THE MACKELVIE COLLECTION
AN ART COLLECTION BEQUEATHED TO THE PEOPLE OF AUCKLAND BY BENEFACTOR, JAMES MACKELVIE.
JAMES TANNOCK MACKELVIE
James Tannock Mackelvie was genial, passionate and selfless. After returning to London from Auckland in 1871, he spent his years visiting exhibitions and private collections of art, as well as acquiring what he called objects of ‘vertu’. Delighted in the chase, he was determined that his acquisitions would provide the base of a teaching collection for Auckland, so that people in the distant land that had briefly been his home could experience a similar pleasure in beautiful objects, books and works of art.
Mary Kisler, Senior Curator Mackelvie Collection, Auckland Art Gallery (1998 - 2019)
benefactor of the Mackelvie Collection
A shrewd businessman and successful investor, James Tannock Mackelvie was the founding benefactor of the Mackelvie Collection. He understood the importance of culture and developed a strong sense of civic duty when he lived in Auckland from 1865 to 1871. He helped to establish the organization that later became the Auckland War Memorial Museum. This provided the Scottish merchant with a tangible and enduring link to the city.
Mackelvie used the interest from investments in New Zealand to acquire gifts for Auckland, sending books, paintings and works on paper, decorative arts and Māori artefacts. Mackelvie was keen to encourage the work of promising young artists and intended that his collection should enhance the “cultural education of the young and the enjoyment of Aucklanders”.
In 1885, his collection was bequeathed to the people of Auckland.
The Mackelvie Collection grew considerably throughout the 20th century, including the purchase of bronzes by Alexander Archipenko, Jacob Epstein, Henry Moore, and more recently, Elisabeth Frink. In 1982, the existing collection was greatly enhanced by the bequest of 1500 old master prints from Dr Walter Auburn, and on the centenary of the establishment of the Mackelvie Collection, a Picasso etching from the Vollard Suite was added to the collection.
Today the Mackelvie Collection is a valuable part of Auckland’s heritage and is shared between Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland War Memorial Museum and Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections.
The artworks held at Auckland Art Gallery form one of the most important collections of European and British historical and modern art in New Zealand, stretching from the early Italian Renaissance to the 1950s, and encompassing paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures. An exceptional collection of books, largely dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, is held at the Auckland Central City Library. The rich variety of decorative objects at Auckland War Memorial Museum reveals a wealth of human expression from the everyday to the ceremonial across many cultures.
The Mackelvie Collection plays a vital role as a research and learning collection for students and academics across New Zealand.
The Mackelvie Trust continues to acquire works for the collection and its depth and appeal as an Auckland treasure is maintained through the governance of the Mackelvie Board of Trustees.
