Works of Art, November 2025

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Edition of 1,800 Offset printed, 162 pages 113gsm Matt Art 100gsm Laser Offset

Freely distributed to subscribers or available at select public art spaces and hospitality venues.

Publishing Contacts head office Paul Evans Managing Director paul@webbs.co.nz +64 21 866 000

Caolán McAleer Director of Marketing & Operations caolan@webbs.co.nz +64 27 929 5603

advertising

press

Angela Gracie Client & Partnerships Manager angela@webbs.co.nz +64 22 495 3943

Alessandra Banal Elizabeth Boadicea Snow Head of Brand & Marketing Senior Designer design@webbs.co.nz elizabeth@webbs.co.nz +64 22 029 5611

design

Art Department auckland Emily Gardener Director of Art emily@webbs.co.nz +64 22 595 5610

Georgina Brett Specialist, Art georgina@webbs.co.nz +64 27 929 5609

Georgia Clapshaw Registrar, Art georgia@webbs.co.nz +64 9 529 5609

Stephanie Arrowsmith Administrator, Art art@webbs.co.nz +64 9 529 5609

Jo Bragg Logistics & Inventory Coordinator, Art jo@webbs.co.nz +64 21 113 5001

Charles Tongue Valuations Specialist valuations@webbs.co.nz +64 22 406 5514

Webb's

November

Mia Foulds Administrator, Art mia@webbs.co.nz +64 9 529 5609

wellington

christchurch

Mark Hutchins-Pond Senior Specialist, Art mark@webbs.co.nz +64 22 095 5610

Sean Duxfield Specialist, Art sean@webbs.co.nz +64 21 053 6504

Virginia Woods-Jack Exhibitions Manager virginia@webbs.co.nz +64 22 679 8664

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Auckland 39 Nugent Street +64 379 9680 auckland@ecc.co.nz Wellington 61 Thorndon Quay +64 4 473 3456 wellington@ecc.co.nz Christchurch 145 Victoria Street +64 353 0586 christchurch@ecc.co.nz ecc.co.nz

Ross Gardam EXCLUSIVE TO ECC

LEMAIRE MARNI STUDIO NICHOLSON JACQUES MARIE MAGE TAIGA TAKAHASHI VEILANCE TRANSIT LARDINI KARTIK RESEARCH OAMC PEACEMAKER Y-3 ARC’TERYX

20 Vulcan Lane City Auckland 1010 31 Hunter Street City Wellington 6011

STILL BY HAND UNDERCOVER

www.edit-store.com

Contents

Journal 14 Programme 49 Foreword

51

Plates 53

Webb's

Terms & Conditions

159

Index of Artists

162

2025

13

Webb's

November

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Webb’s supports The Te Papa Foundation Webb’s is honoured to partner with the Te Papa Foundation to lead both a live and an online auction, with all proceeds—including Webb's buyer's premiums—going toward supporting our national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa.

“Lending our expertise to public organisations is about actively contributing to the cultural landscape of Aotearoa,” said Paul Evans, Managing Director at Webb’s.

“We’re proud to stand alongside the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in celebrating, protecting, and preserving the taonga that shape our national identity.”

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Together, the live and online auctions raised over $160,000 in support of the Te Papa Foundation.

At the Foundation's Gala on Saturday 6 September, it was a privilege to witness, firsthand, the generosity and spirit of Aotearoa New Zealand’s foremost champions of arts and culture.

The evening featured an extraordinary array of objects, artworks, and oncein-a-lifetime experiences, culminating in a white-glove sale conducted by auctioneer Caolán McAleer.

In parallel, Webb’s also hosted an online auction showcasing over 60 equally impressive lots, generously donated by local businesses and individuals.

As the philanthropic arm of Te Papa, the Foundation plays a vital role in cultivating a community of donors at every level. All proceeds from the auctions directly support Te Papa’s programmes, acquisitions, and special projects— or are invested in its endowment fund to ensure long-term impact.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the generous individuals and organisations who contributed to this remarkable event, and to the Te Papa Foundation for its unwavering commitment to enriching our national museum.

Caolán McAleer Director of Marketing & Operations caolan@webbs.co.nz +64 27 929 5603

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Reach out to Jane Vesty 0274 515 053 jane.vesty@sweeneyvesty.com

We are proud to have partnered with The Suter Gallery, Te Aratoi o Whakatū, Nelson — one of Aotearoa’s oldest public galleries, with a history dating back to the late 19th century — to present Karl Maughan: A Clear Day, a captivating exhibition celebrating the artist’s formative years.

Karl Maughan: A Clear Day at The Suter, Nelson Webb's

November

On view until 30 November, A Clear Day features key works made between 1987 and 1998, drawn from both public and private collections. Together, these works reveal Maughan’s early explorations of the motifs and techniques that would come to define his distinctive style, offering a rare opportunity to trace the evolution of one of New Zealand’s most recognisable painters.

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Eden Arts Art Schools Award 2025

Established in 2011, the Eden Arts Art Schools Award is a collaborative initiative involving Central Auckland’s leading tertiary art institutions—Elam School of Fine Arts, Unitec, AUT, and Whitecliffe. The award celebrates excellence in undergraduate visual arts, bringing together the top student works from each school in a single curated exhibition.

Each institution nominates five full-time undergraduate students, whose submissions are assessed by an independent judging panel appointed by Eden Arts.

Selected students receive cash prizes totalling up to $9,000.

Since 2019, Webb’s has proudly hosted the annual exhibition, showcasing the breadth and vitality of emerging artistic talent in Aotearoa. This year, twenty finalists were selected to present their work in a group exhibition accompanied by an artist talk—

offering audiences a rare opportunity to engage directly with the artists and their creative processes.

The 2025 judging panel featured Sue Gardiner, Chair of the Chartwell Trust and a longstanding member of the Eden Arts Trust, alongside Nathan Pōhio, acclaimed artist and Senior Curator of Māori Art at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.

This year’s award recipients are: Darian Serrano (Whitecliffe), Danielle Chen (AUT), Bryony Matthew (Unitec) and Sihyun Kim (Elam). Additionally, Maraki Vowles (Elam) was honoured with the Board’s Choice Award.

The Eden Arts Art Schools Award continues to be a vital platform for recognising and supporting the next generation of New Zealand artists, fostering cross-institutional collaboration and celebrating the diversity of contemporary practice.

Caolán McAleer Director of Marketing & Operations caolan@webbs.co.nz +64 27 929 5603

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Webb’s at 50: Celebrating Aotearoa’s Cultural Legacy Webb's

November

Caolán McAleer Director of Marketing & Operations caolan@webbs.co.nz +64 27 929 5603

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opposite Founder Peter Webb auctioning an artwork by Rita Angus, photo by Marti Friedlander. this page Webb’s Normanby Road, 2025 Webb’s Falcon Street Parnell, c. 2016 Webb’s Manukau Road, c. 2014

In 2026, Webb’s will celebrate its 50th anniversary as New Zealand’s premier auction house. To mark this milestone, we are curating a landmark exhibition that will reunite 50 of the most significant pieces ever sold through Webb’s — including artworks, jewellery, wine, cars, and decorative arts.

This exhibition will create a compelling dialogue between past and present, honouring Webb’s legacy while showcasing the evolution of Aotearoa’s cultural landscape.

It is more than a celebration; it is an investment in New Zealand’s cultural future and a reaffirmation of Webb’s role at the forefront of the nation’s art and design market.

We are currently seeking standout pieces with historical, cultural, or aesthetic significance that have passed through Webb’s over the past five decades. If you own or know of such a piece, we’d love to hear from you.

We also welcome contributions of old photographs, stories, and information that has helped shape and enrich Webb’s history. Your memories and materials could play a vital role in telling the story of our journey.

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07.12.25 Collectors’ Cars, Motorcycles & Automobilia — Live Auction

launch event Tuesday 2 December, 6—8pm

Webb’s is proud to present its final Collectors’ Cars, Motorcycles and Automobilia sale of the year, showcasing an exceptional selection of mid-century classics. Among the highlights are a 1973 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 V12 2+2 EST. $110,000—$120,000, a 1957 Jaguar XK140 EST. $130,000—$150,000, and a 1970 Alfa Romeo GT Junior EST. $100,000—$120,000.

This curated offering represents the finest in automotive heritage and design.

viewing Wednesday 3—5 Friday December, 10am—5pm Saturday 6 December, 10am—4pm Sunday 7 December, 10am—12pm live auction Sunday 7 December, 2.30pm

contact Chris Wiseman Specialist, Collectors’ Cars, Motorcycles & Automobilia chris@webbs.co.nz +64 22 187 7693

1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SL est. $325,000—$350,000

To request a copy of the catalogue, please contact our specialist team. Entries are now invited for our 2026 sales, and we welcome enquiries from those looking to consign significant vehicles or automobilia.

16.03.26—30.03.26 Motorcycles Online — Entries Invited Webb’s is now accepting consignments of exceptional motorcycles for an exciting return to a dedicated auction, and we’re seeking standout examples with strong provenance. Mid to late-century British and Japanese models are especially desirable, alongside pre-war American classics that embody robust engineering and historical significance. If you own a motorcycle with pedigree, now is the time to showcase it. Our team offers expert appraisals, national exposure, and access to an exclusive and wellheeled base of passionate collectors. Submit your motorcycle today and let its legacy ride on.

Chris Wiseman Specialist, Collectors’ Cars, Motorcycles & Automobilia chris@webbs.co.nz +64 22 187 7693

Webb's

1931 Excelsior-Henderson Four Price Realised incl. BP: $172,500

2025

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02.03.26—15.03.26 Important Jewels, Watches & Luxury Accessories — Entries Invited | Online Auction

Christine Power Head of Fine Jewels, Watches & Luxury Accessories, AJP (GIA) christinep@webbs.co.nz +64 27 929 5607

Webb’s is now inviting consignments for our March 2026 auction of Important Jewels, Watches & Luxury Accessories. We are seeking exceptional pieces across fine jewellery, timepieces, and designer accessories — including standout items from Cartier, Rolex, Tiffany & Co., Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Dior. If you have a significant piece to present to market, our specialist team would love to hear from you.

Webb’s offers a discreet and confidential private sale service for exceptional wristwatches and timepieces.

Whether you’re looking to source or sell, our specialist team provides tailored guidance and access to a network of discerning collectors.

Sam Shaw Manager, Fine Jewels, Watches & Luxury Accessories, AJP (GIA) sam@webbs.co.nz +64 22 499 5610

Private Sales Wristwatches & Timepieces

We handle extraordinary timepieces from the world’s most prestigious brands — including Rolex, Cartier, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, OMEGA, Vacheron Constantin, Breitling, JaegerLeCoultre, IWC, TAG Heuer, and more.

Our work is defined by an unwavering commitment to quality, provenance, and discretion. To arrange a confidential discussion regarding a private sale or acquisition, please contact our team.

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2026 Material Culture —Entries Invited Live Auction Webb’s invites entries for our upcoming Material Culture auctions — showcasing indigenous art and cultural heritage. We are seeking quality examples of carvings, textiles, personal adornments, tools, ceramics, metalwork, and other objects that reflect rich traditions and craftsmanship. To learn more about buying or selling in our Material Culture auctions, contact our specialist team today.

Leah Morris Head of Decorative Arts leah@webbs.co.nz +64 22 574 5699

09.02.26—23.02.26 Select

Online Auction — Entries Invited

Georgina Brett Specialist, Art georgina@webbs.co.nz +64 27 929 5609

Three works by Henri Matisse L'Enterrement De Pierott, Pierrot's Funeral Les Codomas, The Codomas Le cheval, l'ecuere et le clown, The horse, rider and the clown Each, 1947, pochoir print on cotton paper, 430 × 660mm est. $5,800—$8,400 (each)

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Musical Instruments & Pop Culture —Entries Invited Online Auction

Following the outstanding success of our July 2025 vintage guitar auction— which achieved over $442,000 in sales—we are pleased to announce the upcoming Musical Instruments & Pop Culture online auction, which takes place over the coming summer.

We are now inviting entries of exceptional instruments, pop culture items, and related collectables for inclusion in this curated sale.

We are currently accepting: vintage and collectable guitars (electric, acoustic, bass), rare or custommade instruments of all types, instruments from iconic makers, pop culture memorabilia (e.g. music, film, television, fashion, and celebrity-related items), and unique or historically significant collectables.

If you have a piece worth showcasing, contact us for a free, no-obligation appraisal, and let us connect your item with a passionate audience of collectors, musicians, and fans.

