Gallery regains lost picture

Press, 27 November 1982, Page 12

Gallery regains lost picture

PA Auckland A major New Zealand painting missing from the Auckland Art Gallery since the 1950 s has been returned to the collection after being sale at a prominent auctioneers Police are investigating how the painting was in private hands and was offered to the Peter Webb Galleries for sale. “It was a bit of a shock to us to find out it had been missing from the art gallery,” said Mr Peter Webb yesterday. Mr Webb said he was unaware of the painting's background until a regular customer said he recalled seeing the painting repro-

duced somewhere. The painting, by William Ewart, is of a young . Maori chief holding a musket on the Orakei foreshore, Auckland, in 1862. Peter Webb Galleries reproduced it on the cover of an October sale catalogue. The firm had estimated the painting could fetch between ?5000 and $10,000.. “It could have fetched anything,” said Mr Webb. “It was a particularly rare work ... a singularly important piece of New Zealand art.” After the catalogue appeared, another customer said he had seen it in a book about the former Governor, Sir George Grey. With museums and libraries, efforts were made to trace the

painting's origins. Finally, the .Turnbull Library,'in Wellington, found an illustration in an old book about Sir George Grey, showing him in his study at Kawau Island with the Ewart painting hanging on the wall. The City Art Gallery, which holds the complete Grey collection, was told and it found a record of the painting up until the 19505. A Dunedin art dealer, Mr Marshall Seifert, said yesterday that he sold the painting on behalf of a client to Mr Webb “for not much money. “We were completely unaware of the value. Mr Webb got a bargain. It was sold here as a damaged work of interest. We had no inkling of

its background." The condition of the painting had affected the price. “It has had a lot of work done to it. It had holes in it at one stage and it has been restored but not all that well.” Mr Siefert said. He would not name the client. The Auckland City -Art Gallery's director. Dr Rodney Wilson, said he was delighted to have the painting back. He said gallery staff first saw the portrait when Mr Webb brought it in to have tests conducted. “We were very interested in purchasing it. little knowing that it was. in fact, ours,” he said.