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‘Absolutely positively Philistines’: Wellington council mulls future of art collection

Wednesday, 18 December 2024

Sir Toss Woollaston
Sir Toss Woollaston's 1978 oil painting, Mts. Owen, Arthur and Campbell from Motueka, was gifted to the Wellington City Council in 1979 by Sir Robert Jones.

Wellington City Council has asked officers to provide advice on the future of its extensive art collection worth millions of dollars, including its potential partial sale and options which provide greater public access.

The works include a small ink drawing of a bull by Pablo Picasso and a large-scale work by Sir Toss Woollaston, gifted to the council in 1979 by Sir Robert Jones.

The collection of historic and contemporary pieces owned by the council also includes mayoral portraits, landscapes, screen prints and photographs.

Councillor Nicola Young, who voted against the decision, said the amendment put forward by councillor Sarah Free “came out of the blue … like a blinkered potshot in the dark”.

As of 2021 the council owned 552 artworks that were collectively valued about $6 million, but an officer told a meeting of the council’s long-term plan committee on Tuesday they now did not know the total value.

Former mayor Mark Blumsky with his official portrait, which is in the city art collection along with every other mayoral portrait.
Former mayor Mark Blumsky with his official portrait, which is in the city art collection along with every other mayoral portrait.

The council collects new artworks each year with a budget of $30,000 to build and document a story of the city and support local artists, meaning the 552 figure ‒ and the collective value, given that art appreciates ‒ is likely higher now.

Much of the artwork is currently sitting in the City Archives building near the Basin Reserve, with other pieces dotted around public libraries, service centres and council-owned buildings and offices.

But when the council moves into its new offices in Jervois Quay towards the end of 2025, the City Archives will be moved in-house and out of Barker St, meaning there will be less storage space.

Seventy square metres had been requested for storage of art, which is why Free said she asked officers to look into alternate options.

Ans Westra’s Cuba Street Carnival, Wellington (1986), is part of the council’s collection.
Ans Westra’s Cuba Street Carnival, Wellington (1986), is part of the council’s collection.

Free said it might be time to review how much art the council kept and assess whether it was all equally as valuable or significant, or whether there were some pieces it could “release for fundraising”.

She said she was not suggesting getting rid of the collection completely and already the decision to ask officers to investigate was contentious, passing with a close 10-8 vote.

Free said as the council was tightening its belt and asking ratepayers to fork out more money it was appropriate to ask the question of whether some of its art could be “circulated back into the community”.

She was open to the idea of retaining all artworks if they could be displayed and appreciated.

Nicola Young, who formerly held the council’s arts portfolio when councillors had allocated portfolios, said the move to investigate options for the future of the collection was a slippery slope.
Nicola Young, who formerly held the council’s arts portfolio when councillors had allocated portfolios, said the move to investigate options for the future of the collection was a slippery slope.

But Young said the move could be at odds with its policy to collect art in perpetuity on behalf of the city, and the art was only in storage because the council was “in limbo” between buildings.

She recommended instead hanging the art in “bleak” looking council premises so people could be exposed to it.

Young said hopefully the investigation would trigger more enthusiasm to display and rotate artworks, which she said reflected the city’s history and heritage and were part of Wellington’s soul. People needed to realise how precious the collection was, and it deserved a bigger audience.

Wellington prided itself on its cultural capital status, Young said, but should rebrand to “absolutely positively Philistines” if it decided to sell its collection: “It would be a wicked indictment on our council.”

The council sometimes lends its art to galleries, Government House, WellingtonNZ and staff office spaces. The entire collection is searchable on the council’s online city art collection gallery and is posted on the official Instagram account for the artworks.

The council first started buying art in 1882. In the 1960s it decided to acquire artworks for and around its public buildings. In the 1990s this became an annual occurrence, guided by the art collection acquisition group.

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