12 December 2024 – 2 February 2025
A selection of Christmas cards created by distinguished local artists.
This exhibition celebrates the art of sending and receiving Christmas cards. It features cards sent by Rita Angus, Doris Lusk, Ngaio Marsh, Stewart Maclennan, Olivia Spencer Bower and many others. But these are not commercially produced cards, rather they are hand-made prints, paintings and even ceramics. Each is a miniature work of art with deep personal significance to the sender—and the recipient.
-
Location:
Archive Lounge -
Curator:
Tim Jones -
Exhibition number:
1178
Related reading: Archives
Commentary
Opening the Archives
Amongst the regular books, artist books and rare books, the Robert and Barbara Stewart Library and Archives also contains a treasure-trove of letters, diaries, photographs, newspaper cuttings, videos and more. These fascinating objects shine a light on the lives and careers of many of the artists in our collection, telling us how they developed their works, how they related to their contemporaries, even where they went on their holidays. They are used a good deal by curators and researchers – and you can see some of them in our current exhibitions He Kapuka Oneone and One O’Clock Jump – but they usually live well out of sight.
Commentary
Finding Barry Cleavin
Exploring and documenting the contents of Barry Cleavin’s archive in the Robert and Barbara Stewart Library and Archives was both a novel and an invaluable experience for me.
Article
Reflections on riches
While the Gallery may be closed, our archive collections continue to develop. As I write, three aspects of managing an archive are happening simultaneously. We are adding new material, cataloguing it, and assisting a researcher to use the archive. All the challenges and pleasures of archive management are on the table.