Leah Morris Head of Decorative Arts leah@webbs.co.nz +64 22 574 5699 Gibson Custom Johnny A, est. $2,000—$4,000 Price Realised incl. BP: $5,736 Gibson ES-355 Guitar est. $5,000—$10,000 Price Realised incl. BP: $19,120

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23.03.26 Works of Art Entries Invited We are now inviting entries for our upcoming Works of Art live auction, taking place on Monday 23 March, 6.30pm.

As New Zealand’s foremost auction series of blue chip, museum-quality art, we are particularly interested in: High-quality paintings, sculptures, and mixed media works; artworks of local and international significance; works by celebrated New Zealand artists such as Paul Dibble, Charles F. Goldie, Pat Hanly, Frances Hodgkins, Michael Illingworth, Fiona Pardington, Michael Parekōwhai, and Toss Woollaston, among others.

If you’re considering selling an artwork or collection, contact our team for a complimentary, no-obligation appraisal.

Featuring your work in this auction connects it with a wide network of collectors and institutions across Aotearoa, supported by our targeted marketing campaigns and a national preview tour.

Emily Gardener Director of Art emily@webbs.co.nz +64 22 595 5610

Webb's

Ralph Hotere, Requiem (B) (For Tony) Price Realised incl. BP: $256,925 est. $130,000—$180,000

November

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Fine Wines & Whiskies —Entries Invited Online & Live Auctions

Do you have a bottle—or a cellar—worth sharing? We are currently inviting consignments for our Fine Wines & Whiskies auctions throughout 2026.

Our monthly online auctions are exceptional platforms to offer potentially lesserknown treasures, while our Live Auctions are reserved for rare bottles from globally renowned makers and exceptional vintages.

These curated sales focus on premium examples of New Zealand, Australian, and European wines, alongside rare and collectable whiskies.

We are particularly seeking bottles from renowned distilleries such as The Macallan, Glendronach, and Karuizawa, as well as other fine spirits and unique cellar selections.

Whether it’s a single bottle or an entire collection, contact us for a complimentary, noobligation appraisal. We’d be delighted to discuss your bottles, visit your cellar, or answer any questions about consigning in our monthly auctions.

Marcus Atkinson, DipWSET Head of Fine Wines & Whiskies marcus@webbs.co.nz +64 27 929 5601

Webb's

2025

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Asian Art —Entries Invited Online & Live Auctions Webb’s Asian Art department specialises in bringing exquisite art and artefacts to market and we are currently seeking entries for our upcoming Online and Live auctions happening throughout 2026.

Our team has ushered exceptional results for our clients and the New Zealand market continues to see growing interest in this field, making this an auspicious time to consign your valuable pieces.

We are particularly interested in high-quality Asian carvings, ceramics, jade pieces, bronzes, textiles, scrolls, art, lacquerware, furniture, homewares and other items and we have the expertise and resources to market single, important objects as well as entire collections.

Please feel free to contact our team of specialists to discuss your auction needs or to obtain a complimentary appraisal.

Tom Pan Head of Asian Art asianart@webbs.co.nz +64 21 045 0118

Webb’s Wellington

The Wanderers: A Conversation with Yon Yi Sohn and Jae Hoon Lee

The Wanderers, a Selling Exhibition took place at Webb’s Wellington in October. It brought together two cosmopolitan exponents of contemporary art with deep ties to Aotearoa: Jae Hoon Lee and Yon Yi Sohn.

Federico Monsalve and Virginia Woods-Jack spoke to the artists about their trajectories, ideas, and processes behind the works presented — exploring transformation, balance, and the quiet conversation between inner and outer worlds.

this page Jae Hoon Lee, Sunset in Whanganui opposite Yon Yi Sohn, Cascade I

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Jae Hoon Lee (JHL): Through my creative process, I carefully gather images from many sources — scanning, photographing, capturing with drones. I then digitally stitch these fragments together, allowing places and moments that are physically distant to meet on the same surface. It mirrors what I understand from Buddhism: that the boundary between self and world is an illusion. What matters is the interconnectedness of all things. Through Eastern philosophy, I’ve been learning how my internal being relates to the external world — how both reflect and nourish each other in a harmonious, continuous flow.

Yon Yi, can you expand on this idea of neutral grey tones as a metaphor for balance and duality?

Also, how does this colour, or the idea behind it, interact with Jae Hoon Lee’s digitally manipulated imagery in the shared space of the exhibition YYS: Rather than representing duality alone, I see neutral grey as a metaphor for multiplicity — an equilibrium that holds diverse possibilities. Neutral grey mixed out of three primary colours represents more than duality that resonates with philosophical systems such as Taoism’s yin and yang or Kant’s balance of reason and sensibility. Grey offers a sense of peace and resolution — a harmonious middle ground. I find that Jae Hoon Lee’s digitally manipulated imagery similarly arrives at a state of emotional balance, allowing our works to converse through a mutual sense of contemplative stillness.

Your work often explores transformation and the tension between control and spontaneity. How does this dynamic manifest in the pieces created for The Wanderers? Yon Yi Sohn (YYS): I begin with a system or structure, then observe how the work develops and responds to its evolving rhythm. The four pieces titled Waves I–IV each reached resolution in their own distinct ways. The theme of transformation was central to my approach. I began working these pieces in a portrait orientation, but as the process unfolded, I continually rotated the canvases to explore new perspectives. Eventually, all four works resolved themselves in a landscape format. In one piece, the transformation felt complete through layers of mixed greys alone, without the need for additional colour — a decision guided by the work itself.

For the full interviews with each artist, please visit webbs.co.nz/ articles-and-videos

Repetition, rhythm and Buddhism seem to play important roles in both your practices. How does this shape your work? YYS: My childhood in Korea was deeply influenced by Zen Buddhism and Taoism, both of which emphasise cultivation and continuous practice. This philosophy manifests in my work through the repetition of layered grey tones — a visual foundation symbolising meditative discipline.

Conceptually, repetition serves as a ritualistic act — a grounding rhythm through which movement, stillness, change, and continuity coexist. The resulting images embody both dynamism and tranquillity, reflecting the cyclical nature of transformation

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2025

Both of you explore materiality in very different ways. How does that choice of medium express your ideas of place and transformation? JHL: Using found images frees me from the limits of physical access.

The digital space collapses distance and time. In this realm, the image is no longer tied to its origin. It drifts.

It transforms. My digitally recomposed works reflect this constant state of renewal. They exist in a loop — always becoming, never fixed. Technology is not a filter but a collaborator. It breaks open the boundaries between internal feeling and external world, allowing both to intermingle and reappear in unexpected forms.

YYS: For The Wanderers, I focused on the grid and the placement of colour across various mediums.

I included two embroidery works created during the COVID period, when my access to a painting studio was limited. These pieces reflect adaptability and resilience. The green hues were dyed with a mixture of vinegar and mint boiled in my London flat kitchen, transforming neutral white ramie fabric into subtly faded tones. This fading mirrors the passage of time and the impermanence of experience. Recently, I’ve also been experimenting with unglazed clay and transparent gesso to preserve the natural texture of the fabric. This attention to materiality underscores my desire to honour the inherent character of each surface — allowing transformation to unfold without erasing origin.

Jae Hoon, clouds and water recur throughout the exhibition. What draws you to these natural elements?

JHL: I’m drawn to photographing natural elements like clouds, trees, mountains, and the ocean because they reflect my inner self. The sky constantly shifts — from mellow summer sunsets to sudden storms — much like my own mood and emotions. Living in New Zealand, I often see how quickly a clear sky can turn dramatic. My Skyscape series captures these subtle, daily changes in cloud patterns, which mirror the internal changes I feel.

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Private Sales Webb’s Private Art Sales Service offers a tailored alternative to anyone wishing to sell outside of our standard auction schedule while still taking advantage of Webb’s expertise, customer service and refined client base.

With 50 years of industry leadership, Webb’s brings its global expertise and trusted network to facilitate private art transactions to clients seeking a bespoke and strategic service that prioritises discretion, flexibility and tailored results.

Private sales offer access to artworks that may not be publicly available; researched and sourced thanks to Webb’s deep market knowledge and strategic relationships with Aotearoa’s leading collectors and institutions. These transactions are conducted confidentially, away from public marketing channels, allowing for a one-on-one approach between vendor and buyer, with us as intermediaries, further ensuring both party’s privacy and peace of mind.

For sellers, private sales can connect you with targeted collectors, enhancing the potential for a successful outcome.

For buyers, it’s an opportunity to secure exceptional works without waiting for the next auction event. Additionally, private sales are structured to be efficient and responsive, offering timing flexibility that aligns with your goals.

Emily Gardener Director of Art emily@webbs.co.nz +64 22 595 5610

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November

Whether you are seeking traditional, contemporary, experimental or exceptionally specific fine art, Webb’s Private Sales Service provides a trusted and bespoke pathway to transact outside the auction calendar.

Simply contact our team of experts and let Webb’s guide you through an expertly managed process.

38

Webb’s Celebrates the 2025 Arts Laureates

For a quarter of a century The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi has been championing New Zealand’s most exceptional practising artists through their Arts Laureate Awards. As a supporter of the programme, Webb’s applauds this year’s winners and their significant contributions to the nation’s cultural landscape.

Photography by Jinki Cambronero L—R: Shona Rapira-Davies, Cheryl Lucas, Bill Direen, Séraphine Pick, Reuben Paterson and Roseanne Liang.

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Each year, up to ten artists are named Arts Laureate by the Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi and given a financial award and national recognition, empowering them to continue creating work of lasting impact. These awards are sustained by a commendable, nationwide community of patrons committed to celebrating and supporting artistic excellence.

Alumni from this prestigious programme include visual artists such as Shane Cotton, Yuki Kihara, Tony de Lautour, Michael Parekōwhai, Lisa Reihana, Peter Robinson, Lisa Walker, Dame Robin White and many others.

As an Arts Business Club member —a select group of 25 organisations supporting the Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi— Webb’s is proud of this year’s winners and the indelible mark their creative endeavours continue to leave on the national discourse.

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The 2025 winners are:

Bill Direen (Music / Literature) Direen has sustained a wide‑ranging creative career over five decades, moving fluently between punk‑rock, poetry and fiction, theatre projects and international collaborations.

His work is characterised by literary depth, musical experimentation and strong collaborative networks.

Cheryl Lucas (Ceramics) Lucas has built a ceramics practice that merges craft, architectural commentary and sculptural investigation. Following the Christchurch earthquakes she produced custom ceramic components for heritage rebuilding, while her later works respond to plant‑life and geology of Te Waipounamu.

Kate Newby (Sculpture / Installation) Newby has garnered international recognition by transforming everyday materials (rope, glass, found ceramics) into quiet, site‑sensitive installations that shift one’s attention to the overlooked.

Exhibited at major venues including the Sydney and Sharjah Biennales, and the Palais de Tokyo, her work is underpinned by process, tactility and subtle disruption.

Pene Pati (Opera / Vocal Performance) Samoan‑born New Zealander Pati has emerged as a tenor of global stature, blending operatic technique with charismatic performance and crossover appeal. From his roots in Apia to major houses in Paris, London and New York, he exemplifies cultural ambassadorship and vocal excellence.

Reuben Paterson (Visual Arts) Paterson (Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāi Tūhoe, Tūhourangi, Scottish) is celebrated for luminous works in glitter, diamond dust, glass and light‑reflective materials that weave Māori visual vocabulary, queer identity and contemporary culture. His major public commission Guide Kaiārahi (2021) and survey show The Only Dream Left (2023) cement his standing nationally and internationally.

Roseanne Liang (Film / Screen) Liang stands out in Aotearoa’s screen sector for her genre‑defying, culturally nuanced storytelling — from My Wedding and Other Secrets to the series Creamerie and film Shadow in the Cloud. Her work champions under‑represented voices, genre hybridity and the international reach of New Zealand cinema.

Séraphine Pick (Visual Arts / Painting) Over three decades Pick has constructed a distinctive painterly language: from figurative, dream‑like works of the 1990s to recent abstracted explorations of psyche, colour and surface.

Her layered paintings engage memory, corporeality and perception, making her one of New Zealand’s sustained and influential painters.

Shona Rapira‑Davies (Sculpture / Visual Arts) Rapira‑Davies (Ngāti Wai) has advanced a powerful, four‑decade practice in sculpture and installation that addresses colonisation, Māori womanhood and collective memory.

Her landmark clay installation Ngā Morehu and the public tile‑work Te Waimapihi remain touchstones in Aotearoa’s art history.

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What We’re Losing: A Reflection on the Removal of Art History from New Zealand’s Curriculum

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki — a space that continues to inspire how we see and understand Aotearoa’s art history and context

The removal of Art History as a standalone subject from New Zealand’s secondary school curriculum marks a quiet but significant loss for the nation’s cultural future. For decades, early exposure to Art History has helped shape the careers of artists, curators, collectors, and educators.

