Original portraits of writers, musicians and artists in the Turnbull collections

Turnbull Library Record, Volume XVI, Issue 1, 1 May 1983, Page 39

Original portraits of writers, musicians and artists in the Turnbull collections

MOIRA LONG

When Alexander Turnbull began to acquire the manuscripts that were to become the basis of the Library’s present collection, much of the material reflected the activities of the early settlers of New Zealand: the letters and journals of missionaries, explorers, surveyors, the pioneer farmers, this country’s first politicians. As New Zealand has developed and matured, her citizens have directed their talents in a variety of new directions, scientific, literary, musical and artistic. Nowadays, therefore, the papers of New Zealanders past and present who have made their mark in all these areas, are collected and preserved in the Library’s manuscript collection. The Library has regularly acquired portraits of prominent New Zealanders, particularly of those whose papers or publications are well represented in the collections, but in the mid-1970s a particular emphasis was placed on the purchase of portraits by living artists of prominent New Zealand writers, musicians and artists. This is a new direction for the art collection, which primarily fulfils a historical function, serving as a valuable research tool in the areas of Pacific exploration and the settlement of 19th century New Zealand, documenting the topography, the customs and activities, the artifacts, the cultural and social life of the people until the widespread advent of photography in the 1870 s and 1880 s, when, with a few exceptions, the role of the art collection is taken over by the camera’s lens.

A painting, however, can sometimes say more than a photograph of the same subject. The artist’s personal interpretation may afford viewers an extra dimension, particularly with portraits, where we hope to obtain not only a likeness, but also an insight into the character and personality of the sitter. And, to the extent that the artist is revealing his own attitudes and sympathies, we have the bonus of another portrait —that of the artist himself.

The Library has recently made considerable efforts to collect artists’ papers, which will furnish research material for students of New Zealand art history. While it is the function of the art galleries to collect significant works of contemporary New Zealand artists, we can certainly enhance our manuscript collections with carefully chosen examples of portraits by these artists.

In some cases we see the artist through his own eyes, while other portraits have been deliberately purchased or commissioned because they depict men and women who have made a mark in theatre, films, music, literature or art in New Zealand. We hope that the portrait, in conjunction with photographs and written records, will allow a fuller interpretation of the subject. There follows a comprehensive list of the portraits in this collection, arranged by subject, with the artist’s name and the date of execution in brackets. All measurements are in centimetres, height before breadth.

George French Angas (artist unknown, 1844) oil 75 X 61.5 Rita Angus (self-portrait, ca 1940) 2 wash in sketchbook each 26.5 x 18.5 (artist unknown, 1965) pencil 55 X3B Cranleigh Harper Barton (Rudi Gopas, 1955) conte crayon 58 X 43 James K. Baxter (Noeline Verey, nee Flute, 1946 or 1947) oil on pinex 71 X 56 (Elisabeth Noordhof, 1967) ink 19.5 X 27 (artist unknown, 1972) watercolour 29 X 24 J. C. Beaglehole (Joan Fanning, 1954) oil 60 XSO (Eve Page, 1977) oil 71 x 48.5 Leo Bensemann (Olivia Spencer-Bower, ca 1948) oil on hardboard 61 X 40

Charles Brasch (Lina Bryans, 1965) pastel 57.5 X 42 (Joanna Paul, 1972) ink 49 X 33 Samuel Butler (self-portrait, ca 1880) oil on cardboard 30 X 25 Sam Cairncross (self-portrait, ca 1940) oil 31.5 X 24 Peter Cape (Iris Winchester, 1948) oil 51 X3l Edwin Carr (Una Platts, 1959) conte crayon 38 X 30.5 Hubert Church (Granville Danstee, 1889) oil 61.5 X 46 James Cook (Eve Page, 1923) pencil 30.5 X 21.5 Percy Cousins (artist unknown, 1945) pencil 24 X 15 Helen Crabb (Veira Beattie, ca 1956) oil 60 X 45 Allen Curnow (Anthony Stones, 1982) patinated bronze head 31 Ruth Dallas (Joanna Paul, 1979) acrylic on paper 27 X 34 Dorothy Davies (Ziska Schwimmer, 1957) plaster head 35.5 John Drawbridge (Juliet Peter, ca 1949) ink & wash 45 X 34 Archie Fisher (Olivia Spencer-Bower, ca 1946) oil on hardboard 64 X 41.5

