On Wednesday the 6th, at 9.30 am I boarded the bus to travel to Auckland City. It arrived shortly after midday. After disembarking and collecting my luggage I debated what to do until 2 o'clock, when I could check-in at the Auckland Base Hostel for the night. I had taken a cut-lunch and located somewhere to sit and eat, when a man came and sat next to me with a cigarette. I almost asked him to go somewhere else!
Queen Street, Auckland
Fifteen minutes on Queen Street had me wanting to retreat from the hustle and bustle, so I wandered on up to the hostel even though it wasn't even 1 pm. I paid over my key deposit and fortunately didn't have too long to wait for my room to be available. After having a wee lie-down and a quick nana-nap I got up, made a coffee and headed off to the Auckland Art Gallery, which was only a few minutes walk across the street!
The new and the old....
The main gallery building was originally designed by Melbourne architects Grainger & D'Ebro to house not only the art gallery but also the City Council offices, lecture theatre and public library. It is constructed of brick and plaster in an early French Renaissance style and was completed in 1887, with an extension built in 1916. It is three storeys high, with an attic in the steep pitched roofs, and a six storey clock tower. The building was registered as a Category I heritage item by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust on 24 November 1983
From 1969 to 1971 the building underwent remodelling and a new wing and sculpture garden were added. This was the result of the lavish Philip Edmiston bequest which had been announced in 1946, which had stipulated the building of a new gallery. In 1971 the Public library was moved to the new Auckland Public Library building by Ewen Wainscott in nearby Lorne Street.
In the late 2000s, a major extension was mooted, which caused substantial criticism from some quarters due to its cost, design and the fact that land from Albert Park would be required for the extension. In 2008, Council decided to go ahead with the extension, which finished in 2011 for a total of NZ$113 million, of which Auckland City Council contributed just under NZ$50 million. The expansion increased exhibition space by 50%, for up to 900 artworks, and provided dedicated education, child and family spaces. As part of the upgrade, existing parts of the structure were renovated and restored to its 1916 state - among other things ensuring that the 17 different floor levels in the building were reduced to just 6.
One of the sealed entrances to the Albert Park tunnels can be found behind the Art Gallery on Wellesley Street.
In late 2007, the Gallery closed for extensive renovations, and re-opened on 3 September 2011. During this time of closure, temporary exhibitions were held at the NEW Gallery in Khartoum Place, Auckland. The new renovation and expansion of the Gallery creates at least 50 per cent additional display space.
Some of the paintings that inspired me...
A bit "messy" for me...but
love the use of all the colours
..and the support (the basic substrata) is hessian!
So going to do this myself...
I love the details on the tui's wings!
...a bit morbid but I love the blend of the skull and face
Very clever and thought-provoking!
My eye caught the tonal atmosphere of this
...and again, love the texture of the support.
..a close up of the paintings tonal range
caught my eye in this one.. I like too, that it has been
framed even though it's obviously not "finished"
drawing the human figure, I thought
this torso would be a good way to
start adding in shading to my sketches.
but also because the tones and colours.
and would like to try painting something like this
of the gallery....the fretwork was beautiful, too!
Part Two coming...
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