, thread, wooden spool 2500 × 1000 × 100mm (dimensions variable) est $5,000 — $8,000 Provenance Private collection, Wellington. Acquired from Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington, 1994. Webb's

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Exhibitions Localities of Desire: Contemporary Art in an International World, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 21 October - 11 December 1994. Literature Bernice Murphy, Julie Ewington and Nicholas Baume, Localities of Desire: Contemporary Art in an International World (Sydney: Museum of Contemporary Art, 1994). 110

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after the sale, to determine the successful bidder, to continue the bidding, to cancel the sale or to reoffer and resell the item in dispute. If any dispute arises after the sale, then Webb’s sale record is conclusive. 4.10. Successful Bid and Passing of Risk Subject to the auctioneer’s discretion, the highest bidder accepted by the auctioneer will be the buyer and the striking of his hammer marks the acceptance of the highest bid and the conclusion of a contract for sale between the Seller and the Buyer. Risk and responsibility for the lot (including frames or glass where relevant) passes immediately to the Buyer. 4.11. Indicative Bidding Steps, etc. Webb’s reserves the right to refuse any bid, withdraw any lot from sale, to place a reserve on any lot and to advance the bidding according to the following indicative steps: Increment Dollar Range Amount $20 $0–$500 $50 $500–$1,000 $100 $1,000–$2,000 $200 $2,000–$5,000 $500 $5,000–$10,000 $1,000 $10,000–$20,000 $2,000 $20,000–$50,000 $5,000 $50,000 – $100,000 $10,000 $100,000–$200,000 $20,000 $200,000–$500,000 $50,000 $500,000–$1,000,000 Absentee bids must follow these increments and any bids that don’t follow the steps will be rounded up to the nearest acceptable bid. 5.

After the Sale

5.1. Buyers Premium In addition to the hammer price, the buyer agrees to pay to Webb’s the buyer’s premium. The buyer’s premium is 17.5% of the hammer price plus GST. (Goods and Services Tax) where applicable. 5.2. Payment and Passing of Title The buyer must pay the full amount due (comprising the hammer price, buyer’s premium and any applicable taxes and GST) not later than 5 days after the auction date. The buyer will not acquire title to the lot until Webb’s receives full payment in cleared funds, and no goods under any circumstances will be released without confirmation of cleared funds received. This applies even if the buyer wishes to send items overseas. Payment can be made by direct transfer, cash (not exceeding NZD$10,000, if wishing to pay more than NZD$10,000 then this must be deposited directly into a Bank of New Zealand branch and bank receipt supplied) and EFTPOS (please check the daily limit). Payments can also be made by credit card in person

with a 2.2% merchant fee for Visa and Mastercard and 3.3% for American Express. Invoices that are in excess of $5,000 and where the card holder is not present, cannot be charged to a credit card without prior arrangement. Personal cheques are accepted, but funds must be cleared before goods will be released. Bank cheques are subject to five days clearance. The buyer is responsible for any bank fees and charges applicable for the transfer of funds into Webb’s account. 5.3. Collection of Purchases & Insurance Webb’s is entitled to retain items sold until all amounts due to us have been received in full in good cleared funds. Subject to this, the Buyer shall collect purchased lots within 5 days from the date of the sale unless otherwise agreed in writing between Webb’s and the Buyer. At the fall of the hammer, insurance is the responsibility of the purchaser. 5.4. Packing, Handling and Shipping Webb’s will be able to suggest removals companies that the buyer can use but takes no responsibility whatsoever for the actions of any recommended third party. Webb’s can pack and handle goods purchased at the auction by agreement and a charge will be made for this service. All packing, shipping, insurance, postage & associated charges will be borne by the purchaser. 5.5. Permits, Licences and Certificates Under The Protected Objects Act 1975, buyers may be required to obtain a licence for certain categories of items in a sale from the Ministry of Culture & Heritage, PO Box 5364, Wellington. 5.6. Remedies for Non-Payment If the Buyer fails to make full payment immediately, Webb’s is entitled to exercise one or more of the following rights or remedies (in addition to asserting any other rights or remedies available under the law) 5.6.1. to charge interest at such a rate as we shall reasonably decide. 5.6.2. to hold the defaulting Buyer liable for the total amount due and to commence legal proceedings for its recovery along with interest, legal fees and costs to the fullest extent permitted under applicable law. 5.6.3. to cancel the sale. 5.6.4. to resell the property publicly or privately on such terms as we see fit.