Its absence risks narrowing the pathways into the arts and weakening the foundations of a vibrant creative and cultural economy.

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Art History is not a luxury; it is a discipline that teaches students to interpret the world and its history through visual culture—to understand context, symbolism, and the evolution of ideas. It fosters critical thinking, empathy, and cultural literacy. Equally important, it equips students with the ability to recognise how visual language is used to communicate important messages—to narrate, influence, and persuade. These are not soft skills—they are essential ones, and they are increasingly rare in a world that prizes speed and surface over depth and reflection.

The government’s decision to stop offering Art History as a standalone subject in secondary schools, announced in September, cites low enrolment numbers and a desire to streamline the curriculum for Years 12–13. Yet this rationale underestimates the trajectory that brought us here. Art History has long been under pressure, its availability chipped away year by year. It was removed from Year 11 several years ago, and now it will be folded into practical visual arts subjects like painting and photography.

Art History is the study of art as evidence of social, political, economic, religious, philosophical, and environmental events across history. It is academically rigorous and demands specialist educators. It cannot be taught as an afterthought in a studio class.

Our Director of Art Emily Gardener notes "As someone who has 42

spent a career serving and learning from both living artists and the great masters who shaped Art History, I find it difficult to comprehend an education system that overlooks the value of creative, visual, and symbolic expression. These forms of creativity have, for centuries, helped us understand the world around us and connect with cultures beyond our own. This inherent human need to create has been evidenced in the earliest markings of the Chauvet caves (c. 30,000 BC) through to the present day, and continues to inspire, bring meaning and context to the world we inhabit, while also illuminating the urgent issues of our time."

At Webb’s, we add our voice to the widespread opposition against this decision. Twenty-five leading galleries have signed an open letter urging the government to reconsider. Among the signatories, filmmaker Dame Jane Campion called the move “a terrible, tragic idea,” crediting Art History with inspiring her passion for film.

Throughout Webb’s 50-year history, we have witnessed the long arc of this subject’s impact. Many of our staff studied Art History at school; many of our clients did too. It is often the gateway to a life of cultural engagement—whether as a museum professional, a philanthropist, or simply a thoughtful citizen.

A petition is currently being submitted to the Minister of Education, Erica Stanford, urging her to reconsider. We encourage you to sign it—scan the QR code for the link.

This is what we risk losing—not just a subject, but a lens: a way of seeing the world that is expansive, radical, analytical, and deeply human.

Art History is not only about the past; it is about understanding the present and imagining the future. It is about walking backwards into the future, as the whakataukī Ka mua, ka muri reminds us.

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At Webb’s, we will continue to champion the value of Art History—in our exhibitions, our catalogues, and our conversations. But we cannot do it alone. We need our schools, our universities, and our government to recognise that the arts are not peripheral.

They are central to who we are.

Bank of New Zealand Art Collection at Webb's

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Colin McCahon LEGACY PROJECT

The Colin McCahon Legacy Project is a unique undertaking to protect and promote the work of one of Aotearoa’s most precious taonga – Colin McCahon.

Colin McCahon, born 1 August 1919 in Timaru, Aotearoa, is one of New Zealand’s most celebrated artists. Alongside painters like Rita Angus and Toss Woollaston, McCahon helped introduce modernism to New Zealand. His work is epic, and it contributes to the way we see Aotearoa.

The Colin McCahon Legacy Project has been initiated by the Colin McCahon Trust with experts from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, and the McCahon Family. It is endorsed by former prime ministers, internationally acclaimed contemporary artists, and communities across New Zealand.

This interactive digital platform will showcase McCahon’s remarkable life and works, significantly enhancing the beloved existing catalogue at www.mccahon.co.nz.

It will continue to serve researchers, collectors, and enthusiasts by providing access to verified works by McCahon.

The new platform will offer increased accessibility and functionality, creating innovative ways to engage with McCahon’s exceptional life and work.

Accompanied by an educational resource for senior secondary students, this project will provide access for millions of viewers both in Aotearoa and abroad.

New features will include: • Visual descriptions for each of McCahon’s 1,800+ works • Expanded catalogue entries including contextual information and literary references • High resolution, zoomable images • A media-rich biography of McCahon’s life and work • Diverse perspectives on McCahon’s enduring impact and significance.

We invite you to support and celebrate McCahon’s legacy through this exciting new initiative.

www.mccahonproject.co.nz Miri Young-Moir, Project Lead | The Colin McCahon Trust | catalogue@mccahon.co.nz The Colin McCahon Trust is a Registered Charity CC28806 Thank you to Webb’s, a strategic partner of the Colin McCahon Legacy Project

Colin McCahon, Angel of the Annunciation, oil on cardboard, 1947. Purchased 1980 with Special Projects in the Arts funds. Te Papa (1980-0008-3).

CM001039. Reproduction courtesy of the Colin McCahon Trust.

AA LL II M UN N II TT YY M II TT E D E D I T I O N O P P O R TT U

CO O LL II N N M M cc C CA AH HO ON N || C C LL O OUDS C D II TT II O ON N EE D

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3,

1975

(20 0 22 44 ))

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Screen-print // 640 640 gsm gsm Hahnemühle Hahnemühle cold cold pressed Screen-print pressed paper paper // 1035 1035 xx 700 700 mm mm

The Trust Trust is is excited excited to to present present aa limited limited edition edition print print The of Clouds Clouds 33,, 1975 1975 (2024) (2024) for for purchase purchase to to support support the the of fundraising effort for this project.

Proceeds will go fundraising effort for this project. Proceeds will go directly to to the the Trust.

Trust. directly

To discuss To discuss purchasing purchasing a a print, print, please please get get in in touch touch with Webb’s with Webb’s art art department. department.

Stephanie AuYeung, Manager, Art | stephanie@webbs.co.nz Mark Hutchins-Pond | Senior Specialist, Art DDI (+64) 09 529 5600 | M (+64) 022 301 8259 mark@webbs.co.nz | +64 9 529 5600 | +64 22 095 5610

Fine Art deserves more than just careful handling.

For over eight years, PACK & SEND Takapuna has partnered with Webb’s, art lovers and collectors across New Zealand to move fine art safely — from bespoke packaging to international delivery.

HANDLED WITH CARE. PACKED WITH PRECISION. DELIVERED WITH CERTAINTY.

PACK & SEND TAKAPUNA - BEYOND DELIVERY 09 486 3355 | takapuna@packsend.co.nz Scan to connect with our specialist logistics team.

Celebrate the festive season with a fabulous selection of finest quality artisan ingredients, exclusive European confectionery, heat-and-eat gourmet meals, hampers and wine.

Come and visit our store before and after your next Webb’s viewing. We are conveniently located virtually next door and open 7 days.

57 Normanby Road, Mt Eden, Auckland. Telephone: 09-630 8751 www.sabato.co.nz

www.alchemyandtonic.com

Christchurch Programme

Launch Event

Christchurch is the first stop in our Works of Art tour, where South Island audiences will have the opportunity to see museum quality works up close. Webb’s Director of Art Emily Gardener and Specialist Sean Duxfield will be available throughout this extended viewing period to share details about the works and offer complimentary appraisals.

Thursday 6 November

5.30—7.30pm

Viewing Thursday 6—Friday 7 November

10am—5pm

Saturday 8—Sunday 9 November

10am—4pm

Launch Event

Wellington Programme Artist, Karl Maughan will join Webb’s Senior Specialist, Mark Hutchins-Pond at the Wellington launch event to share their personal auction highlights. Key works include pieces by Maughan, Gretchen Albrecht, Don Binney, Ralph Hotere, Milan Mrkusich, Séraphine Pick, Michael Smither, and many more.

Wednesday 12 November

5.30—7.30pm

Viewing Thursday 13 November

10am—5pm

Friday 14—Saturday 15 November 11am—4pm

Auckland Programme

Launch Event

Our Auckland launch event will see leading jazz musician Nathan Haines and DJ Jaimie Webster Haines perform in response to some of the masterworks on offer. The entire catalogue will be on display ahead of the live auction.

Tuesday 18 November

6—8pm

Viewing Wednesday 19—Friday 21 November 10am—5pm

auckland 33a Normanby Road Mount Eden Auckland 1024

Saturday 22—Sunday 23 November

wellington 23 Marion Street Te Aro Wellington 6011

Monday 24 November 10am—5pm

Viewing on Request

Live Auction

christchurch 54 Hawdon Street Sydenham Christchurch 8023

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Monday 24 November 6.30pm

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Foreword It is a great pleasure to present our spring Works of Art auction catalogue.

It has been a busy and vibrant few months in the cultural sector, and this spring catalogue reflects these trends, offering a stellar lineup from the movers and shakers both past and present, who are influencing the artworld.

Webb’s continues its longstanding support of our local and national institutions. We partnered with Te Uru Contemporary Gallery in Titirangi to support their New Winds Auction Fundraiser, raising c.$40,000 towards their annual programmes. Next month we will help realise their upcoming survey Bill Hammond: Serenading Imagined Worlds. Webb’s was also the major partner of the Te Papa Foundation annual Gala, raising over $160,000 for the museum.

We were thrilled to see artists from Aotearoa take centre stage at this year’s Sydney Contemporary art fair, many of whom have featured recently at Webb’s. Curated by José Da Silva, Director of UNSW Galleries, Lisa Reihana CNZM’s shimmering ANZAC (2025), adorned the exterior of Carriageworks; Zac Langdon-Pole’s marble sculptures Memory Garden (2024) lined the main entrance hall; while Helen Calder’s Stacks, (2025) popped with colour in the exhibitor atrium, as part of Da Silva’s 2025 Installations programme.

Meanwhile, Julia Morison ONZM’s immersive installation, Arcana was selected as one of the top five highlights of the Fair, and Mike Hewson offered audiences the opportunity to walk away with one of his Geopets, to coincide with his major installation at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Equally, the rise in leading Australian artists at auction in New Zealand: Sally Gabori, Tracey Moffatt, Esther Stewart, reflects the growing market interest in artworks from across the Tasman.

This year, Webb’s also extended its support further south, and we were proud to present the opening celebrations for Karl Maughan: A Clear Day at the Suter Art Gallery, the first in a three-year partnership with one of our country’s longest running public institutions. Maughan’s early paintings

Emily Gardener Director of Art emily@webbs.co.nz +64 22 595 5610

Lot 58. Ralph Hotere, Painting ‘77 – Koputai

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draw inspiration from the romantic gardens where he grew up, heralding the iconic works that have become synonymous with his later practice.

Three majestic examples of which are featured in this catalogue.

Webb’s joined the Aotearoa arts community in celebrating the achievements of this year’s Arts Foundation Laureates. Artists Cheryl Lucas, Kate Newby, Reuben Paterson, Séraphine Pick and Shona Rapira-Davies were recognised for their services to the visual arts. The panel noted the influence of Séraphine Pick’s atmospheric and imaginative practice spanning 30 years, on generations of art students that followed. Did You Hear Something (1999) and Untitled (1987) reveal the artist’s signature layered and fluid figuration, which oscillates between the external and internal self.

As we honour the heroes who shape our cultural landscape, it seems difficult to comprehend a world, or local curriculum that fails to invest in our art history and the inherent universal human need to create through symbolic artistic expression, which continues to inspire, bring meaning, context, and understanding to the world we inhabit.

Our November Works of Art auction gives living expression to the enduring relevance of art history and its contemporary and past masters.

The rising demand for works by midcentury painters such as Don Binney, Ralph Hotere, Milan Mrkusich, Michael Smither and Robin White emphasises the intrinsic value and timelessness of their practice. The cultural currency of the artworld is further underpinned by artists such as Sandy Adsett, Bill Culbert, Brett Graham, Dane Mitchell, Michael Parekōwhai, Fiona Pardington, Lisa Reihana, who have been celebrated on the world stage at Venice for their ability to express and create crosscultural dialogue and understanding of the urgent issues of our time.

We hope you enjoy delving into this catalogue and we look forward to welcoming you to our spring festivities ahead of the live auction.

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Celebrating twenty years of Ashley & Co., with glass artist Kate Mitchell.

We hope you enjoy our special collaboration.

ashleyandco.co

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Ian Scott Small Lattice, No. 44 1981 acrylic on canvas signed Ian Scott in ink and dated '81 in ink verso 760 × 760mm est $15,000—$25,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland; Acquired from Peter Webb Galleries.

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Max Gimblett Honeycomb 2016 gesso, resin, 23.75kt rosanoble gold leaf on wood panel signed MAX GIMBLETT, dated 2016 and titled HONEYCOMB in brushpoint verso 770 × 770mm (widest points) est $30,000—$40,000 provenance Private collection, Wellington.

