Mackelvie Society

Join Rare Books Librarian Jane Wild and explore the Mackelvie collection at Auckland Central Library, Wednesday 11th September.

In our next event, Rare Books Librarian Jane Wild will describe the Mackelvie Collection at Auckland Libraries. You will get to see some of the rare titles purchased by James Mackelvie including Owen Jones’ Grammar of Ornament (1856), the first edition of Buller’s Birds (1873) and other exceptional titles and favourites James Mackelvie selected as a legacy for Auckland.

Wednesday 11th September 2024, 1.00pm - 2.00pm
Whare Wānanga - Level 2, Auckland Central City Library

About our Speaker

Jane Wild is currently Rare Books Librarian at Auckland Council Libraries in a job share partnership with Renée Orr.

Jane has extensive experience in the documentary heritage sector in Aotearoa New Zealand with roles at the Alexander Turnbull Library, the University of Auckland Library and Auckland Libraries. In 2023 she co-curated two exhibitions, Tara McLeod master printer and Miraculous Manuscripts which demonstrate the range of Auckland’s public heritage collections spanning a thousand years of rare books. She is a member of the Mackelvie Trust.

[Portrait by by George Halkett (1884) is from the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Mackelvie Trust Collection, M1885/1/32]

Thanks to Auckland Libraries Research for this event.

JOIN US THIS SEPTEMBER:

James Mackelvie lived in Auckland for just five years from 1865 to 1870. During this time he made his fortune and on his return to Europe and London he began collecting books and art for Auckland. Books arrived from the 1870’s but the bulk of his curated collection arrived after his untimely death in 1885.

Rare Books Librarian Jane Wild will describe the Mackelvie Collection at Auckland Libraries. You will get to see some of the rare titles purchased by James Mackelvie including Owen Jones’ Grammar of Ornament (1856), the first edition of Buller’s Birds (1873) and other exceptional titles and favourites James Mackelvie selected as a legacy for Auckland. His earliest book ‘Architectura nova curiosa’ was published in 1664. The Victorian gentleman’s library continues to delight and inform new research in 2024.

Wed, 11 Sep 2024
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM NZST
Whare Wānanga, Level 2
Central City Library
44-46 Lorne Street
Auckland Central

Free to attend, but please register your ticket via Eventbrite for numbers.
www.eventbrite.com/e/ex-libris-jt-mackelvie-tickets-967183571097?aff=oddtdtcreator

Portrait by by George Halkett (1884) is from the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Mackelvie Trust Collection, M1885/1/32

There's still time to book your spot at our next Mackelvie Society Event presented by the Auckland Museum.

Join our speakers Grace Lai and Boris Bogdanovic in conversation with Dr Linda Tyler as they discuss the lives and collections of Victorian business men and collectors, James Tannock Mackelvie and Alfred Buckland.

SUN 8 SEP, 10AM
HIGHWIC, 40 GILLIES AVE NEWMARKET, AUCKLAND
$35 MACKELVIE SOCIETY MEMBERS | $35 MUSEUM MEMBERS

For all the details, head to our News and Events page.
https://www.mackelviesociety.com/news/victorian-men

Please book your place here
https://myaccount.aucklandmuseum.com/177190?&promoApplied=true

Join our next event in collaboration with the Auckland Museum:

Victorian Men: James Tannock Mackelvie and Alfred Buckland

Hear speakers Boris Bogdanovic and Grace Lai in conversation with Dr Linda Tyler as they discuss the lives and collections of Victorian business men and collectors, James Tannock Mackelvie and Alfred Buckland.

Sunday 8 September, 10AM
Highwic, 40 Gillies Ave Newmarket, Auckland
Full details and tickets at https://www.mackelviesociety.com/news/victorian-men

With thanks to the Auckland Museum, we invite you to join our speakers Grace Lai and Boris Bogdanovic in conversation with Dr Linda Tyler as they discuss the lives and collections of Victorian business men and collectors, James Tannock Mackelvie and Alfred Buckland.