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5.6.5. to pay the Seller an amount up to the net proceeds payable in respect of the amount bid by the defaulting Buyer. In these circumstances the defaulting Buyer can have no claim upon Webb’s in the event that the item(s) are sold for an amount greater than the original invoiced amount. 5.6.6. to set off against any amounts which Webb’s may owe the Buyer in any other transactions, the outstanding amount remaining unpaid by the Buyer. 5.6.7. where several amounts are owed by the Buyer to us, in respect of different transactions, to apply any amount paid to discharge any amount owed in respect of any particular transaction, whether or not the Buyer so directs. 5.6.8. to reject at any future auction any bids made by or on behalf of the Buyer or to obtain a deposit from the Buyer prior to accepting any bids. 5.6.9. to exercise all the rights and remedies of a person holding security over any property in our possession owned by the Buyer whether by way of pledge, security interest or in any other way, to the fullest extent permitted by the law of the place where such property is located. The Buyer will be deemed to have been granted such security to us and we may retain such property as collateral security for said Buyer’s obligations to us. 5.6.10. to take such other action as Webb’s deem necessary or appropriate. If we do sell the property under paragraph (4), then the defaulting Buyer shall be liable for payment of any deficiency between the total amount originally due to us and the price obtained upon reselling as well as for all costs, expenses, damages, legal fees and commissions and premiums of whatever kinds associated with both sales or otherwise arising from the default. If we pay any amount to the Seller under paragraph (5) the Buyer acknowledges that Webb’s shall have all of the rights of the Seller, however arising, to pursue the Buyer for such amount.

Webb's

5.7. Failure to Collect Purchases Where purchases are not collected within 5 days from the sale date, whether or not payment has been made, we shall be permitted to remove the property to a warehouse at the buyer’s expense, and only release the items after payment in full has been made of removal, storage handling, insurance and any other costs incurred, together with payment of all other amounts due to us. 6.

Extent of Webb’s Liability

Webb’s agrees to refund the purchase price in the circumstances of the Limited Warranty set out in paragraph 7 below. Apart from that, neither the Seller nor we, nor any of our employees or agents are responsible for the correctness of any statement of whatever kind concerning any lot, whether written or oral, nor for any other errors or omissions in description or for any faults or defects in any lots. Except as stated in paragraph 7 below, neither the Seller, ourselves, our officers, agents or employees give any representation warranty or guarantee or assume any liability of any kind in respect of any lot with regard to merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, description, size, quality, condition, attribution, authenticity, rarity, importance, medium, provenance, exhibition history, literature or historical relevance. Except as required by local law any warranty of any kind is excluded by this paragraph. 7.

Limited Warranty

Subject to the terms and conditions of this paragraph, the Seller warrants for the period of thirty days from the date of the sale that any property described in this catalogue (noting such description may be amended by any saleroom notice or announcement) which is stated without qualification to be the work of a named author or authorship is authentic and not a forgery. The term “Author” or “authorship” refers to the creator of the property or to the period, culture, source, or origin as the case may be, with which the creation of such property is identified in the catalogue. The warranty is subject to the following: it does not apply where a) the catalogue description or saleroom notice corresponded to the generally accepted opinion of scholars and experts at the date of the sale or fairly indicated that there was a conflict of opinions, or b) correct identification of a lot can be demonstrated only by means of a scientific process not generally accepted for use until after publication of the catalogue or a process which at the date of 2020

the publication of the catalogue was unreasonably expensive or impractical or likely to have caused damage to the property. the benefits of the warranty are not assignable and shall apply only to the original buyer of the lot as shown on the invoice originally issued by Webb’s when the lot was sold at Auction. the Original Buyer must have remained the owner of the lot without disposing of any interest in it to any third party. The Buyer’s sole and exclusive remedy against the Seller in place of any other remedy which might be available, is the cancellation of the sale and the refund of the original purchase price paid for the lot less the buyer’s premium which is non-refundable. Neither the Seller nor Webb’s will be liable for any special, incidental nor consequential damages including, without limitation, loss of profits. The Buyer must give written notice of claim to us within thirty days of the date of the Auction. The Seller shall have the right, to require the Buyer to obtain two written opinions by recognised experts in the field, mutually acceptable to the Buyer and Webb’s to decide whether or not to cancel the sale under warranty. the Buyer must return the lot to Seller in the same condition that it was purchased. 8. Severability If any part of these Conditions of Sale is found by any court to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that part shall be discounted and the rest of the Conditions shall continue to be valid to the fullest extent permitted by law. 9. Copyright The copyright in all images, illustrations and written material produced by Webb’s relating to a lot including the contents of this catalogue, is and shall remain the property at all times of Webb’s and shall not be used by the Buyer, nor by anyone else without our prior written consent. Webb’s and the Seller make no representation or warranty that the Buyer of a property will acquire any copyright or other reproduction rights in it. 10.

