Category Archives: art

In Oscar’s Corner

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Editor

I was recently asked just how much the townsfolk of Napier would have really know about Oscar Wilde in his own time. I answered pretty quickly that I felt some had very real understanding of Wilde and some perhaps some … Continue reading →

Posted in art | 1 Comment

Colonial Idol: and the contestants are …

Posted on May 20, 2011 by Editor

If this man seems familiar it might be that you have spent too long in the pub. For decades he lived on a shelf above the bar of the Birdcage tavern, in Auckland. I acquired him in the sale of … Continue reading →

Posted in art | 2 Comments

How to decorate your hotel room

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Editor

On a Tuesday night, I find myself at Dunbar’s in Auckland. The catalogue for this sale hadn’t been particularly spectacular and I wasn’t going to go. Dunbar’s Auckland sales are never as strong as their Wellington ones – in part … Continue reading →

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Inspiration: Edwardian Bloomsbury & Beidermeier

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Editor

Visitors often ask where I (and they might) get inspiration for rooms or décor moments. The question arises because too often when searching for decor ideas homeowners simply look at decorating magazines. The problem is compounded in that if you … Continue reading →

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Pursuing John Douglas Perrett.

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Editor

The Perrett is certainly large (see Considering John Douglas Perrett). Propped up on an easel it dominates one side of Dunbar Sloane’s auction rooms. It’s early in the viewing and there aren’t many people in the room and so I … Continue reading →

Posted in art, auction finds etc. | 5 Comments

Considering John Douglas Perrett

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Editor

I have, for a while now, wanted to buy a large scale Victorian/Edwardian painting. Something vast. The problem of course is that they’re few and far between. Anything good has long been snapped up by the public art galleries and indifferent … Continue reading →

Posted in art, auction finds etc. | 2 Comments

How to hang a European painting in a post-colonial world.

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Editor

When designing our library I was looking to create a formal arrangement of Nineteenth century paintings, largely portraits, and this meant that I kept coming back to the idea of a picture rail. Not a piece of wooden beading positioned … Continue reading →

Posted in art, practical matters | 10 Comments