The New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts (also referred to as the Wellington Art Society) was founded in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

in July 1882 as The Fine Arts Association of New Zealand. Founding artists included painters

William Beetham William Beetham (25 July 1809 – 3 August 1888) was an English-born portrait painter, who painted mainly in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. He exhibited his paintings at the Royal Academy of Arts in London (1834–53) and painted in Hamburg, ...

(first president of the Association) and Charles Decimus Barraud. The association changed its name to the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts and was incorporated as a limited company in 1889. Charles Barraud was elected the Academy's president at its first AGM on 1 July 1889. The Governor-General of New Zealand is the traditional patron of the Academy.

Galleries

The Academy was granted a section of reclaimed land on Whitmore Street by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

, and its premises were constructed there in 1892. Architects involved in the building's design were Academy members Christian Toxward and Frederick de Jersey Clere. The building was used for the Academy's exhibitions and made available for hire as a source of revenue. It was later opened to the public as The Academy Free Art Gallery by Wellington mayor

Thomas William Hislop Thomas William Hislop (8 April 1850 – 2 October 1925) was the Mayor of Wellington from 1905 to 1908, and had represented two South Island electorates in the New Zealand Parliament. Early life He was born in Kirknewton, West Lothian in 1850. ...

, on 14 June 1907. Extensions to the gallery building, funded by grants from the government and the Macarthy Trust and by a loan from the

National Bank In banking, the term national bank carries several meanings: * a bank owned by the state * an ordinary private bank which operates nationally (as opposed to regionally or locally or even internationally) * in the United States, an ordinary p ...

, were designed by de Jersey Clere and another architect named Baun. The building ultimately proved unsatisfactory and, after protracted discussions within the Academy membership and negotiations with the government, the Academy decided to sell its land and gallery and put the proceeds towards the cost of constructing a national art gallery, in exchange for permanent accommodation in the new gallery. The Reserves and other Lands Disposal Act 1928 was passed to permit the sale and donation to go ahead, and in 1936 the Academy sold the Whitmore Street property and donated the proceeds to the new Dominion Museum and

National Art Gallery of New Zealand National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

, on the proviso that they would be accommodated in the new

Dominion Museum building The Dominion Museum building on Mount Cook in Buckle Street Wellington completed in 1936 and superseded by Te Papa in 1998 was part of a war memorial complex including a CarillonMuch of the 1914–1918 war was in parts of France and Belgium whe ...

on Buckle Street. When the National Museum and the

moved to Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa the Academy was paid compensation of $1.2 million to enable it to establish itself elsewhere. The Academy has been based in the Wharf Offices building at 1 Queens Wharf since 1998. The refurbishment of the building for the Academy in 2000 won the architects Heriot + Melhuish the New Zealand Institute of Architects award 2001.

Exhibitors

Artists who have exhibited their work at the Academy include

Gottfried Lindauer Gottfried Lindauer (5 January 1839 – 13 June 1926) was a Bohemian and New Zealand artist famous for his portraits, including many of Māori people. Czech life and Austrian school He was born Bohumír Lindauer in Plzeň (Pilsen), Western ...

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 ...

, Charles Goldie,

Rita Angus Rita Angus (12 March 1908 – 25 January 1970), a New Zealand painter, has a reputation - along with Colin McCahon and Toss Woollaston - as one of the leading figures in twentieth-century New Zealand art. She worked primarily in oil and water ...

Ralph Hotere Hone Papita Raukura "Ralph" Hotere (11 August 1931 – 24 February 2013) was a New Zealand artist. He was born in Mitimiti, Northland and is widely regarded as one of New Zealand's most important artists. In 1994 he was awarded an honorary d ...

and John Drawbridge.

Collection

The Academy's Whitmore Street property had housed the national art collection as well as the Academy's permanent collection. During the transition to the new National Art Gallery all art belonging to the Academy was transferred into the national collection, despite some opposition.

Officers

Fellows

The council of the Academy bestows the Governor-General's Award periodically to an artist who is a member of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, and who has made a significant contribution to the arts in New Zealand over an extended period of time. A maximum of one award is made in any given year. The recipient also becomes a fellow of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. The list of fellowships awarded to date is shown below.

References

External links

The Academy in "An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand" (1966), edited by A. H. McLintock
{{Authority control New Zealand art Art museums and galleries in New Zealand Arts organisations based in New Zealand 1882 establishments in New Zealand Organisations based in Wellington