The Denis Cohn Gallery was an art gallery founded by Denis Cohn, an influential dealer gallery in Auckland, New Zealand in the 1980s. Born in Hale, England, Cohn's conversion to art came at the age of 14, at an exhibition of works by Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso at the

Manchester Art Gallery Manchester Art Gallery, formerly Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre. The main gallery premises were built for a learned society in 1823 and today its collection occupies three c ...

. Cohn became a precocious collector, looking for finds in junk shops. In his later teens Cohn moved to London, where he met painter Michael Ayrton, from whom he bought his first art work. Cohn met his life partner Bil (William) Vernon in 1968. Six years later they moved to New Zealand, where Cohn worked as an industrial journalist and began buying New Zealand art, beginning with a work on paper by Colin McCahon. According to art critic Hamish Keith, Cohn "had a fine eye for art, but also a keen appreciation for a bargain. He saw New Zealand art as undervalued at a time when Auckland had a mere handful of struggling galleries mainly dealing in established names". This observation led Cohn to open his eponymous gallery. Despite its relatively short period of operation (1978-1986), Cohn and his gallery were known for showing leading artists and supporting the careers of younger and newer artists, including

Malcolm Harrison Malcolm Armstrong Harrison (3 September 1941 – 2 November 2007) was a New Zealand clothing designer and textile artist. Career Born in Christchurch, Harrison started his career as a window dresser with the D.I.C department store in his home to ...

Christine Hellyar Christine Hellyar (born 1947) is a New Zealand artist who makes sculptures and installations. Education Hellyar was born in 1947 in New Plymouth. She completed a Diploma in Fine Arts (Hons) at the Elam School of Art in 1970. Work Working i ...

Tony Fomison Tony Fomison (12 July 1939 – 7 February 1990) was a notable artist in New Zealand. He was an important post-war visual artist in the country and influenced New Zealand art by incorporating elements of narrative and myth into contemporary a ...

Philip Clairmont Philip Anthony Clairmont (1949–1984) was a New Zealand painter. Biography Clairmont was born on 15 September 1949 in Nelson and named Philip Anthony Haines until his mother changed the family name in the early seventies. He attended Nelson Col ...

and

Allen Maddox Allen Maddox (born Liverpool, 1948 - died Auckland, 23 August 2000) was an English-born New Zealand painter, known for his bold abstract works and specifically his use of the cross motif. Born in Liverpool, Maddox migrated to New Zealand in 1963 ...

. He also sought out a younger market of collectors, who had not yet began buying established artists' works. After the gallery closed in 1986 Cohn continued to deal art from his home, and worked with partner Bil Vernon on museum and gallery software, which became

Vernon Systems Vernon Systems Ltd (VSL) is a company that produces collections management software for museums, galleries, and other cultural heritage institutions. The company was established in 1985. It is based in Auckland, New Zealand, but sells its softw ...

. Denis Cohn died in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

on 14 December 2006, aged 73. An archive of the gallery's operations in held by the

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

References

Art galleries in New Zealand Companies based in Auckland Art museums and galleries in Auckland {{Auckland-struct-stub