Widow gifts more than $1m art to gallery

A collection of 287 paintings by a former Tauranga-based artist _ estimated to be worth more than $1 million _ has been donated to Tauranga's new art gallery.
Edward Bullmore's works, which once hung next to the likes of Dali, Miro and Picasso in the 1960s, were given to the city's new gallery trust by his widow Jacqueline Bullmore yesterday.
"The gifting is a milestone. For the works and for Ted, it's wonderful. It's come full circle really," she said.
In the late 1950s, Bullmore taught art at Hillsdene and Tauranga Boys' College before leaving for Europe at the end of 1959, marking the beginning of an international art career.
First in Florence and then during a decade in London, Bullmore showed a brave daring in his work and mingled with the greatest names in art history.
He returned to Rotorua in late 1969 and continued to teach and practice as an artist up until his death in 1978.
"When Ted died, on my birthday in 1978, I didn't know what I was going to do. The artworks were my responsibility and also an impediment to moving on. It's been a responsibility to do the right thing by Ted, who I loved so dearly, and to do what he would have wanted," Mrs Bullmore said.
Daughter, Marianna, said she was delighted that her father's collection would be forever retained in Tauranga.
"I wanted the works to be preserved as a whole for the longevity of the works and for people to be able to view them as a whole ... to me that's really important.
"For dad to be a part of the new gallery is brilliant."
A Tauranga 1957-59 period painting entitled The Family sold at auction at Webbs in Auckland recently for $100,000 _ therefore some sources estimate the value of the collection gifted to the Tauranga Art Gallery Trust to be worth more than a million dollars.
Works from the Tauranga period will be featured extensively in the city's new collection, including a portrait of Mrs Bullmore, entitled Jackie, painted in 1959 when the couple were newlyweds.
The most unique aspect of the gift is its size and variety, which spans the whole of Bullmore's life, said Tauranga Art Gallery curator Penelope Jackson.
"These are iconic works. We're very fortunate the family have kept the collection together and sat on it. This is a cross section. We've got drawings from his 4th and 5th form at school, to his ceramics _ a bit of everything right through his life."
The extent and range of the works gifted ensure exhibitions of Bullmore's work at the Tauranga Art Gallery will be constantly evolving and changing perspective.
A self-portrait of the artist will be seen in the collection as well as famous works such as The Day Grows Larger, 1959, and The Tauranga Wharf Scene pencil sketch, circa 1958.
This access to Bullmore's wealth of craft would be welcomed after years of it being mostly unavailable to the public, said Ms Jackson.
Only three other venues in New Zealand hold Bullmore's paintings, with two in Christchurch, two in Te Papa and one in Auckland.
Ms Jackson is working on a major retrospective exhibition of Bullmore's works for the gallery.