Stories of Victorian Paintings at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki – Navigating Intersections between Past and Present

Abstract

Victorian painting featured strongly in Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki’s early collection and continued to be acquired well into the twentieth century. These artworks have tendedto be displayed through the lenses of theme and narrative. However, the need to invigorate this format is gaining momentum as curators are exploring ways to navigate intersections between past and present. Te Haerenga/The Passage, currently on display at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, is in keeping with the drive towards enabling historical, international artworks, such as Victorian painting, to be displayed in connection with contemporary New Zealand and Māori art, thus shifting boundaries between traditional perceptions of the art historical canon and contemporary notions of identities and ideas.