The Stevenson Collection
I had the opportunity to be given a personal tour of The Stevenson Collection by the collector Mark Stevenson in January when visiting family in Marlborough, New Zealand. I was blown away by the quality and quantity of work that he has amassed. In the tiny harbour town of Picton Mark converted this old hardware store into a gallery to store his remarkable collection a few years ago. I remember seeing the conversion in process and being intrigued. Mark and his wife Bernadette own the bach (beach house) next to ours in Whenuanui Bay but this was the first time I’d spoken at length with Mark.
Mark and I in his converted trade store private gallery
He prefers to let the art talk for itself but offered tidbits and anecdotes about the artists as we progressed. I’ve been so ignorant of the New Zealand art scene over recent years and he introduced me to some contemporary artists such as Ayesha Green, Jason Greig, Christina Pataialii’, and Chloe Summerhayes, and re-introduced me to some greats such as Trevor Moffitt and Gordon Walters. It was also great to see some works by Australian artists such as Sally Gabori in his collection.
The works that had the biggest impact of me was the landscape below by Toss Woollaston, one of the greats of New Zealand art history (b.1910- d.1998). I hadn’t seen works by him for many years, but I do remember be similarly affected by them with those big chunky brush strokes and muted, yet vibrant palette that truly works to create an evocative New Zealand landscape.
Detail of landscape by Toss Woollaston
I believe it was my first time being shown around a private art collection by the collector himself and it was truly a revelation for me. I was so impressed by the depth and breadth of the artworks and artists - Mark cannot be pinned down for any particular genre, period or style. It truly was an honour to be given a glimpse into this remarkable collection. I look forward to visiting again in the future and I’ll have a long list of questions for him this time!