MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR ART COLLECTION LOOKS FOR WELL-HEELED SUPPORTERS - A NATIONAL BUSINESS REVIEW ARTICLE

Multi-million-dollar art collection looks for well-heeled supporters

First-of-its-kind society hopes to raise $100K to expand Mackelvie collection.

By Dita De Boni National Business Review Mon, 04 Nov 2019

The great and the good of Auckland are being asked to open their cheque books and support one of the country’s top collections of European historical and modern art.

The Mackelvie Society was launched last week with the aim of getting people to contribute toward the upkeep and expansion of the collection, which is conservatively thought to be worth $50 million and is spread across the Auckland Art Gallery, the Auckland War Memorial Museum and the Auckland Central Library.

Scottish businessman and investor James Tannock Mackelvie lived in Auckland for only six years, from 1865–1871 but spent money made in New Zealand from investments and business interests in gold, property and brewing to amass an impressive collection of art which was bequeathed to the city when he died in London in 1885.

The Mackelvie Trust has been the custodian of this collection since 1885, and current chair Andrew Smith says the six trustees are hoping to attract as many as 100 people of means to support the venture, with the aim of raising $100,000 each year.

Donors, patrons and benefactors are being asked to pay between $1,000  and over $5,000 in an annual donation, and may then be tapped again for cash if exciting opportunities to acquire come up. But it’s not all one-way traffic, with events, talks and other activities to learn from and enjoy the collection offered to would-be members.

“We hope it will be like a group of patrons who have been gathering since the mid-1980s in support of the Auckland Art Gallery - they now contribute $180,000 a year and all of the money goes to buying contemporary art for the gallery,” Smith said.

Mackelvie Trust chair Andrew Smith

“But it’s not only about money – it’s the enjoyment they have in meeting four or five times a year, being exposed to exhibitions and talks at the gallery – and the same applies to the contemporary benefactors who are another support group at the Gallery, and we’ve come across the same thing with donors at the APO (Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra).”

The Mackelvie Society is thought to be the first support society that’s grown up around a specific, dispersed collection, rather than an institution, in the country. The trust is putting the income from its modest capital investment toward establishing the society and will revise the project in two years.

Who was James Mackelvie?
Mackelvie worked on ships in his early life, including during the Crimean War, before being employed at a large mercantile house in London. In 1865 he was appointed a partner at Brown, Campbell & Co in Auckland, a role that ended in 1870. But he had amassed a fortune during his time in New Zealand with a variety of investments, most notably in mining on the goldfields of Thames.  He also served as a director of the Bank of New Zealand, the NZ Loan and Mercantile Agency Company and other companies.

Returning to England in 1871, he started collecting paintings and other art to bequeath to Auckland, the city in which he made his fortune. Smith said Mackelvie had intended to return to Auckland one day but ill health prevented it and he died in London in 1885.

James Tannock Mackelvie

After his death, as per his wishes, the collection, comprising 105 watercolours, oil painting and drawings was bequeathed to Auckland. A writer at the time described the collection as “actually surpassing in value intrinsically and aesthetically the whole of the other public collections in the whole of Australasia.”

It was stipulated that a building to house the paintings be constructed but, as it was not possible at the time, the Auckland Art Gallery built a special room for the collection in 1916.

The Mackelvie Collection grew considerably throughout the 20th century, including the purchase of bronzes by Alexander Archipenko, Jacob Epstein and Henry Moore. In 1982, the collection received a bequest of 1500 old master prints from Dr Walter Auburn, and on the centenary of its establishment a Picasso etching from the Vollard Suite was added to the collection.

The collection today now numbers 2759 pieces, and was until this week overseen by acclaimed art historian Mary Kisler – its first dedicated curator. A successor to Kisler is about to be announced. 

“The amazing thing about this collection is that it is spread over three institutions – obviously the paintings and drawings in the gallery but also an incredible collection of 18th and 19th century books at the library and decorative objects at the museum – without the generosity of Mackelvie the access we enjoy to those historic artworks would be so much less,” Smith said.

Tribute II by English artist Elisabeth Frink

While some of the star attractions of the collection include Guido Reni's St Sebastian and Pieter Breughel the Younger’s Village Fair, Smith says his favourite is a more recent acquisition, a bronze head by English artist Elisabeth Frink called Tribute II.

“We’ve signed up five or six people to the society so far but we have had lots of interest and we remain optimistic about being able to get maybe 50, maybe 100 society members,” Smith said.

“A lot of people are not aware of the treasures Auckland holds in this collection and the significance of it.”