John Coley

To mark the death of the artist in March 2026, this work was exhibited with this label:

We were very saddened to hear of the recent passing of artist and educator and former director of this institution John Coley. Born in Te Papaioea Palmerston North, John arrived in Ōtautahi Christchurch to take up studies at Canterbury College School of Art in 1955. While there he lived and painted at an infamous flat on Armagh Street, and his friends and flatmates included Pat Hanly, Gil Tavener (Hanly), Ted Bracey, Quentin Macfarlane, Hamish Keith, Ted Bullmore, Bill Culbert, Trevor Moffitt and Margaret Hudson-Ware. Like many artists of his generation he initially balanced his art-making with teaching and was a regular exhibitor at the famous Group Shows in Christchurch from 1960 to 1977.

In 1980 John was appointed director of this Gallery’s predecessor, the Robert McDougall Art Gallery, where he advocated for the gallery as an active space, not just somewhere where pictures were put on the walls. He believed that art education could extend the role of the Gallery. He also made a number of inspired acquisitions for the Gallery’s collection, including Colin McCahon’s 'As there is a Constant Flow of Light we are born into the Pure Land' in 1982; this was not a popular decision at the time, and he was forced to withstand intense public criticism. At the time John described McCahon’s painting as “…a fine memorable painting, an important acquisition for the city and one which I am convinced will be fully justified by the passing of time.” 'As there is a Constant Flow of Light…' quickly became a treasured work in the Gallery’s collection.

Throughout the 1990s John was a vocal advocate for the construction of a new gallery building in Christchurch – strongly favouring a central city location over Hagley Park, his view was simply that the city was where the people were. After his retirement in 1995 he enjoyed painting full-time, and made the move to Te Makaurau Auckland with his wife Fay to be nearer family. Always cheerful and engaging John maintained a strong interest in the Gallery and made a point of visiting whenever he returned to Christchurch to say hello to staff and discuss any recent acquisitions and exhibitions that interested him. Our thoughts are with Fay and the Coley family at this sad time.