Arts Society Award

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31224, 23 November 1966, Page 27

Arts Society Award

The silver medal of the Canterbury Society of Arts has been awarded to Mr P. A. Tomory, formerly director of the Auckland City Art Gallery and now a senior lecturer at the Elam School of Fine Art. This was announced at the society’s annual meeting by the president (Mr S. E. Mair). The medal is given annually for exceptional services to the arts. The citation accompanying the medal said it was awarded for Mr Tomory’s “notable contribution in bringing work by New Zealand painters to the notice of New Zealand and international scenes, especially for his recognition of Canterbury’s painters and the important part they play in the culture of the country.” Mr Tomory’s services to the Arts Advisory Council and to the country, in being directly responsible for the organisation of travelling exhibitions of important work from overseas, were also mentioned. As director of the Auckland City Art Gallery, he had promoted serious publications on the arts, and had acted as a guide and stimulus to artists and the public in demonstrating the vital role an art gallery could play in the community, the citation said.