The Fabulous
Fletcher Show
An extensive selection of works from the collection, from historical pieces to modernist and contemporary New Zealand art
Presented by Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato
80 paintings from the rarely seen Fletcher Collection are to be shown at Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato for the very first time from Saturday 14 March. In a rare move, The Fletcher Trust, owners of New Zealand’s largest remaining corporate collection, has made its finest paintings available to the Museum while the Fletcher Building complex in Auckland undergoes renovation. ‘This exhibition will bring together the treasures of the collection for the very first time, including be what is believed to be the very first oil painting made of a New Zealand subject,’ said Chairman of the Trust, Angus Fletcher.
Recently purchased from an English vendor and never before exhibited in this country, William Hodges’ oil sketch Dusky Bay, New Zealand was painted in April 1773 on a piece of wood given to the artist by the ship’s carpenter on Captain Cook’s second voyage.
‘All of New Zealand’s great painters are represented in The Fabulous Fletcher Collection,’ says Waikato Museum Director, Cherie Meecham. ‘This is a unique opportunity for the public. Shows like this are extremely rare.’
The paintings include important historical works from the early 19th century right up to the most contemporary paintings made recently by this country’s emerging artists. The Fletcher Collection was started in 1962 when Sir James Fletcher and his colleague George Fraser replaced the photos of racehorses that hung on the board room walls with four Coromandel watercolours by J. B. C. Hoyte. These four works are included in the exhibition.
—adapted from a Hamilton Council press release, 26 February 2015
Earliest Colonial Artists
Early 20th century
Mid-20th century
Modern (1960s and 70s)
ILLINGWORTH, Michael
Adam and Eve
Date unknown, Oil on canvas
