By 1974, when this work was made, Gordon Walters had already fully resolved and refined his ‘koru’ motif, which he was to continue to paint into the 1980s. These works drew on European modernism and geometric abstraction, which the artist combined with Māori and Pacific forms, in particular the koru (fern bud) motif. Although modest in scale, this is the first work by Walters, one of New Zealand’s most important abstract painters, to enter the collection. It was purchased the year it was made from an exhibition of the artist’s work at Wellington’s Peter McLeavey Gallery.

(1969 Comeback Special 27 August – 6 November 2016)