SUN 8 SEP, 10AM
HIGHWIC, 40 GILLIES AVE NEWMARKET, AUCKLAND
$35 MACKELVIE SOCIETY MEMBERS & MUSEUM MEMBERS

Please book via link provided on our News and Events page.

https://www.mackelviesociety.com/news/victorian-men

THIS EVENING - The World of James Tannock Mackelvie: A Victorian collector

Join speakers Mary Kisler MNZM, Dr Josh Emmitt and Dr Sophie Matthiesson as they share their thoughts and insights on James Tannock Mackelvie and his collection. The introductory talks are followed by a panel discussion chaired by Finn McCahon-Jones.

TUES 7 MAY, 6PM
TE MATA TAIRONGO MUSEUM AUDITORIUM, LEVEL 2
AUCKLAND MUSEUM
PAY WHAT YOU CAN
To register for the event visit:
https://www.mackelviesociety.com/news/a-victorian-collector

The event is presented in partnership with Auckland Museum and is open to members of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and the Mackelvie Society.

Auckland Museum

Join us for our next Mackelvie Society event - The World of James Tannock Mackelvie: A Victorian collector

Join our speakers Mary Kisler MNZM, Grace Lai and Dr Sophie Matthiesson as they share their thoughts and insights on James Tannock Mackelvie and his collection. The introductory talks are followed by a panel discussion chaired by Finn McCahon-Jones.

TUES 7 MAY, 6PM
TE MATA TAIRONGO MUSEUM AUDITORIUM, LEVEL 2
AUCKLAND MUSEUM
PAY WHAT YOU CAN

James Tannock Mackelvie was a Glaswegian Scot who lived and worked in Auckland from 1865 to 1871. He made a fortune in land speculation and gold mining investments before returning to London, and was perhaps, Auckland's single biggest arts benefactor.

Mackelvie was a prodigious collector and from the beginning, intended his acquisitions to one day form a teaching collection in New Zealand. Auckland Museum holds all the applied arts that Mackelvie donated to Auckland, both while he was alive and on his death. Paintings and sculptures are held in the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and books are held in the Auckland Library Ngā Pātaka Kōrero o Tāmaki Makaurau.

We look forward to seeing you on the 7 May. Get your tickets via our news and events page.


The event is presented in partnership with Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and open to members of Auckland Art Gallery and the Mackelvie Society.

Join our speakers Mary Kisler MNZM, Grace Lai and Dr Sophie Matthiesson as they share their thoughts and insights on James Tannock Mackelvie and his collection. The introductory talks are followed by a panel discussion chaired by Finn McCahon-Jones.

TUES 7 MAY, 6PM
TE MATA TAIRONGO MUSEUM AUDITORIUM, LEVEL 2
AUCKLAND MUSEUM
PAY WHAT YOU CAN

The event is presented in partnership with Auckland Museum and is open to members of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and the Mackelvie Society.

Get your tickets here
https://myaccount.aucklandmuseum.com/175669?&promoApplied=true

Tour of the Mackelvie Gallery is happening next week. ✦

Join members of the Mackelvie Society, Society friends and curator Grace Lai as we journey through the Mackelvie Gallery at the Auckland Museum.

Tuesday February 13th
10.30 am
Auckland Museum
All Welcome, but we ask that you RSVP to [email protected]

See you on the 13th!

Join Curator Grace Lai as she takes us on a tour of the Mackelvie Gallery.

Tuesday February 13th
10.30 am, Mackelvie Gallery
Level 1, Auckland Museum
Free Event
All Welcome, but we ask that you please RSVP to [email protected]

About Grace Lai
Guided by a curiosity for forgotten stories held by objects that are often overlooked, Grace Lai is an art historian and curator who engages with material culture as a decoder of the immaterial, to question areas relevant not only to Museums and their collections but contemporary society. Currently, Grace is the Curator of Applied Arts & Design at Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum where she leads the exhibition, development, and research of a nationally significant archive of craft from Aotearoa New Zealand and abroad.