11.

Pre-Sale Estimates

Webb’s publishes with each catalogue our opinion as to the estimated price range for each lot. These estimates are approximate prices only and are not intended to be definitive. They are prepared well in advance of the sale and may be subject to revision. Interested parties should contact Webb’s prior to auction for updated presale estimates and starting prices. 12.

Sale Results

Webb’s will provide auction results, which will be available as soon as possible after the sale. Results will include buyer’s premium. These results will be posted at www.webbs.co.nz. 13.

Goods and Service Tax

GST is applicable on the hammer price in the case where the seller is selling property that is owned by an entity registered for GST. GST is also applicable on the hammer price in the case where the seller is not a New Zealand resident. These lots are denoted by a dagger symbol † placed next to the estimate. GST is also applicable on the buyer’s premium. Overseas buyers and buyers nonresident in New Zealand will not be charged GST on both hammer price and premiums under the following conditions: 13.1. The items are exported through a Webb’s approved freight company including New Zealand Post 13.2. The items are exported within 60 days of the date of the sale. The invoice supplied by Webb’s for purchases will be regarded as a Tax invoice for GST purposes.

Law and Jurisdiction

These terms and conditions and any matters concerned with the foregoing fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New Zealand, unless otherwise stated.

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Index of Artists

B Brown, Nigel Bush, Kushana

N 36 24

36 58-61

D Dashper, Julian Driver, Don

Paraone, Hori Pardington, Fiona Parekōwhai, Michael Pick, Séraphine

48-49 52-55 22, 64 82-83

R 25 37, 39

Robinson, Peter

44-47

F Fomison, Tony Friedlander, Marti Frizzell, Dick

C Clark, Russell Cotton, Shane

Ngan, Guy

84-85 27 38

Smither, Michael Stichbury, Peter Stringer, Terry Sydney, Grahame

104-105 24 22 73-79

H Hammond, Bill 23, 33, 90-91, 102-103 Harrison, Sam 109 Hartigan, Paul 100-101 Heaphy, Chris 63 Hemer, André 35 Henderson, Louise 28-29 Hotere, Ralph 56-57, 108 Hunt, Matt 86-87

Tan, Yuk King Todd, Yvonne Trusttum, Philip

110 32 26, 106

W Walker, Jake Walters, Gordon Williams, Mervyn Woollaston, Toss

38 26 108 31, 7

K Kahukiwa, Robyn Killeen, Richard Kusama, Yayoi

62 34 96-99

L Lusk, Doris

40, 88-89

M Madden, Peter 39 Matchitt, Para 42-43, 50-51 Maughan, Karl 30 McCahon, Colin 65-71 McIntyre, Peter 92-93, 107 McLeod, Andrew 80-81 Mrkusich, Milan 94-95

Webb's

December

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Absentee Bid Form

Auctions Private Sales Valuations +64 9 529 5600 auction@webbs.co.nz

In order to register to bid with Webb’s please complete this form and scan or email to auction@webbs.co.nz

33a Normanby Rd Mount Eden Auckland, 1024 New Zealand webbs.co.nz Name

Bidder #

(Please Print Clearly)

(Office Use Only)

Email (Please provide for invoice purposes)

Address (PO Box not sufficient)

City

Auction # & Title (Please Print Auction & Title Here)

Postcode Telephone Number(s)

(In Order of Preference)

Lot Number (in order)

Catalogue Description

Maximum Bid Not including buyer’s premium or GST

I authorise Webb’s to register bids on a per lot basis up to the maximum price I have indicated for each lot. I will not hold Webb’s responsible for any errors that occur. I understand that if my bid is successful, the purchase price will be the sum of my final bid plus the buyer’s premium of 17.5% of the final bid price plus any GST payable on the buyers premium, as indicated in the catalogue. GST will be charged on the buyer’s premium.

I have read and accepted Webb’s terms and conditions as printed in the catalogue and online at www.webbs.co.nz. Bids will not be processed unless this form is signed.

Signature

Date

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BENTLEY AUCKLAND

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33a Normanby Rd Mount Eden Auckland 1024 New Zealand webbs.co.nz