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Christina Pataialii Mama Said 2018 acrylic on canvas signed Christina Pataialii, dated 2018, inscribed Mama Said in brushpoint verso 1220 × 1220mm est $10,000—$15,000 provenance Private collection.

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Jude Rae Heterologies I 1993 oil on canvas signed Rae, dated '93, and inscribed Heterologies I in graphite verso 320 × 975mm est $8,000—$12,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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bronze signed GUY NGAN and inscribed 1A93 with impression upper edge 340 × 330 × 200mm (widest points) est $20,000—$30,000

John Walsh Rest Here A While E Hoa 2004 oil on board signed Walsh, dated 2004 and inscribed Rest here a while e hoa in graphite verso 890 × 1180mm est $13,000—$16,000

provenance Private collection, Auckland.

provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Guy Ngan untitled (Whalebone) 1993

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Ralph Hotere Winter Solstice Careys Bay 1991 acrylic and oil pastel on paper signed Hotere, dated '91 and inscribed Winter Solstice Careys Bay in graphite lower edge 630 × 500mm est $25,000—$30,000 provenance Private collection, Invercargill.

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Ralph Hotere Te Whiti series 1972 acrylic, silver ink pen and varnish on paper signed Hotere, dated '72 and inscribed Te Whiti Series in ink lower right 555 × 410mm est $35,000—$45,000 provenance Private collection, Invercargill.

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Ralph Hotere Drawing for SONG CYCLE 1976 acrylic on paper signed Hotere and dated '76 inscribed in graphite lower right and drawing for SONG CYCLE inscribed in graphite lower left 370 × 280mm est $25,000—$30,000 provenance Private collection, Wanaka.

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Paul Dibble Stories of a Lost Land 2022 bronze with 24 carat gold gilding signed Paul Dibble on base; inscribed 9/10 underneath base.

270 × 160 × 210mm (widest points) est $20,000—$30,000 provenance Private collection.

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André Hemer New Representation #11 2016 acrylic and pigment on canvas signed André Hemer, dated 2016 Vienna and inscribed New Representation #11 in graphite verso 1800 × 1350mm est $20,000—$25,000 provenance Private collection, Melbourne. Acquired from Chalkhorse Gallery, Sydney, 2016.

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Damien Hirst Beautiful, Exploding, Galactic 2001 24-colour screenprint on paper, 68/500 signed Damien Hirst in ink lower right; dated 2001 and inscribed 68/500 verso 1053 × 1013mm est $10,000—$15,000 provenance Private collection, Wellington.

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13 Toby Raine

John McAfee with Beautiful Women and Bath Salts 2023 oil on linen signed TOBY RAINE, dated 2023 and inscribed BARON YETI LIVES..? 'JOHN MCAFEE WITH BEAUTIFUL WOMEN AND BATH SALTS' 1000 × 1200mm est $10,000—$14,000 provenance Private collection.

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Nigel Brown Home Gardener 1989 oil on board signed N. Brown, dated 89 and inscribed Home Gardener Number 4 in brushpoint verso 1710 × 1180mm est $14,000—$18,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Dick Frizzell I REFUTE IT THUS 1999 oil on canvas signed Frizzell dated 17/5/99 and inscribed I REFUTE IT THUS in brushpoint lower left 700 × 800mm est $13,000—$17,000

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provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from Gow Langsford Gallery.

provenance Private collection, Dargaville. Acquired from Helen Pick Gallery, Russell, 1987.

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Séraphine Pick untitled 1987 oil on canvas signed Séraphine P and dated 87 in brushpoint lower right 730 × 1020mm est $28,000—$38,000

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Louise Henderson untitled 1975 acrylic on paper signed Louise Henderson and dated 75 in graphite lower right 420 × 420mm est $15,000—$25,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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John Drawbridge Interior With Figures No. 2 2004 oil on canvas 1220 × 1370mm est $25,000—$35,000 provenance Collection of Robert Chapman and Hugh Thurson, Hawkes Bay. Acquired 2004. literature Damian Skinner, John Drawbridge (Auckland: Ron Sang Publications, 2008), 186.

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Sandy Adsett Patua Wairua 1986 acrylic on board signed Sandy Adsett, dated 86 and inscribed "Patua Wairua" SERIES - 4 in ink verso 1080 × 1280mm est $25,000—$35,000 provenance Private collection, Hastings.

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Gretchen Albrecht Prelude I 1990 acrylic on canvas signed Albrecht, dated 90 and inscribed Prelude I in brushpoint verso 980 × 1500mm est $35,000—$45,000 provenance Private collection, Brisbane. Acquired from Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland, 1991.

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Wang Nengtao When Mum was a Kid 2008 oil on canvas 1500 × 1300mm est $12,000—$15,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from 798 Art District, Beijing.

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Yvonne Todd Female Study (Gold) 2007 C-type print signed Yvonne Todd dated 2007 and inscribed female study (gold) verso 1400 × 1170mm (each panel) est $25,000—$30,000 provenance Private collection, Christchurch.

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Li Yibing Mediation 2008 oil on canvas 1860 × 1250mm est $12,000—$15,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from 798 Art District, Beijing.

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Yuwen untitled oil on canvas 1720 × 1260mm est $15,000—$20,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from Gow Langsford Gallery.

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Dick Frizzell Link 1995 oil on canvas signed Frizzell, dated 25/5/95 and inscribed link in brushpoint lower right 750 × 540mm est $18,000—$25,000 provenance Private collection. Acquired from Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland, 2002. exhibitions Please to Remember: Dick Frizzell, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland, 6—30 November 2002.

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Winston Roeth Yellow 1997—1998 tempera on honeycombe panel signed W. Roeth 1998, dated 1997-98 and inscribed Yellow in ink verso 1170 × 1170mm est $25,000—$35,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Winston Roeth Cedar Landscape 2003 tempera on cedar panels signed W. Roeth, dated 2003 and inscribed Cedar Landscape verso 500 × 770mm est $10,000—$15,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Bill Culbert Slate Samsonite 2007 fluorescent light, suitcase 1110 × 700 × 200mm (widest points) est $15,000—$20,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Brett Graham (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura) reflects on the division and purchase of the South Island from Ngāi Tahu, which stripped the land of its ancestral and spiritual meaning. The hand-carved marble form of Te Waipounamu rests on a sarcophaguslike base, suggesting that land dies when it is treated as a commodity.

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Brett Graham Plot 2008 Carrera marble, 2/2 180 × 420 × 200mm est $12,000—$16,000 provenance Private collection, Christchurch. exhibitions Made for the Campaign Room exhibition, Two Rooms Gallery, Auckland 2008.

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Dane Mitchell Minor Optics #2 2009 automotive paint on steel, electronic unit, acrylic 990 × 800mm est $5,000—$8,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland. exhibitions Minor Optics, daadgalerie, Berlin, 22 October—28 November 2009.

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Dane Mitchell Gallery Mantra 2006 custom crate, portable CD player, portable speaker system, audio 465 × 505 × 95mm est $750—$1,500 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Essay by FEDERICO MONSALVE

hris Sharp, “The Sense of an C Ending,” Dane Mitchell, 2019, https:// www.danemitchell.co.nz/chris-sharp-1

Dane Mitchell’s oeuvre often explores that nebulous frontier between the measurable and the immaterial — between physical phenomena and whatever flickers just beyond their reach. It is on this fertile ground that he has erected measuring stations, and devised experiments and wave-emitting apparatuses to conjure up the elusive into something visible yet temporary.

His has been the realm of the departed — he is an artist of traces and afterlives. In his 2019 Venice Biennale project Post Hoc, he catalogued the vanished: “extinct animals to dead languages to burned books to lost art to former kingdoms to disappeared rivers, and much, much more.” 1 In the exhibition Unknown Affinities (Two Rooms, 2019), he created metallic allusions to every known, extinct Aotearoa New Zealand bird species.

He has crafted scents and transmitted the details of future solar eclipses while a pianist improvised to the list’s particular cadence.

Across these works, the invisible — whether linguistic, biological or atmospheric — becomes fleetingly perceptible.

Within all this are whiffs of the Enlightenment, in his quest to capture and document.

Many of his works recall wunderkammers, but his are designed to contain ghosts rather than naturalia. His conceptual toolbox seems to contain, in varying degrees, deconstruction and magical realism, from the supernatural to the empirical aspirations of the chemistry or physics lab.

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Mitchell’s work occupies the charged interval between belief and scepticism; its strength lies in halting just before possibility hardens into certainty or disbelief dissolves into irony. ‘Meaning’ quietens down just before any grand announcement of discovery or irrefutable truth starts to come into focus.

Minor Optics #2 formed part of a 2009 exhibition in which Mitchell placed several electrostatically charged steel plates in the daadgalerie in Berlin. When activated, these dark panes attracted dust particles throughout the course of the exhibition. Their random chemistry and haphazard formations accumulated on the surfaces of the plates, like some three-dimensional log book of visible and otherwise — gallery visitors.

In this work he seems to take the potent symbolism of a slightly reflective black surface (a là Ralph Hotere, perhaps) and apply a subtle, yet poetic alchemy to conjure up a kingdom of dust. Fabric fibres, dirt, pollen, mold, and even floating hairs and dead skin cells, can be found on its surface or suspended in mid-air as varying forces of attraction and rejection decide on the artwork’s visual expression.

Minor Optics #2 toys with the idea that the physical realm ripples into the unobservable. It hints that the world is populated by the barely perceptible and the merely invisible – and that the technological instruments we devise to extend our senses might never fully encompass the universes that inhabit the margins.

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Len Castle Lava Lake Bowl earthenware, red glaze signed LC in impression on base 145 × 540 × 540mm (widest points) est $6,000—$8,000 provenance Private collection.

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Paul Dibble A Miraculous Image 2007 bronze, 1/6 signed Dibble NZ and dated 2007 with incision lower edge 340 × 330 × 100mm (widest points) est $15,000—$25,000

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provenance Private collection, Wellington.

provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Gordon Walters On the Diagonal 1979 gouache on paper signed Gordon Walters, dated 79 and inscribed On The Diagonal in graphite lower right 290 × 380mm est $30,000—$50,000

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Peter Siddell Rapunzel 1975 oil on board signed Peter Siddell and dated 1975 in brushpoint lower right.

350 × 250mm est $10,000—$15,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Peter Siddell untitled (Western Reflections) 1978 oil on board signed PETER SIDDELL and dated 1978 in brushpoint lower left 275 × 365mm est $20,000—$30,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Essay by LILY MCCOWAN

‘Here I am at the Bay and the day is incredibly beautiful. The tide is in and the sea is like a mirror and the only thing wrong is that I have to return to Christchurch this weekend.’1 — Leo Bensemann in a letter to his daughter, Caroline, 31st January 1973 Golden Bay’s whenua provides rich sources in material — not just in its dramatic goldrush past, but in artistic inspiration.

Born in Tākaka on the 1st of May, 1912, Leo Bensemann was a leading pioneer in the regional realism movement. But whilst contemporaries of his arts collective called ‘The Group’; Rita Angus, Doris Lusk and Colin McCahon, painted landscapes, Bensemann was painting portraits in the same way he presented himself — striking, severe and full of saturation, or as described by Bill Sutton “Leo didn’t need to sign anything.

His name is written all over it!”2 Bensemann returned to drawing and painting after many years of contributing artworks to be put to print at Caxton Press, and he became enamoured with the landscapes he had once called home in Golden Bay. The summer of 1965 became a pivotal year in Bensemann’s artistic development as he rented a bach in Ligar Bay, with vistas overlooking imposing emerald hills, becoming the muse for over sixty paintings in the course of the last twenty years of his life.

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Untitled (Golden Bay Landscape) is devoid of any human presence except that of Bensemann’s artistic hand. Lush hills, appearing like carved, polished pounamu, reflect how Tākaka is home to Dun Mountain Ophiolite Belt, one of the largest deposits of greenstone in the country. Here, the very first encounters between Europeans and Māori took place when explorer Abel Tasman anchored in the bay on 13th of December, 1642. Yes, the land provides rich sources in material.

On hearing of Bensemann’s return to painting in 1960, close friend and composer Douglas Lilburn wrote to Bensemann of his own inspiration found in the hills of Golden Bay: “they remain with me through all this northern scuffle & business.”3 Initially eschewed from regional realism, Bensemann turned to landscape at a time when it was steadily losing favour to modernism, a remarkable decision of fierce independence and self-determination.

Caroline Otto, Leo Bensemann : Landscapes & Studies : A Catalogue, Nelson, N.Z: Nikau Press, 2006.

Otto, Leo Bensemann : Landscapes & Studies : A Catalogue, 8.

