Outstanding, museum-quality H.W. Kirkwood painting for auction

Rare painting by Harry W. Kirkwood of Great Barrier Island, signed and dated 1904.

Outstanding, museum-quality artwork by the well-known colonial artist Harry W. Kirkwood (1854-1925) will be offered by Whanganui-based Heritage Art Auctions in its upcoming art sale on March 28.

The work is a large oil painting of Port Fitzroy, Great Barrier Island, signed and dated 1904. Including the frame, it measures 110cm x 150cm. During the past 40 years, more than 600 paintings by H.W. Kirkwood have been sold at auction, mainly of small to medium size. The artwork being offered is the second-largest Kirkwood painting to come to auction.

Both the painting and its original frame are in excellent condition. On the back is the original 120-year-old price tag of £26.5.0. This is the equivalent of $8300 in today’s money after allowing for inflation.

A slightly larger painting by the same artist sold in Auckland some years ago for $23,500 against an estimate of $8000-$12,000. The painting now being offered carries a reasonable estimate of only $5000-$8000.

Harry Kirkwood was born in Scotland in 1854 and arrived in New Zealand about 1879. He was a professional artist and during his 45 years in New Zealand, he moved around the country living variously in Dunedin, Nelson, Wellington, Whanganui, Palmerston North, Napier and Auckland.

His works can be seen in several public galleries throughout New Zealand. In 1924, Kirkwood moved to Sydney where he died a year later.

The present catalogue features a wide cross-section of 18th-21st-century paintings, prints and photographs. The catalogue will be available online from March 27 at www.HeritageArtNZ.com and the auction begins on March 28.

This work may be viewed at Heritage House in Whanganui on Easter Saturday and Sunday between 1pm-4pm and at other times by arrangement. Call Henry Newrick on 027 471 2242 for more information or email Henry@HeritageArtNZ.com.