We hope you're enjoying your Summer with family and friends. Plans are underway for our next event and we'd like to extend an invitation to all.

Tour of the Mackelvie Gallery : Reimagining a Victorian Home

Come explore the interior world of Victorian homes and the extraordinary art and objects amassed by James Tannock Mackelvie.

Join Grace Lai, Curator Applied Arts and Design, Auckland Museum, to hear her ideas behind the development of a refreshed display of the Mackelvie Collection items.

Tuesday February 13th
10.30 am, Mackelvie Gallery
Level 1, Auckland Museum
Free Event
All Welcome, but we ask that you please RSVP to [email protected]

We'll see you there!

Tomorrow!

Join us tomorrow at the Auckland Art Gallery in association with the Auckland Heritage Festival.

A Gifted Treasure: James Mackelvie’s Bequest
Thu 5 Oct 2023, 3:00pm–4:00pm
All Ages
FREE EVENT

Register now
https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/.../a-gifted.../auckland

All welcome to our FREE public event!

Join us at the Auckland Heritage Festival's public talk this Thursday afternoon, which will provide insight into the Mackelvie Collection alongside a tour of the Mackelvie Gallery.

Thursday 5th October
3pm - 4pm
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki

Join Kenneth Brummel, Curator, International Art at Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tāmaki in the Mackelvie Gallery to learn more about this gifted treasure.

Register now at Eventfinda
https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2023/a-gifted-treasure-james-mackelviers-bequest/auckland

We’ll meet at the Main Gallery foyer at 3pm before heading up to the Mackelvie Gallery.

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The Auckland Heritage Festival, an annual celebration of our city's heritage finishes up this week. The Mackelvie Society is taking part by offering public talk this Thursday afternoon, which will provide insight into the Mackelvie Collection alongside a tour of the Mackelvie Gallery.

This is a great opportunity to attend one of our events, even if you haven't made it along previously. Please invite your friends and family. All welcome!

Thursday 5th October, 3pm - 4pm, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
We’ll meet at the Main Gallery foyer at 3pm before heading up to the Mackelvie Gallery.

Last night the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and Mackelvie Society hosted an event celebrating the new installation in the Mackelvie Gallery. The event gave us an opportunity to introduce a few of the amazing people that work behind the scenes to bring the Gallery’s exhibitions, projects and programmes to life.

Our guests were treated to a walk through the new exhibition, Threads of Time, in the Mackelvie Gallery with the exhibition curators, Sophie Matthiesson and Kenneth Brummel, followed by a brief presentation by the conservator Genevieve Silvester on the recently restored 17C masterwork, A Village Fair, by Pieter Brueghel the Younger. We gave thanks to the Mackelvie Society members who donated towards our recent Frame Fundraiser for the work.

Please do head along to see the exhibition: Threads of Time: Travel, Trade & Textiles. Open now in the Mackelvie Gallery.

Kenneth Brummel is Curator of International Art at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki

Co-curator of the internationally acclaimed Picasso: Painting the Blue Period, he has mounted exhibitions on a range of modern artists, including Anthony Caro, Vilhelm Hammershøi, Joan Mitchell, Jean Paul Riopelle, and Andy Warhol. Kenneth holds a MA in Art History from The University of Chicago.

A specialist of late nineteenth- and twentieth-century international modernism, he has worked in curatorial capacities at major North American art museums, including the Art Gallery of Ontario, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Cincinnati Art Museum.

Join Kenneth Brummel in the Mackelvie Gallery of Auckland Art Gallery, to learn about the Mackelvie Collection - a valuable part of Auckland's heritage.

gifted treasure: James Mackelvie’s bequest
Thursday 5th October, 3pm - 4pm. All welcome.

The Auckland Library Heritage Collections would like to invite our members and friends along to this Auckland Libraries Event.

Join us for a special opportunity to hear international expert Dr. Christopher de Hamel talk about his long history with medieval manuscripts held in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Christopher de Hamel is a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and the author of many books, including The Posthumous Papers of the Manuscripts Club and Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts.

