Avenal Beryl Elizabeth McKinnon (née Gough; 8 April 1949 – 12 March 2021) was a New Zealand art historian and writer. She was the founding director of the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkena Whakaata.

Biography

McKinnon was born and raised in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

and attended

Woodford House Havelock North ( mi, Te Hemo-a-Te Atonga) is a town in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand, situated less than 2 km south-east of the city of Hastings. It was a borough for many years until the 1989 reorganisation of loca ...

in Havelock North, in the North Island, from 1962 to 1966. She completed a degree in English literature at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

followed by a post-graduate art history course at London's Courtauld Institute of Art. In the 1970s, she worked at the

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

, cataloguing the modern British collection. She was appointed the first director of the New Zealand Portrait Gallery in 2005, retiring in 2014. During her tenure, the gallery expanded its permanent collection from six works to more than 200. It also moved into dedicated premises in Shed 11 on Queen's Wharf. McKinnon is considered an expert on the work of New Zealand artist

Frances Hodgkins Frances Mary Hodgkins (28 April 1869 – 13 May 1947) was a New Zealand painter chiefly of landscape and still life, and for a short period was a designer of textiles. She was born and raised in New Zealand, but spent most of her working l ...

and wrote articles and exhibition catalogues on her work. McKinnon died in Wellington on 12 March 2021, aged 71 years.

Personal life

McKinnon was the daughter of property developer Owen Gough, and granddaughter of industrialist Tracy "T.T." Gough. She had a twin brother, Antony Gough, and two older brothers, Tracy and Harcourt. She was married to New Zealand diplomat John McKinnon.

Honours and awards

In the

2015 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2015 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

, McKinnon was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to the arts. In 2018, Woodford House awarded her the Tempus Award for outstanding achievement by a former student in her field.

Publications

* Hodgkins, F., McKinnon, A., & Whitford and Hughes. (1990). ''Frances Hodgkins, 1869–1947: 17 July – 14 August 1990, held at Whitford and Hughes, London''. London: Whitford and Hughes. *Hodgkins, F., McKinnon, A., Trim, P., & Mahara Gallery. (2000). ''Frances Hodgkins: The link with Kapiti : the Field Collection''. Waikanae: Mahara Gallery. *Welch, S. M., Alley, E., McKinnon, A., & New Zealand Portrait Gallery. (2008). ''Stephen Martyn Welch: 'the sitting' : 18 December 2008 to 21 January 2009''. Wellington, N.Z: New Zealand Portrait Gallery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKinnon, Avenal 1949 births 2021 deaths People from Christchurch Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit University of Canterbury alumni Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art People educated at Woodford House Women museum directors Directors of museums in New Zealand