3 Peter Simpson, Fantastica : The World of Leo Bensemann, Auckland, N.Z: Auckland University Press, 2011, 123.

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Leo Bensemann untitled (Golden Bay Landscape) oil on canvas board 615 × 780mm est $18,000—$30,000 provenance Private collection.

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John Tole Tamaki Landscape 1940 oil on hardboard signed John Tole and dated '40 in brushpoint lower left 255 × 305mm est $10,000—$15,000 provenance Collection of Sam Hunt CNZM QSM.

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James Nairn Houses, Silverstream c.1920s oil on card 750 × 900mm est $15,000—$20,000 provenance Private collection, Christchurch. exhibitions Otago Arts Society Retrospective, 1990.

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40 Fiona Pardington

Lovers, Timaru, South Canterbury Museum 2024 archival inkjet print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag signed Fiona Pardington in ink verso 1450 × 1100mm est $25,000—$35,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from Starkwhite.

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Fiona Pardington The Sun, The Satyr 2021 archival inkjet print on Hahnemühle paper, 9/10 signed Fiona Pardington in ink verso 1080 × 810mm est $18,000—$26,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from Starkwhite.

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Fiona Pardington Barbara's Kahurangi 2012 pigment ink on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Paper 825 × 2210mm est $60,000—$70,000 provenance Private collection, Christchurch.

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Tracey Moffatt As I Lay Back on My Ancestral Land 2013 digital print on paper, edition of 8 1250 × 1840mm est $30,000—$40,000 provenance Private collection, Queenstown.

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Esther Stewart Grand Gestures 2015—16 oil on board 1830 × 2620mm est $15,000—$25,000 provenance Private collection, Queenstown. Acquired from Sarah Cottier Gallery, 2016.

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Essay by SEAN DUXFIELD

provenance Private collection, Christchurch.

Born on Bentinck Island, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori grew up within the Kaiadilt community, surrounded by the vibrant colours and rhythms of her ancestral home.

In 1948 Gabori and the Kaiadilt community were relocated from Bentinck Island to nearby Mornington Island by missionaries, following floods and other natural disasters that made much of their homeland uninhabitable.

This displacement profoundly shaped Gabori’s art: her paintings of Dibirdibi Country and other ancestral landscapes were created entirely from memory, preserving the forms, colours and stories of a land she could no longer inhabit. These works convey both a deep connection to Country and a poignant reflection on loss, memory and resilience.

A member of the Mornington Island Arts and Crafts Centre, Gabori began her creative journey with textiles, where her instinct for pattern, rhythm and movement first found form. When she turned to painting in the later years of her life, she transferred that tactile understanding onto canvas, producing works that pulse with life and emotion.

Remarkably, she did not begin painting until she was 80 years old. Yet in a brief but extraordinary career she established herself as one of the most significant Aboriginal artists of her generation.

Gabori’s paintings are deeply personal, created entirely from her memory and connection

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Sally Gabori Dibirdibi Country 2012 synthetic polymer paint on linen 1970 × 1000mm est $55,000—$75,000

to the places and stories of her homeland. The painting Dibirdibi Country in this catalogue was inspired by her connection to one such place.

In Kaiadilt culture, Dibirdibi refers to a totemic ancestor — the Rock Cod — and to the area of land and sea associated with that ancestral being. For Gabori, Dibirdibi Country was particularly significant because it belonged to her late husband, Pat Gabori.

Many of her paintings express both her connection to him and her enduring memory of that land — a poignant reflection on love, loss and belonging.

Gabori developed her own distinctive visual language to articulate her connection to place. Her paintings, alive with bold colour and fluid movement, evoke the sea, salt pans, rivers and ridges of her ancestral home. Her mastery of colour – vivid pinks, deep blues, radiant whites, and ochres – captures both the physical beauty and spiritual essence of her homeland. Each painting stands as a map of memory and belonging.

In 2013 Sally Gabori represented Australia at the Venice Biennale, an acknowledgment of the profound impact she had made on contemporary art. Her paintings, held in major collections including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Musée du quai Branly, Paris, continue to resonate, celebrating the enduring spirit of Country and the remarkable creativity that can flourish at any stage of life.

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Edgar Mansfield Animism 84 c1980s bronze with patina finish signed EM and editioned 5,6 by incision lower edge 470 × 230 × 160mm est $4,000—$8,000

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Edgar Mansfield Animism 39 c1980s patina on bronze on wood base 170 × 610 × 140mm est $4,000—$8,000

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Essay by MARK HUTCHINS-POND

The complete version of in Pursuit of Venus [infected], by Lisa Reihana (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāi Tū) for her exhibition Emissaries at the 2017 Venice Biennale, can be considered nothing short of monolithic: in physicality, in duration, in scope. Measuring 24 metres wide and 4 metres high, with over 1,500 individual digital layers and 33 million pixels per frame, this work was made to immerse its viewers in a “radical reclamation” of colonial history “from a trans-Pacific perspective.”1 The work takes its cue from Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique, an 1804 woodblock-print wallpaper developed by Joseph Dufour and Jean-Gabriel Charvet for sale to wealthy clientele from across Europe, where it proved immensely popular. The wallpaper was intended as a form of ‘armchair tourism’ of its time, allowing patrons to decorate the interiors of their homes with tantalising scenes of an idealised Pacific. Dufour and Charvet’s figures leap and lounge sensually across the wallpaper expanse, robed in ethnically ambiguous, ‘exotic’ garb; the world they inhabit is a fabulation invented in someone else’s elsewhere.2 By contrast, Reihana’s rebuttal takes back the power of authorship and offers us more honest — if stinging — truths, delivered through decidedly twenty-first-century means.

The narrative she presents to us speaks more openly to the darker overtones of violence, cultural misunderstanding and colonial conquest that pervade many of these seemingly small and inconsequential scenes. In doing so, Reihana distils a radically Pacific reinterpretation of events, seeking to destabilise the dominant, European narrative of colonisation “with a

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speculative twist.”3 In Omai & Obeera, Hawaiian Hula, Chiefly Pursuits (00000_00525) (2017), a singular frame from the panoramic video is extracted and frozen in time. This image comes from the beginning of in Pursuit of Venus [infected]. It is a rare moment before Europeans arrive.

In the middle ground on the left, Obeera (Queen of Tahiti) and Omai (Tahitian courtier to the Queen), are both recognisable in their courtly attire. Obeera is spectacularly draped in a sunbleached white tapa (bark cloth), while Omai wears elaborate headgear and a richly coloured cloak. The impressive pair appear to be plotting, perhaps deciding what they might say to the Queen of England if they took the opportunity to travel with Cook’s entourage on their return.

Omai first met Cook as a teenager in Tahiti on the commander’s first voyage in 1769. During Cook’s second voyage, history records that Omai did, in fact, decide to make that journey, joining the HMS Adventure in 1773 under Captain Tobias Furneaux and arriving in London a year later.

Just left of centre, a group of Hawaiians performs a hula, while the kumu hula chants, beating a rhythm on the drum. In the foreground to the right, two chiefs in ceremonial dress are in animated discussion, attended by a woman who fans them.

These principal players make repeated appearances in the scrolling narrative of this work; some of them, like Omai, became emissaries from the South Pacific. They signify the exchanges that took place during Cook’s Pacific voyages of discovery — and indeed they helped secure the success of those voyages, whose effects remain alive and contested to this day.

Rhana Devenport, “Emissaries: A New Pacific of the Past for Tomorrow,” in Lisa Reihana: Emissaries (Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2017), 12.

2 Lisa Reihana, quoted in Rhana Devenport, “Emissaries: A New Pacific of the Past for Tomorrow,” 19.

3 “About the Work,” in Pursuit of Venus, https:// www. inpursuitofvenus.com/about 1

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48 Lisa Reihana

Omai & Obeera, Hawaiian Hula, Chiefly Pursuits (00000_00525), 2017 , still from the Pursuit of Venus [infected] 2017 pigment print on paper mounted on aluminium dibond behind perspex, 9/10 762 × 2137mm est $44,000—$52,000 provenance Private collection.

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Andrew McLeod Landscape with Rainbow 2012 oil on canvas signed McLeod in brushpoint lower right 1200 × 1900mm est $68,000—$85,000 provenance Private collection, Wellington.

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Chen Jianguo Rose in the Sky 2007 oil on canvas signed and dated 2007 . 11 in brushpoint lower right 2000 × 1500mm est $90,000—$120,000 provenance Private collection. Acquired from 798 Art District, Beijing.

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KARL MAUGHAN & TONI MACKINNON

Toni MacKinnon, Director of The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū, speaks to artist Karl Maughan about his influences, his evolving approach to garden painting, and the interplay between constructed landscapes and artistic imagination.

Toni MacKinnon: Recently you’ve talked about how, as the basis for your paintings, you ‘jigsaw’ photographs together — adhering less rigidly to what is in the photograph.

In some ways that method of constructing mirrors the way gardens are built. What do you see as the connection between creating gardens in paint and in the real?

Karl Maughan: The way I construct my images or photographs of gardens does feel very similar to garden design. When I change things around so much these days — a bit of a garden from France combined with a bit of a garden from Italy, thrown in with something from Christchurch — it really does feel like the ultimate gardening, because I can take out 150-foot trees in a second and also add them, maybe not in a second but certainly in a lot shorter time than watching them grow. I strictly adhered to the photograph so much in the old days, but now not so much.

TM: Richard Wolfe once wrote that you tend to “overlook the down-side of the natural cycle: rot, wilt and insect strike are banished in the cultivation of the idea.” This is not true of your earlier work, but is consistent in your later work. What led that development, do you think?

KM: Richard Wolfe’s observation kind of refers to the previous question. When people used to ask me to look at their gardens and paint them, I would find myself down by the compost heap and they wouldn’t be happy at all. I have been going back to more detailed painting of late, and that does sometimes include the illnesses of the garden.

TM: Many of your works are notably large, painted on an immersive scale; though some are, of course, much smaller. How do you decide on the size of a painting?

KM: I really like doing the larger works, and it seems to me that sometimes I also enjoy the smaller ones. It’s really good to vary them, but the large size is so much fun, too, so often I just jump into something huge for a change of pace.

TM: Your paintings have had a similar theme, yet have changed so much over the years. At the opening of A Clear Day at The Suter Art

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Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū you said that, looking back at earlier work, you could see what you were hung up on at the time. What are you hung up on in your studio right now?

KM: Looking at my old paintings at the Suter, I was painting a lot of grey and blue leaves in the early years; these days I’m enjoying water in paintings – lakes, rivers and the sea.

TM: What happens when you think, ‘I’ve done this before’? How do you push into something new within a familiar subject?

KM: Even though my paintings can seem quite similar, I go out of my way to make a certain challenge in each one, and make each one different as well.

TM: A garden is nature that’s been ordered, framed and tended, not wild, but not entirely artificial either. It sits in that in-between space where we bring nature under control but still admire and nurture it. In your earlier work, the gardens felt like lived, local spaces; these days they feel more like idealised constructions. It seems your garden paintings consistently move further away from naturalism towards the artificial. What has driven that evolution?

KM: I don’t think my paintings have moved too far away from reality these days ­— I seem to be using photographs without too much adulteration at the moment.

TM: You once quoted Van Gogh saying that it can feel as though there’s a pane of glass between you and the subject, and that you just have to get closer. In your painting Richmond Road, the garden is pushed right up to the picture plane, while in others, such as Fendalton Garden, we’re led into the work by paths and implied spaces beyond bushes and hedges. Can you tell us about the use of space in your paintings?

KM: In my smaller work in the past, and recently, too, I have been using them more as the idea of details, focusing into the garden. In the big works I step back a bit more. I like the sense with the small works of almost like a still life – certainly these two works, Utuwai and Richmond, are like this pulling in and paying close attention to a snapshot of the garden.

Photography by Webb's — Karl Maughan, 2025

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Karl Maughan Utuwai 2023 oil on canvas signed K Maughan, dated 2023, inscribed UTUWAI in ink verso 1030 × 1030mm est $27,500—$36,000 provenance Private collection.

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Karl Maughan FENDALTON GARDEN 2019 oil on canvas signed Karl Maughan, dated 2019, inscribed FENDALTON GARDEN in ink verso 1000 × 1000mm est $25,000—$35,000 provenance Private collection.

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Karl Maughan Richmond Road 2017 oil on canvas signed Karl Maughan, dated AUGUST 2017, inscribed RICHMOND ROAD in ink verso 1420 × 2140mm est $80,000—$100,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Essay by MARK HUTCHINS-POND

arkedly early in Don Binney’s painting M career, birds were proving a curse as well as a blessing. By the mid-1960s, he would find himself typecast as the ‘Bird Man’, a purveyor of national symbolism — a moniker which placed him conveniently within the rubric of two prevalent strands in New Zealand culture, nationalism and regionalism … Regardless of whether his bird paintings were caught in a critical up- or downdraft — and their fortunes have fluctuated over the past half century — they remain his defining achievement.

