Thoughts on the Bev & Murray Gow Collection from John Gow and Ben Plumbly I remember vividly when I was twelve years old, hopping in the car with Dad, heading down the dusty rural Te Miro Road to Cambridge to meet the train from Auckland. There was a special package on this train, a painting that my parents had bought and I recall the ceremony of unwrapping and Mum and Dad’s obvious delight, but being completely perplexed by this ‘artwork’. Now I look at the Woollaston watercolour and think how farsighted they were. Dad’s love of art was fostered at Auckland University through meeting Diane McKegg (nee Henderson), the daughter of Louise Henderson. As a student he subsequently bought his first painting from Louise, an oil on paper, Rooftops Newmarket. After marrying Beverley South, their mutual interest in the arts ensured the collection’s growth. They visited exhibitions in the Waikato and Auckland and because Mother was a soprano soloist, and a member of the Hamilton Civic Choir, concert trips to Auckland, Tauranga, New Plymouth, Gisborne and other centres were involved. They were both keen gardeners, Dad potted and painted - our farming world was surrounded by creativity.At least once a year we were taken to the thriving Auckland metropolis, bewildering for a young country boy, as we accompanied our parents around galleries and museums. We usually returned home with a purchase. In 1977, Father heard through Bill Hart, that the John Leech gallery was for sale and according to my mother, ‘ in a moment of menopausal madness, Dad sold the farm’ and they became coowners of the gallery. After Allan Swinton had sold the gallery in 1975, patronage had decreased, exhibitions were spasmodic and staff numbers had reduced dramatically. Exhibition programs were now reinstated, staff rehired and energy was slowly breathed back into the business. Over the years Bev and Murray worked tirelessly in the gallery, my sister Di worked there, my brother Doug now co-owns the John Leech Framing Workshop, my great aunt, ‘Aunty Mu’ was an eloquent addition and my ‘Poppa South’ helped at openings, talking, serving wine and ‘doing dishes’. After returning from my O.E. in 1981, I came to work for a few weeks and never left. The collection being offered at Art+Object is a culmination of works bought to support artists, to be part of my parents’ collection and to be part of the John Leech collection. In 1997 my parents sold the gallery name and chattels to Gary Langsford and myself. They did not sell the vast body of work collected over the years during their time of ownership. This collection has subsequently been in storage with some works sold through the gallery, but much has been retained. As Gary and I make plans to relocate our storage, we thought it time to ask Mum and Dad about their future plans. It was over a lunch with Ben Plumbly that the idea of one large auction was floated and with a lot of hard work by the team at A+O, we find ourselves here today, catalogue in hand, containing a vast array of New Zealand art, covering the greater span of New Zealand’s visual history. John Gow Director of John Leech Gallery and Gow Langsford Gallery
Bev and Murray Gow in their Orakei home in front of their beloved van der Velden oil on canvas.