WHERE: Central City Library | Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero , 44-46 Lorne Street, Auckland City Centre, Whare Wānanga, level 2

WHEN Thursday 24 August 2023
5.30pm-6.30pm

COST Free, but bookings essential via eventbrite

You can also register to attend online via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwudeCorjwsHNK9GlP5DlUrGHesGTwFYF7Y

See all event details here: https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/events/2023/08/discovering-medieval-manuscripts-in-new-zealand-in-the-1960s/

Auckland Libraries is delighted to host this talk as part of public programming for Miraculous: medieval manuscripts at Auckland Libraries, a Heritage Collections exhibition.

The exhibition will be open before and after the talk.

Image: Palm Sunday: Christ entering Jerusalem. From: Missale ad usum Romanum, between 1450 and 1500. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, MedMS-G138.

We hope you can join us next Saturday, when Mary Kisler and Paula Legel share their travel adventures, photographs and research findings from their 2022 trip to Europe to track down James Tannock Mackelvie's life after he left New Zealand in 1871.

Their quest started in the south of France, in Hyères and then took them north to the arctic temperatures of Scotland, where further revelations were in store.

This is a repeat of their talk 'Research on the Run' which was fully booked at the Museum last week. Our audience were enthralled by the tales and insights shared and we're grateful to Mary and Paula for offering the talk once again, just to ensure you don't miss out!

Saturday 29th July, 11am - 12noon, Auckland Central Library.
RSVP essential by emailing [email protected] or sending us a message.

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki will present a significant exhibition of over 150 works by First Nations Australian artists from Saturday 29 July. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Ever Present: First Peoples Art of Australia surveys works by over 160 artists from 1890 to today. Drawn from the collections of the National Gallery of Australia and The Wesfarmers Collection of Australian Art, the artworks bridge time and place and are interconnected through story and experience.

Check out the exhibition at
Saturday 29 July – Sunday 29 October 2023
10am–5pm daily
FREE


Image Credit: Daniel Walbidi Mangala/Yulparija peoples, Wirnpa 2011, synthetic polymer paint on linen, the Wesfarmers Collection of Australian Art, Boorloo/Perth, © Daniel Walbidi/ Copyright Agency, 2022

✦ SUPPORT THE FRAMING OF ‘A VILLAGE FAIR’ ✦​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​We warmly invite you to help bring the Mackelvie Collection painting, 'A Village Fair' by Brueghel to life with a beautifully crafted frame, fitting for a painting of this calibre.

We are inviting supporters to make a donation towards the frame. You can do so via our website, where you can find more information about this project.

https://www.mackelviesociety.com/avillagefair

Image Credit: A Village fair (Village festival in honour of Saint Hubert and Saint Anthony), Pieter Brueghel the Younger, oil on panel, 1118 x 1651 mm, Mackelvie Trust Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1961

Join us as Mary Kisler and Paula Legal share their travel adventures, photographs and research findings from their 2022 trip to Europe to track down James Tannock Mackelvie's life after he left New Zealand in 1871.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Their quest started in the south of France, in Hyères and then took them north to the arctic temperatures of Scotland, where further revelations were in store.

Hear their stories.

When: Tuesday 18 July 2023, 6pm - 7pm.
What: 40 minute talk with Q&A
Where:

RSVP Email [email protected]

ABOUT A VILLAGE FAIR ✦​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Both Pieter Bruegel the Elder and his son Pieter the Younger painted mass scenes of revelry. A Village Fair nominally illustrates a religious festival, a welcome respite from the monotonous toil of peasant existence.

Effigies of Saints Anthony and Hubert are carried in a procession through the village, but for the most part the spectators' attention has been diverted elsewhere - they gaze instead at an absurd play, 'Trick Water Farce', by a group of travelling actors. Acts of individual devotion are still evident - a man kneels at confessional, two men toll the church bell, and another politely doffs his hat as he gives directions to two travelling monks. For the most part, however, the villagers are content to dance and sing in a carousing mêlée.

