Hidden Gems: Art from the Marlborough Museum Collection.
This small selection features aspects of Marlborough's artistic heritage from the 1770s to 1915. Since it was established in 1959 the Marlborough Historical Society has acquired artworks primarily for the information they convey about the history and people of Marlborough.
The exhibition is as much about the artists, the owners and the donors as it is about what you can see in the pictures. The exhibition reveals the range of skills artists needed to make careers in colonial communities in New Zealand and suggests some reasons why they choose these subjects.
It recalls some early patrons and the art market in Marlborough and Nelson and suggests motivations including curiosity, pride, nostalgia and gratitude inspired these landscapes and memorials. It also demonstrates the generosity of Marlborough's citizens, notably its women, in gifting family treasures for us all to enjoy.
It has not been possible in all cases to identify the source of the pictures so if you can help please do.

Label for Hidden Gems exhibition July to September 2014 written by Jane Vial, Guest Curator.

Click on 'Start Exhibit' above to begin a guided tour, or click on an image to the left to go directly to that record, or click on 'Table of Contents' above for a list of all records in the exhibit.