Sir Michael Fowler (Margaret Lawlor Bartlett, 1981) ink 23 X 15.5 Margaret Frankel (Olivia Spencer-Bower, 1961) oil on hardboard 48.5 X 38.5 Denis Glover (Janet Paul, 1969) pencil 31.5 X 24 (Anna Caselberg, 1976) oil on hardboard 65 X4l (Anthony Stones, 1978) patinated bronze head 27.5 Rudi Gopas (Olivia Spencer-Bower, ca 1948) oil on hardboard 51 x 42 Frank Gross (Olivia Spencer-Bower, ca 1948) oil on hardboard 54 X 38 Helen Hitchings (Juliet Peter, ca 1945) ink 28 X 39 (Douglas Macdiarmid, 1950) oil 87 X 59.5

Frances Hodgkins (Hannah Ritchie, 1925) pencil 25.5 Xl9 Ralph Hotere (Cilia McQueen, 1981) pencil 30.5 X 23 Sam Hunt (Margaret Lawlor Bartlett, 1978) pencil & ink 23 X 15.5 Pat Lawlor (Margaret Lawlor Bartlett, 1978) felt pen 43 X 35.5 Alex Lindsay (R. J. Waghorn, 1955) ink 29 X 17 Doris Lusk (Olivia Spencer-Bower, ca 1948) oil on hardboard 61x40 Douglas Macdiarmid (self-portrait, 1944) oil on hardboard 38x31.5 (Theo Schoon, ca 1945) crayon & wash 55 X 37.5 (Juliet Peter, ca 1949) monotone wash 49 X 29; ink 33 X 49 Raymond Mclntyre (L. H. Booth, 1906) ink 33 X2B Stewart Maclennan (Juliet Peter, 1947) watercolour 47 X 32 Jane Mander (Ethel Jones, 1942) oil 45 X4O

Ngaio Marsh (Olivia Spencer-Bower, 1953) oil on hardboard 70 X6O O. E. Middleton (Joanna Paul, 1979) 2 pencil each 21 X 15; watercolour 24 X 21; acrylic on chipboard 61 X6l Frank Nairn (self-portrait, ca 1860) pastel 58 X 45 James Nairn (Mabel Hill, ca 1890) pencil & chalk 45.5 X 30.5 Andrea Oliver (Una Platts, 1960) pastel 35 X 37 Vincent O’Sullivan (Margaret Lawlor Bartlett, 1978) felt pen 43 x 35.5 Eve Page (Janet Paul, 1980) oil 54.5 X 36.5 Alison Pickmere (Una Platts, 1960) pencil 25.5 x2O Eric Ramsden (Leonard Mitchell, 1958) oil 24 X2O Sir Alfred Reed (Denyse Watson, 1968) oil 64 x 49 Alan Reeve (self-portrait, ca 1940) ink & wash 41 X 26 (Christopher Perkins, 1944) pastel 37.5 X 29 Linley Richardson (self-portrait, ca 1905) charcoal 58 X3B D. K. Richmond (self-portrait, 1929) watercolour 27.5 X 35.5

Frank Sargeson (Anthony Stones, 1970) 22 pencil, charcoal & watercolour each ca 45 X4O (Anthony Stones, 1980) patinated bronze head 26 Keith Sinclair (Margaret Lawlor Bartlett, 1976) ink 23 X 15.5 Olivia Spencer-Bower (self-portrait, ca 1948) oil on hardboard 64 X 41.5 Kate Sperrey (self-portrait, 1887) charcoal 42.5 X 29 Bill Sutton (Olivia Spencer-Bower, ca 1948) oil on hardboard 61x36 Hone Tuwhare (Fergus Collinson, ca 1975) pencil 45.5 X3O

(Janet Paul, 1980) pencil & watercolour 60.5 X 43 Melba van der Velden (self-portrait, 1935) watercolour 16 X 12 Nugent Welch (Sidney Higgs, ca 1912) watercolour 25 X 35.5 Harold Temple White (artist unknown, 1945) ink 34 X 21.5 Lois White (self-portrait, 1935) oil on hardboard 50.5 x 40.5 Robin White (self-portrait, 1968) pencil 43 X3l Ormond Wilson (Janet Paul, 1980) pencil 60.5 X 43 Group portraits of members of Bare’s group and of Helen Hitchings group (Juliet Peter, 1940’s & 1950’5) 14 chiefly watercolour each ca 40 x 50