Yet the birds were always part of a wider awareness of environmental concerns.1 As Sheridan Keith succinctly points out in her conversation with Binney published in Art New Zealand 28, “From almost the first exhibited works the elements of a Binney painting are all there… sky, land, horizon, bird… along with the implications of human Webb's Webb's

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occupancy.”2 Not every Binney composition, however, contains all of these elements.

Bird-less landscapes, or, more specifically, Binney’s idiosyncratic interpretation of specific landforms, consistently punctuated his wider practice throughout his long career.

The earliest examples can be found in his McCahon-esque responses to Te Henga, on Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s west coast, in the early 1960s.These were followed by dramatic pared-back images of Mount Hikurangi, with its “clear, scooped-linear profile”,3 among other minimal bird-less landscape works in his Northland Journey series of 1964.

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Two Aspects of Tokatoka 1980 oil on board signed DON BINNEY and dated 1980 in brushpoint lower left 1200 × 920mm est $350,000—$500,000 provenance Private collection.

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Photographer Unknown — Don Binney, 1963, Fairfax Archives

Don Binney Tokatoka graphite and charcoal on paper signed D.B. and inscribed TOKATOKA in graphite lower right 150 × 225mm note Drawing for painting TOKATOKA FARM III, 1980.

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Fifteen years later, another significant Northland land feature, Tokatoka Peak, overlooking the Wairoa River in the northern reach of the Kaipara Harbour, captured Binney’s attention enough for him to choose to paint it sans bird. “In notes accompanying the 1979 exhibition ‘Points North’, which featured numerous Tokatoka works, Binney stated his attraction to the ‘curious vertical plug’ — a geological feature which was, he discovered, an extension, northward of the Anawhata–Te Henga area rock faces, islands and headlands”4 that had been the most recurrent geographic locale for his practice for decades.

I t also links up with the pitons of Mauritius, which were part of [Binney’s] ‘Other Places’ series of works from 1973–74. For all its singularity, he considered Tokatoka very much part of a network, an arrangement, a broader pattern in geological as well as human and autobiographical terms.

After the complex rhythms of Te Henga, here was a singular form, almost dolmenlike, a steadying presence presiding over rolling hills and farmland.5 regory O’Brien, Don Binney: Flight Path (Auckland University Press, 2023), 16, 17.

G Sheridan Keith, “A Conversation with Don Binney,” Art New Zealand 28, 1983, 18.

O’Brien, Don Binney: Flight Path, 88.

4 Ibid., 253.

5 Ibid.

1 2 3

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The oil and acrylic painting Two Aspects of Tokatoka (1980), featured in this catalogue, is the second version of this subject. The first, with the same name, is reproduced on page 255 in Gregory O’Brien’s seminal 2023 tome Don Binney: Flight Path. In my opinion, the double composition in this later work feels far more resolved. The closer-viewed image of Tokatoka Peak in the top half of the 1979 version appears to sit incongruously on the curving cloud that hovers above the more distant rendition of the peak below it, suggesting ambiguous and fantastical spatial relationships. In the later version, however, Binney reverses the placement of the close and distant views of the peak. With the closer view in the lower half of the composition, the separation between the ‘two aspects’ is more plainly defined. The rain-laden cloud that so confused the earlier composition now sits clearly at the top of the panel, successfully capping the conjoined image and providing tonal counterbalance to the dark greens of the larger image of Tokatoka in the lower half.

This revised composition invites the viewer to read this sequential diptych of images from top to bottom, effectively evoking the experience of approaching Tokatoka Peak by car or by tightening the focus while viewing it through field binoculars.

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Essay by GEORGIA CLAPSHAW

Describing her 1925 relocation to Aotearoa as “opening a door for a bird to fly,”1 Louise Henderson found a sense of liberation she hadn’t known in France. Prompted by a chance meeting with New Zealand schoolteacher and her eventual husband Hubert Henderson, whom she met in a Paris gallery, and armed with the knowledge that her parents did not approve of her becoming an artist, she was emboldened by this new distance and freedom from expectations to follow the path she had always wanted. Henderson began to build an artistic legacy that would span seven decades, leaving a lasting mark on the creative landscape of Aotearoa.

By 1950, Henderson had moved to Auckland and was studying at Elam School of Fine Arts, where she met influential tutor and artist John Weeks, whose guidance deeply shaped her artistic practice, with the two later becoming close friends. With Hubert’s encouragement to pursue painting full time by building her a studio in their Epsom home, she was able to put more time and energy into her developing practice. It was around this time that she was more formally introduced to cubism by Weeks, and is said to have painted her first cubist work in his studio.2 She was enamoured by the movement, prompting a return to Paris for a year to study under acclaimed French cubist Jean Metzinger. This was a major turning point in her practice, with notable cubist qualities emerging in future works.

One of Henderson’s many creative talents was her ability to paint with an immediacy that reflected her ever-changing locations and moods. She could immerse herself in the visual language of wherever she was in the world, from the medinas of the Middle East to the dense bush surrounding her Gillies Avenue studio, or the expansive ocean from her excursions around the Antarctic. Her voracious curiosity to discover, understand and reconstruct her surroundings seems to be the thread that carries through her ever-evolving practice. Henderson was constantly and consistently drawing inspiration from these discoveries, often reworking images collected through her travels into later paintings. For this reason, it is not always easy to pinpoint when a work was created. Setting Sun Indian Ocean, for example, could be referencing her 1956 travels throughout the Middle East with her husband or potentially one of her many trips by sea years later.

In 1963, after a decade of discovery and

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success, Henderson’s art practice came to a halt with the sudden passing of Hubert. This shook her to her core, and she vowed to never paint again. Later that same year, she found herself creating once again, channelling her emotions and grief into what became known as her Air and Water series. After 40 paintings, she “found there couldn’t be another … my grief dried up.”3 While Setting Sun Indian Ocean was painted much later, in 1978, amidst her Bush series, there are undeniable similarities in form and style that point to a lingering sense of deep emotion previously tapped into in the early 60s.

This sweeping seascape is a perfect example of her later relaxed cubist style that, while segmented, still manages to sustain a beautiful and energetic sense of fluidity. Setting Sun Indian Ocean contains traces of the energy and movement it was born from, with brushstrokes visible and paint drips unworked.

During this period she was known to paint flat on the ground and would adjust and rotate works until the composition felt right, resulting in a dynamic and full-bodied process that allowed works to emerge unstifled by the expectation of their outcome. The widely varying viscosities of paint allow for a lyrical balance of dense colour and thin, ethereal washes, culminating in a complex sense of depth that shows an evolution from traditionally rendered cubist compositions. These segments occupy the space loosely, overlapping and undulating with the movement of a turbulent sea.

The natural world has always been a source of inspiration for Henderson, with her Air and Water series becoming a vehicle to explore and expel her grief. In art and literature, themes of nature have long been used to process and contextualise these emotions. Like the ocean and currents, feelings of grief and loss are often described as coming in waves and, as in nature itself, can have overwhelming, uncontrollable effects. The sun glistening amongst the waves brings hope or a guiding light, perhaps evoking the warm glow of the companion with whom she once shared this moment.

While the meaning of this work could be endlessly parsed, part of Setting Sun Indian Ocean’s beauty lies in this vagueness. Through her unique synthesis of emotion, memory, form and colour, Henderson transforms personal experience into a visual language that transcends time, place and personal narrative, inviting viewers to find their own reflections in the shifting tides of her work.

“Missing Louise Henderson Artwork to Be Shown in Christchurch,” Christchurch Art Gallery, 18 June 2020, https://christchurchartgallery. org.nz/blog/media-release/2020/06/ missing-louise-hendersonartwork-to-be-shown-in-ch 2 Patrick Smith, “A life of Discovery,” New Zealand Listener, 2 September 1991, 49.

3 Elizabeth Grierson, “The Art of Louise Henderson, 1925–1990” (Master’s thesis, University of Auckland, 1990), 66.

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Louise Henderson Setting Sun Indian Ocean 1978 oil on board signed Louise Henderson dated 1978 and inscribed N.1 setting Sun Indian Ocean, Indian Ocean in ink verso 800 × 600mm (each panel) est $100,000—$150,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

Photographer Unknown- Louise Henderson, 1977, Fairfax Archives

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Essay by ALISON BARTLEY

A river of colour flows expressively through our hearts. A multi-hued river of blue, with murky depths, flows across this painting. Yet this is no river, and the painting and its artist Milan Mrkusich never sought to represent physical features of the world. This, Painting Blue, does, however, seek to express and calls to us to respond. Speaking of his huge glass-panel artwork (1994) that adorns the southern, Cable Street face of Te Papa, Mrkusich said, “colour is a life-force, I think. Some people are trying to read things into it, saying it’s a landscape or this or that, but it’s the resonance and energy of colour.”1 That comment applies equally to his painting: abstract, geometric, colour-field minimalism. Mrkusich occupies a singular place in the art history of New Zealand and has often been called a pioneer of abstraction. Although born and raised here, the cultural heritage of his immigrant Dalmatian parents was seemingly deeply ingrained in his DNA and his work was consistently international, rather than local in focus. Rejecting the regional realism that dominated the middle decades of the twentieth century, Mrkusich was inspired by, and looked to learn from, European modernism and the Bauhaus. The Bauhaus, established in Germany in 1919 by architect Walter Gropius as an art and design school, became a movement of artists, designers and architects with a vision of the social value of good design, simplicity and functionality. This shaped Mrkusich’s life.

At the other end of the world, he learned from books and magazines, without seeing modernist works first hand. Starting to paint in 1946, he still, like most artists, needed a day job, and in 1949 he was a founding partner of the Auckland architecture and design firm Brenner Associates. When it dissolved in 1958, he became a full-time painter.

Paint, surface texture, geometric form and colour were his preoccupations. In the 1960s, circles, squares and later triangles, as seen in this painting, were pushed to the edg-

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es of his canvas, leaving a large centre ‘field’ of colour – colour with depth and inflection, usually not flat, as in colour-field painting. By 1968, the date of this painting, Mrkusich was producing what are referred to as his ‘Corner’ paintings. In many, the triangles on the corners act like old-fashioned photo corners, seemingly holding the painting in place. This painting both fits and disrupts the category. There are not four even, geometric corner forms. Here the red triangle in the top left is rotated and, rather than pointing into the corner, drops down from the top of the painting, tab-like.

The large, flat, black triangle at bottom right speaks to flat colour as well as form – pointing out by its flatness the mottled blackness immersed in the seeming ‘river’ of blue. The intense dominant blue speaks to the expressive power of colour: here to both its brightness and its darker, midnight connotations.

This painting is landscape in format, unlike most, which are square, and while this is not a small painting, many were much bigger. Curator and critic Robert Leonard has described the ‘corner’ paintings as “the ultimate resolution of material literalness and immaterial beyondness, the architectural and the atmospheric, without resorting to symbolism or allegory,” going on to say that, while “Mrkusich continued to make important, handsome works,” nothing topped “the brilliance and consequence of the Corner paintings.”2 From his first solo exhibition in 1949, Mrkusich went on to have major exhibitions throughout the country, including retrospectives at Auckland City Art Gallery in 1972 and 1985. In 1982 he was included in the 48th Carnegie International exhibition in Pittsburgh.

He featured prominently in Auckland City Art Gallery’s The 1950s Show in 1992. In 2009–10, Transform was shown at the Gus Fisher Gallery in Auckland and City Gallery Wellington.

Mrkusich was made a Member of the Order of New Zealand in 1997, and in 2003, an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Icon.

“ Coloured Glass Panels by Milan Mrkusich,” Te Papa, https:// www.tepapa.govt.nz/glasspanels-by-milan-mrkusich 2 Robert Leonard, “Mrkusich Cornered,” 1 July 2018, https:// robertleonard.org/2018/07/ mrkusich-cornered/ 1

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Milan Mrkusich Painting Blue 1968 acrylic on canvas title inscribed, signed and dated 1968 verso 970 × 1750mm est $75,000—$90,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Essay by ALISON BARTLEY

The sky is blue, the surf is up, the tide is out. This beach scene, redolent of so many beaches around the motu, is also a specific place. It is Back Beach, located to the south of New Plymouth’s landmark 156-metre-tall Paritutu Rock, a walk or short drive from the city centre. Michael Smither was born and raised in New Plymouth, and returned to live in his home town after studying at the Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland. If the number of sketches, paintings and prints, from different angles at different times of day, is any indication, Back Beach was a compelling and much-loved spot for Smither.

