B.

In 1936 Christchurch connoisseur, businessman and philanthropist Sir Joseph Kinsey (1853-1936) bequeathed his considerable collection of ceramics, objet d'art and art to the city to be respectively housed in the Canterbury Museum and the Robert McDougall Art Gallery.

It was this bequest which formed such a substantial part of the Gallery's foundation print collection. Among Kinsey's numerous interests was photography and he was a keen amateur photographer appearing as frequently before the lens as he did behind it.

The photographs in this exhibition, mostly of the 1890s show Kinsey in this role relaxing with friends or exercising his unique sense of humour, which to Victorian eyes would have seemed quite eccentric. These photographs have been made available, on loan, from the Canterbury Museum Photographic collection.

('Kinsey Before the Lens', Bulletin, No.63, May/June 1989, p.3)