Elizabeth Baird Friberg’s 1909 watercolour view of Kōpūtai Port Chalmers is the earliest work in this exhibition and a rarity from this period for its focus on industrial subject matter. Behind the workers loading a horse-drawn dray in the foreground, factories and warehouses provide gritty company for the Iona Presbyterian Church, which towers above on the steep hillside. Friberg was an active, visible presence in early twentieth-century art circles, including as a teacher in Ōtautahi Christchurch, but has been missing from later histories. This attentive industrial scene, a recent gift, offers a glimpse into her practice.

(From Here on the Ground, 18 May – 17 November 2024)