The scene is recognisable, stylised, and, if not seen in a historical way, timeless. It belongs in a lineage of twentieth-century regional realism that began in the 1930s with artists such as Rita Angus – think of her 1936 painting of Cass railway station near Arthur’s Pass.

Regionalist artists sought to depict something specific of this land and to distinguish local painting from European landscape traditions.

A key difference was seen to be our stronger light, which sharply delineates forms. Thus a ‘hard-edged’ realism developed to identify a place quite different to that infused by a softer, hazier light. Interest in these ideas resurged in the 1960s with painters like Don Binney and Robin White – again, think of White’s many landscapes around the country, from the Maketu fish and chip shop to the many versions of the harbour cone near Dunedin.

What we see in this painting contains key elements of the genre: strong outlines, broad areas of colour and flattened forms. The sun casts strong shadows and we see the rocks in the foreground reflected in the pools surrounding them. Smither’s attention to detail can also

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be seen in the delineation of the high-tide line on the rocks. The graphic quality is complicated with softer, smaller brush marks on the waves as they break on the shore, and on the rocks in the background.

Although this is a popular beach for swimming, surfing and strolling, and even though Smither is also renowned for his paintings of people, what we see, as in most of his Taranaki coastscapes, is unpopulated. There are no people enjoying or using the environment, or small children playing in the rock pools.

This painting was made in the era the late curator Ron Brownson named ‘The Wonder Years’, Smither’s very productive period from 1962 to 1979, when he returned to live in New Plymouth. The Wonder Years, with accompanying publication, was an exhibition curated by Brownson for the Auckland City Art Gallery that toured the country, as had his comprehensive survey exhibition developed by the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth in 1986. His paintings are included in major public gallery collections, including the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington and the Waikato Museum, amongst others.

In 2019 Smither’s paintings started breaking records for auction sales of works by living artists – two significant records feature paintings of the Taranaki coast. Sea Wall and Kingfisher (1967) sold for $342,000—the previous record was $219,00, for a work by Bill Hammond.) Then in December 2022, Two Rock Pools sold for $516,000.

In 2004 he was awarded a CNZM (Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit) for his contribution to the arts. Renowned and respected, Smither, now in his 80s, continues to paint and produce screen prints.

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Michael Smither Back Beach 1976 oil on canvas signed MSD and dated 76 in brushpoint lower right corner 1210 × 1730mm est $180,000—$220,000 provenance Private collection, New Plymouth.

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Ralph Hotere Painting ‘77 – Koputai 1977 acrylic and lacquer on board title inscribed, signed and dated Port Chalmers '77 and inscribed B. L. G Cat No. 14 verso 2400 × 1200mm est $130,000—$180,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from Important Paintings and Contemporary Art, Art+Object, Auckland, 27 November 2012, lot 28.

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Essay by MARK HUTCHINS-POND

Ralph Hotere is the first artist of Māori descent to have been written, by Pākehā, as early as 1968, into a history of New Zealand art.1 Despite his ambivalence about being labelled as any kind of cultural or ethnic artist, he is also often claimed as a founding figure, half a century ago, of today’s burgeoning contemporary Māori art movement.2 In 1969 Hotere was awarded the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship, a year-long residency granted by the University of Otago to outstanding New Zealand artists, which provided him with Dunedin studio space and a year’s stipend. During that year, Hotere lived at 121 Forth Street, with a rent-free studio in nearby Castle Street, courtesy of the University.

In 1973, with Cilla McQueen and her daughter Andrea, Hotere moved further out, to 27 Harbour Terrace, on the hill above Careys Bay. Port Chalmers (Kōpūtai) offered him a relaxed small-town community, a pub where snooker and darts were played, and the opportunity to fish, floating about on the bay.3 The move to Careys Bay also enabled him to be close to the studio at 2 Aurora Terrace, on Observation Point, which he’d purchased when the Hodgkins Fellowship ended in 1970.

S ituated on the vestigial stump of Oputae / Observation Point in Kōpūtai / Port Chalmers, [Hotere’s first studio] is the last remaining house on Aurora Terrace near the Flagstaff on the slope overlooking the awa Ōtākou / Otago Harbour and Muaupoko / Otago Peninsula.

Both iwi history and archaeological evidence show Māori occupation in the Ōtākou / Otago region since the 12th century. Early Kōpūtai was a small settlement recorded as abandoned in the 1840s. Following the settlement, it continued to be a

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tauraka waka within the awa Ōtākou / Otago Harbour, an ara tawhito and provider of abundant resources. Kōpūtai was the location of the signing of the Otago Deed between representatives of the New Zealand Company and 25 chiefs on 31 July 1844. Today, Kōpūtai is an acknowledged Wāhi tapu area.4 In John Reynolds’ preamble to his transcript of an interview with Hotere, published in the exhibition catalogue Ralph Hotere Black Light, Reynolds describes his trip down to Dunedin, then out to Port Chalmers, and finally to Ralph’s place, around at isolated Careys Bay. It’s that whole thing about approaching Ralph: there is always another little distance you have to travel, then around the corner, then just tangentially, then just up the hill. It’s not as if Ralph just lives in an isolated part of New Zealand, it’s actually an isolated part of an isolated part of New Zealand, which I now understand is essential, it makes sense in terms of his chemistry.5 Hotere rendered his deep feelings for Koputai many times during his 40 years of association with Port Chalmers, but the works he created during the 14 years he occupied his iconic studio at the end of Aurora Terrace are among the most resonant. The densely layered enamel ground of Painting ‘77 – Koputai, built up by immeasurable layers of darktoned dots with scatterings of lighter, sand-like specks, appears to speak of the ancient sedimentary physicality of the terrain on which the studio stands.

Shadowy phantoms of the generations of residents and travellers who have left their marks on this whenua seem to dart among the painting’s murky depths. Then, on top of this sombre physicality, Hotere

trails fragile vertical bands of while lines down each side of the image. Delicate, seemingly trembling at times, these fine while lines elevate the front of the picture plane and, in so doing, throw the dark textured ground back into space. Writer and poet Ian Wedde describes these delicate parallel veils as energetic, almost untidy effects [that] have a strong narrative presence: they are ‘audible’ as they trail down across the by-now-three-dimensional space of the painting … [They create a] sense of depth and orchestration … The combined vitality and orchestrated serenity of these effects are, again, so close to music or speech that a viewer’s ‘entry’ to the work is almost in terms of listening and responding, of speaking or singing ‘along with’ the painting’s score. It’s a moving sense, like being within the engaged space of music that invites us to join, in the darkness.6

J onathan Mane-Wheoki, “The Black Light Paradox: The Sumptuous Austerity of Ralph Hotere’s Art,” Art New Zealand 98, Autumn 2001, referencing Mark Young, New Zealand Art: Painting 1950–1967, A.H. & A.W. Reed, 1968.

2 Mane-Wheoki, “The Black Light Paradox.”

3 “The Library of Ralph Hotere,” Reed Gallery, https://www.reedgallery.co.nz/ exhibitions/the-library-of-ralph-hotere/2 4 “Studio of Ralph Hotere (Former),” Heritage New Zealand Poutere Taonga, https://www.heritage. org.nz/list-details/9762/Studio-of-Ralph-Hotere 5 Ralph Hotere, Ian Wedde, Gwynneth Porter and John Walsh, Ralph Hotere Black Light: Major Works Including Collaborations with Bill Culbert (Te Papa Press and Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 2000), 4.

6 Ian Wedde, Ralph Hotere: Requiem (B) (For Tony), lot 43, auction catalogue, Webb’s Works of Art 162AD, July 2025.

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59 Michael Parekōwhai

The Moment of Cubism 2009 hand-finished bronze, patina (unique) 1180 × 420 × 430mm (widest points) est $60,000—$80,000

Brent Wong Study, Hills 1974 acrylic on hardboard signed B. Wong and dated '74 in brushpoint lower left; signed Brent Wong, dated 1974 and inscribed "Study, Hills" in brushpoint verso 422 × 606mm est $70,000—$100,000

provenance Private collection, Auckland.

provenance Private collection, Timaru. Acquired c1970s, Wellington.

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Robin White and Auri Olsson Tui tui 2005 enamel spray, Flexo-Print ink on wool bale 720 × 1630mm (each panel) est $38,000—$58,000 provenance Collection of the John Perry Estate. exhibitions Robin White: Te Whanaketanga | Something is Happening Here, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland, 29 October 2022—30 January 2023. literature Sarah Farrar, Jill Trevelyan, Nina Tonga, Robin White: Something is Happening Here (Auckland: Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2022; Wellington: Te Papa Press, 2022), 215.

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Séraphine Pick Did You Hear Something 1999 oil on canvas signed Séraphine Pick and dated 1999 in brushpoint lower right 1590 × 1980mm est $60,000—$90,000

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Star Gossage Meet me in Te Aroha 2002 house paint, pigments, tar and damar on board signed Star Gossage, dated May 2002 Patkiri and inscribed Meet Me In Te Aroha in ink verso 330 × 1220mm est $24,000—$34,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland. Acquired from Orex Art, Auckland, 2002.

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Fatu Feu'u Tuiteva 1996 acrylic with oil stick on canvas signed Feu'u, dated 96 in brushpoint lower left: inscribed; '26 April 1996, 1540 × 1630mm, Painted at "ILAM ART SCHOOL Christchurch, "TUITEVA", Mixed Media, Feu'u 96, in ink verso.

1540 × 1630mm est $10,000—$16,000

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Israel Tangaroa Birch Nga Hanga Whakairo #7 2011 lacquer on etched stainless steel signed Israel Tangaroa Birch, dated 2011 and inscribed NHW SERIES in ink verso 1500 × 500 × 200mm est $15,000—$20,000 provenance Private collection, Wellington.

provenance Private collection, Wellington.

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Michael Hight Middle Valley 2018 oil on linen signed HIGHT in brushpoint, lower right; dated '18 and inscribed MIDDLE VALLEY in brushpoint lower left.

610 × 910mm est $15,000—$25,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Michael Hight Maniototo 2005 oil on canvas signed Michael Hight, inscribed Maniototo and dated 05 verso 800 × 1800mm est $18,000—$25,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Terry Stringer Living Memory 1988 cast bronze, aluminium and oil paint signed TERRY STRINGER and dated 88 in brushpoint lower edge and by incision on brass centerpiece 1380 × 1160 × 240mm (widest points) est $20,000—$30,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Tanya Ashken Whale Tail

bronze signed TA with embossed stamp lower edge 700 × 380 × 120mm (widest points) est $20,000—$30,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Jason Greig untitled 2012 monoprint on paper 1/1 signed Jason Greig, dated 2012 650 × 460mm est $4,000—$6,000 provenance Private collection.

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71 Noel Ivanoff Contact II 2006 oil on found pallet signed, dated and title inscribed 1060 × 1050 × 120mm est $3,000—$6,000

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Neil Dawson Orb (marquette) 1991 powder coated laser cut steel 700 × 600mm est $5,000—$7,000 provenance Private collection, Christchurch.

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Ian Scott Blooming Light 1974 acrylic on canvas signed IAN SCOTT, dated MARCH 74 and inscribed BLOOMING LIGHT in graphite verso 2240 × 830mm est $12,500—$16,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Ian Scott Colour diagnel No. 5 1974 acrylic on canvas signed IAN SCOTT and dated ‘74 and inscribed Colour diagnel No. 5 in ink verso 360 × 360mm est $3,500—$5,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Edwards and Johann Blind Date with Happy Ending mixed media on C-type photograph 850 × 2560mm (overall) est $15,000—$20,000 provenance Private collection, Canterbury.

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Toss Woollaston Māori Girl 1963 oil on board signed W in brushpoint lower right; inscribed 'maori girl' 63/150 on verso 790 × 590 mm est $20,000—$28,000 provenance Private collection, Queenstown

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Toss Woollaston Landscape with Pine Tree 1939 oil on board signed Woollaston in brushpoint lower left 420 × 465mm est $30,000—$40,000 provenance Private collection, Christchurch; Collection of Rodney Kennedy, Dunedin. exhibitions M. T. Woollaston: Works 1933-1973, Manawatu Art Gallery, Palmerston North, 1973. literature Manawatu Art Gallery, M. T. Woollaston: Works 1933-1973, (Palmerston North: Manawatu Art Gallery, 1973) 31.

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Sydney Lough Thompson Brittany Foreshore with Figures oil on canvas board signed S L Thompson in brushpoint lower left 320 × 390mm est $15,000—$25,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Charles Blomfield The White Terraces 1890 oil on canvas signed Blomfield and dated 1890 in brushpoint lower left 490 × 740mm est $40,000—$60,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Francis McCracken Pink Roses in a Glass Tumbler 1931 oil on canvas signed F.M.Cracken in brushpoint lower right 550 × 465mm est $10,000—$15,000 provenance Private collection, Auckland.

