Join art curators Rebecca and Chelsea in Ngā Toi | Arts Te Papa for a talk on new works in the recently refreshed exhibitions. Following the floor talk, enjoy afternoon tea in Espresso, using your special discount voucher, and then you will be in time to be the first to see Bug Lab at the Friends’ preview starting at 4pm.
Framing the View with Rebecca Rice, Curator Historical New Zealand Art
New Zealand’s spectacular scenery captivated European artists and photographers who came here in the 1800s. With no works by Old Masters to copy, nature was their training ground.
To perfect their art, European artists and photographers braved the elements, producing depictions that ranged from untouched worlds to romantic wonderlands and pictures of domestication.
A favourite site was the Pink and White Terraces, once considered ‘the eighth wonder of the world’. Paintings and photograph continued to reproduce their glory long after they vanished beneath the 1886 Tarawera eruption.
New Visions, New Zealand with Chelsea Nichols, Curator Modern Art
In the 1920s and 30s, New Zealand art was dismissed by many critics as provincial and unimaginative. A new generation of artists soon defied this harsh assessment. They challenged academic art forms, while resisting mere imitation of Europe’s avant-garde.
In New Visions, New Zealand, Chelsea Nichols, Curator Modern Art, will discuss the imaginative new visions of art in New Zealand, with a particular focus on the rich contributions of female artists between 1930 and 1950 – Rita Angus, Frances Hodgkins and A Lois White.
Feature image: Detail from: White Terraces, 1882, Auckland, by Charles Blomfield. Gift of Sir Guy Berry, South Africa, 1960. Te Papa (1960-0003-2)