Now that the doors to Sarjeant on the Quay are open to the public, gallery staff are preparing to move the collection to the new temporary premises.
Artworks are being assessed, documented and carefully packed, and it was during this process that an intriguing handwritten message was recently discovered on the back of Ngangara, a carving by Cliff Whiting of two stylised figures presented against a linoleum background.
Born in 1936, Whiting grew up in Te Kaha on the East Coast. In 1955, he began training as a teacher in Wellington and was later a district adviser in arts and crafts, working for a time in the Wanganui region.
Ngangara was purchased from the artist in early 1973 in a break with tradition, the work being the first by a contemporary Maori artist to enter the collection.
While the back of many artworks in the Sarjeant collection have been used to record identifying information, the Ngangara work has a surprisingly personal connection with the gallery. In addition to labelling the work with the title, date, and price paid, the artist hand-wrote on the back two messages.