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Margaret Stoddart Higo Irises watercolour on paper signed M O Stoddart lower left brushpoint 245 × 345mm est $8,000—$12,000 provenance Originally purchased H. Fisher and Son Christchurch. Private collection, Nelson.

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Peter McIntyre King Country Farmer oil on board signed PETER McINTYRE in brushpoint lower right 600 × 900mm est $20,000—$30,000 provenance Private collection, Wellington.

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Peter McIntyre Evening, Boat Harbour, Wellington oil on board signed PETER McINTYRE in brushpoint lower right; inscribed Evening, Boat Harbour, Wellington in graphite verso.

600 × 750mm est $18,000—$28,000 provenance Private collection, Wellington.

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Baye Riddell untitled oxides and slip on wood-fired earthenware 600 × 600 × 500mm (widest points) est $16,000—$24,000

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aye Riddell quoted in an interview with Moana Tipa, B “Crossing the Threshold,” Chrysalis Seed Arts, issue 22, November 2005, 4, https://www.venn.org.nz/ content/uploads/2025/05/22-CS-Arts-Nov-05.pdf 2 Ibid, 4–5.

3 Ibid, 5.

4 Ibid, 6.

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Essay by MARK HUTCHINS-POND

“The use of traditional designs and forms wrapped around our stories and worldview make our work identifiably from this land when seen on a world stage.” – Baye Riddell Baye Pewhairangi Riddell (Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-a-Ruataupare) became a fulltime potter in 1974, the first Māori artist to commit to this profession. In 1986, with Manos Nathan, he was a co-founder of Ngā Kaihanga Uku, the national Māori clayworkers’ collective. In 1989 he and Nathan were awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to establish an exchange with Native American artists. He was awarded the Creative New Zealand Craft/Object Fellowship in 2011.

Riddell was introduced to pottery as a vehicle for creative expression by Paul Fisher while living in Ōtautahi Christchurch during the early 1970s. Like most potters in Aotearoa New Zealand at the time, Riddell’s early ceramics were strongly influenced by Japanese and UK practices.

In 1979 he returned to his birthplace of Tokamaru Bay to live a self-sufficient lifestyle and reconnect with tribal roots.

“Exploring my taha Māori was like my feet were connected to the whenua again … my work began to incorporate Māori mythology and symbolism to a greater extent.”1 In the early 1980s he became involved with Ngā Puna Waihanga, a dynamic group of Māori artists including Para Matchett, Cliff Whiting, Bob Jahnke and Darcy Nicholas, among many others.

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or me it was a very inspiring time …

F Within Ngā Puna Waihanga, we were all going through the same kinds of things, working towards the same aims, validating Māori expression through new media … What came out of that period was a strengthening of the cultural, and spiritual foundations of my own work.2 Riddell uses terracotta clay from his family land at Te Puia Springs and prepares it in ways that reflect his care and respect for this material.

Initially I was the only Māori clay artist and then in the mid-80s Manos Nathan, Colleen [Waata-]Urlich and Hiraina Marsden came in … Meeting Manos and Hiraina helped me develop my own, individual take on a Māori/Christian interface that runs through all my work.

Hiraina’s father was Māori Marsden, an Anglican minister, kaumatua, philosopher and writer … It was wonderful to sit with Māori and bounce ideas, to glean nuggets of understanding from his scholastic and spiritual knowledge of both worlds.3 Combining political and spiritual aspects of taha Māori with his Christian faith enables Riddell to create work from what he calls a “culturally intact”4 perspective. All his works are imbued with subtle symbolic meanings that challenge Pākehā ceramic conventions.

Riddell says that, regardless of the period in which he creates a work, everything he makes is his own interpretation of life.

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Trevor Askin Mobius

bronze artists cypher inscribed TA lower lefthand side 400 × 240mm (widest points) est $10,000—$15,000 provenance Private collection, Timaru.

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Trevor Askin Soaring South

bronze artist’s cypher inscribed TA right handside inner tail 1260 × 500mm (widest points) est $18,000—$27,000 provenance Private collection, Timaru.

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Chris Charteris Untitled (Stone Necklace) Found, naturally weathered stones, stone spheres, steel cable, steel fittings 3500 × 180 × 80mm (widest points) est $20,000—$30,000

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Terms and Conditions The terms and conditions of sale listed here contain the policies of Webb’s (Webb Fine Art). They are the terms on which Webb’s (Webb Fine Art) and the Seller contract with the Buyer. They may be amended by printed Saleroom Notices or oral announcements made before and during the sale. By bidding at auction you agree to be bound by these terms.

1.

Background to the Terms used in these Conditions The conditions that are listed below contain terms that are used regularly and may need explanation. They are as follows: “the Buyer” means the person with the highest bid accepted by the Auctioneer. “the Lot” means any item depicted within the sale for auction and in particular the item or items described against any lot number in the catalogue. “the Hammer price” means the amount of the highest bid accepted by the auctioneer in relation to a lot. “the Buyer’s Premium” means the charge payable by the Buyer to the auction house as a percentage of the hammer price. “the Reserve” means the lowest amount at which Webb’s has agreed with the Seller that the lot can be sold.

“Forgery” means an item constituting an imitation originally conceived and executed as a whole, with a fraudulent intention to deceive as to authorship, origin, age, period, culture or source, where the correct description as to such matters is not reflected by the description in the catalogue.

Accordingly, no lot shall be capable of being a forgery by reason of any damage or restoration work of any kind (Including re-painting). “the insured value” means the amount that Webb’s in its absolute discretion from time to time shall consider the value for which a lot should be covered for insurance (whether or not insurance is arranged by Webb’s).

All values expressed in Webb’s catalogues (in any format) are in New Zealand Dollars (NZD$). All bids, “hammer price”, “reserves”, “Buyers Premium” and other expressions of value are understood by all parties to be in New Zealand Dollars (NZD$) unless otherwise specified.

2.

Webb’s Auctions as Agent

Except as otherwise stated, Webb’s acts as agent for the Seller.

The contract for the sale of the property is therefore made between the Seller and the Buyer.

3.

Before the Sale

3.1.

Examination of Property Prospective Buyers are strongly advised to examine in person any property in which they are interested before the Auction takes place. Neither Webb’s nor the Seller provides any guarantee in relation to the nature of the property apart from the Limited warranty in the paragraph below.

The property is otherwise sold “AS IS” 3.2.

Catalogue and Other Descriptions All statements by Webb’s in the catalogue entry for the property or in the condition report, or made orally or in writing elsewhere, are statements of opinion and are not to be relied upon as statements of fact. Such statements do not constitute a representation, warranty or assumption of liability by Webb’s of any kind. References in the catalogue entry to the condition

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report to damage or restoration are for guidance only and should be evaluated by personal inspection by the bidder or a knowledgeable representative. The absence of such a reference does not imply that an item is free from defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of any others. Estimates of the selling price should not be relied on as a statement that this is the price at which the item will sell or its value for any other purpose. Neither Webb’s nor The Seller is responsible for any errors or omissions in the catalogue or any supplemental material.

Images are measured height by width (sight size). Illustrations are provided only as a guide and should not be relied upon as a true representation of colour or condition. Images are not shown at a standard scale. Mention is rarely made of frames (which may be provided as supplementary images on the website) which do not form part of the lot as described in the printed catalogue.

An item bought “on Extension” must be paid for in full before it will be released to the purchaser or his/ her agreed expertising committee or specialist. Payments received for such items will be held “in trust” for up to 90 days or earlier, if the issue of authenticity has been resolved more quickly. Extensions must be requested before the auction.

Foreign buyers should note that all transactions are in New Zealand Dollars so there may be a small exchange rate risk. The costs associated with acquiring a good opinion or certificate will be carried by the purchaser. If the item turns out to be forged or otherwise incorrectly described, all reasonable costs will be borne by the vendor.

3.3.

Buyers Responsibility All property is sold “as is” without representation or warranty of any kind

by Webb’s or the Seller. Buyers are responsible for satisfying themselves concerning the condition of the property and the matters referred to in the catalogue by requesting a condition report.

No lot to be rejected if, subsequent to the sale, it has been immersed in liquid or treated by any other process unless the Auctioneer’s permission to subject the lot to such immersion or treatment has first been obtained in writing.

4.

At the Sale

4.1.

Refusal of Admission Webb’s reserves the right at our complete discretion to refuse admission to the auction premises or participation in any auction and to reject any bid.

4.2.

Registration Before Bidding Any prospective new buyer must complete and sign a registration form and provide photo identification before bidding. Webb’s may request bank, trade or other financial references to substantiate this registration.

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4.3.

Bidding as a Principal When making a bid, a bidder is accepting personal liability to pay the purchase price including the buyer’s premium and all applicable taxes, plus all other applicable charges, unless it has been explicitly agreed in writing with Webb’s before the commencement of the sale that the bidder is acting as agent on behalf of an identified third party acceptable to Webb’s and that Webb’s will only look to the principal for payment.

4.4.

International Registrations All International clients not known to Webb’s will be required to scan or fax through an accredited form of photo identification and pay a deposit at our discretion in cleared funds into Webb’s account at least 24 hours before the commencement of the auction. Bids will not be accepted without this deposit. Webb’s also reserves the right to request any additional forms of identification prior to registering an overseas bid.

This deposit can be made using a credit card, however the balance of any purchase price in excess of $5,000 cannot be charged to this card without prior arrangement.

This deposit is redeemable against any auction purchase and will be refunded in full if no purchases are made.

4.5.

Absentee Bids Webb’s will use reasonable efforts to execute written bids delivered to us AT LEAST 24 Hours before the sale for the convenience of those clients who are unable to attend the auction in person. If we receive identical written bids on a particular lot, and at the auction these are the highest bids on that lot, then the lot will be sold to the person whose written bid was received and accepted first.

Execution of written bids is a free service undertaken subject to other commitments at the time of the sale and we do not accept liability for failing to execute a written bid or for errors or omissions which may arise.

It is the bidder’s responsibility to check with Webb’s after the auction if they were successful. Unlimited or “Buy” bids will not be accepted.

4.6.

Telephone Bids Priority will be given to overseas and bidders from other regions.

Please refer to the catalogue for the Telephone Bids form. Arrangements for this service must be confirmed AT LEAST 24 HOURS PRIOR to the auction commencing. Webb’s accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any errors or failure to execute bids. In telephone bidding the buyer agrees to be bound by all terms and conditions listed here and accepts that Webb’s cannot be held responsible for any miscommunications in the process.

The success of telephone bidding cannot be guaranteed due to circumstances that are unforeseen.

Buyers should be aware of the risk and accept the consequences should contact be unsuccessful at the time of Auction. You must advise Webb’s of the lots in question, and you will be assumed to be a buyer at the minimum price of 75% of estimate (i.e. reserve) for all such lots. Webb’s will advise Telephone Bidders who have registered at least 24 hours before the auction of any relevant changes to descriptions, withdrawals, or any other sale room notices.

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4.7.

Online Bidding Webb’s offers an online bidding service. When bidding online the buyer agrees to be bound by all terms and conditions listed here by Webb’s.

Webb’s accepts no responsibility for any errors, failure to execute bids or any other miscommunications regarding this process. It is the online bidder’s responsibility to ensure the accuracy of the relevant information regarding bids, lot numbers and contact details. Webb’s does not charge for this service.

4.8.

Reserves Unless otherwise indicated, all lots are offered subject to a reserve, which is the confidential minimum price below which the Lot will not be sold.

The reserve will not exceed the low estimate printed in the catalogue.

The auctioneer may open the bidding on any Lot below the reserve by placing a bid on behalf of the Seller.

The auctioneer may continue to bid on behalf of seller up to the amount of the reserve, either by placing consecutive bids or by placing bids in response to other bidders.

4.9.

Auctioneers Discretion The Auctioneer has the right at his/ her absolute and sole discretion to refuse any bid, to advance the bidding in such a manner as he/she may decide, to withdraw or divide any lot, to combine any two or more lots and, in the case or error or dispute and whether during or 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.

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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 19.5% 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 2 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$5,000, if wishing to pay more than NZD$5,000 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. 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 cleared funds.

Subject to this, the Buyer shall collect purchased lots within 2 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.

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

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Webb’s shall have all of the rights of the Seller, however arising, to pursue the Buyer for such amount.

5.7.

Failure to Collect Purchases Where purchases are not collected within 2 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 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

Webb's

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 pre-sale estimates and starting prices.

12.

Sale Results

Webb’s will provide auction results, which will be available as soon as

2025

161

Index of Artists

Webb's

November

162