Pieter Brueghel the Younger based many of his own works on his father's compositions, but A Village Fair is original. It proved extremely popular, and he produced several versions, all painted between c1616 and 1635. (from The Guide, 2001)

To find out more about this painting and how to donate to the framing, please visit our website.

Image credit: A Village fair (Village festival in honour of Saint Hubert and Saint Anthony), Pieter Brueghel the Younger, oil on panel, 1118 x 1651 mm, Mackelvie Trust Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1961

Pieter Brueghel the Younger by Anthony van Dyck Image Credit: Wikipedia

THE IMPORTANCE OF A FRAME ✦​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Auckland Art Gallery is committed to acquiring frames from the expert period frame makers in the case of the most important works in the collection. Pieter Brueghel's 'A Village Fair' is one of those.

Paul Mitchell in London has a repertoire of superb aged timbers and models from Breughels in European collections and the gallery has spent time working with Mitchell to establish the ideal frame model to adopt.

The Mitchell workshop represents the gold standard in the museum industry and given the two-plus years that the conservator Genevieve Silvester has been working on the painting to restore it and the importance of the painting, acquiring the perfect frame is necessary.

We warmly invite you to help bring this Mackelvie Collection painting to life with a beautifully crafted frame, fitting for a painting of this calibre. We are inviting supporters to make a donation towards the frame.

Please visit our website for more info on how to donate.
https://www.mackelviesociety.com/avillagefair

image credit: A Village fair (Village festival in honour of Saint Hubert and Saint Anthony), Pieter Brueghel the Younger, oil on panel, 1118 x 1651 mm, Mackelvie Trust Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1961.

There's still time to RSVP to our next Mackelvie Society event, 'Research on the Run'. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Join Paula Legel and Mary Kisler as they share the tale of the their recent research trip to France to track down James Tannock Mackelvie’s life after he left New Zealand in 1871.

When:
Tuesday 18 July 2023, 6PM – 7PM
40 minute talk with Q&A

Where:
Auckland Museum
Whaowhia Room, Ground floor - Access via the Tāmaki Herenga Waka Gallery

Please RSVP:
To secure a seat please RSVP [email protected]. This talk is limited to 20 people only, with priority booking for Mackelvie Society Members.

We look forward to Paula and Mary sharing their travel adventures, photographs and research findings.

RSVP or 'GIFT' A TICKET TODAY.

A RARE OPPORTUNITY - An insight into the work of conserving a masterpiece
Uncovering Brueghel's 'A Village Fair'

We are fortunate in having the opportunity to invite a small group into the Auckland Art Gallery Conservation Laboratory, to join Painting Conservator Genevieve Silvester as she shares her insights into this fascinating project and the stories it has uncovered about this beloved artwork in the Gallery’s collection.

WHEN: Next Tuesday 20th June, 10:30am.
WHERE: Auckland Art Gallery Conservation Laboratory.
RSVP or GIFT
To secure or gift a ticket please DM email [email protected]
Tickets are by donation towards the "Frame Fundraiser", a campaign to purchase a bespoke frame for 'A Village Fair'.

If you can't attend yourself, why not consider 'gifting' this rare opportunity to someone you know. A student of art history or art conservation perhaps? Get in touch to let us know how you'd like to support and we'll make it happen.


www.mackelviesociety.com

✦ Still places available ✦​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Join us for 'Uncovering Brueghel's, A Village Fair'
An insight into the work of conserving a masterpiece.

Tuesday 20 June
10.30am
Auckland Art Gallery

Limited to 12 attendees. Tickets are by donation towards the fundraising campaign. (Full details on our website Fundraising Campaign page) https://www.mackelviesociety.com/avillagefair

Contact [email protected] to learn more and to RSVP.

Over the last three years the Auckland Art Gallery’s conservation team has been working on a major project to restore Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s A Village Fair (Village Festival in Honour of Saint Hubert and Saint Anthony) dated circa 1615–20.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​We are fortunate in having the opportunity to invite a small group into the Conservation Laboratory, to join Painting Conservator Genevieve Silvester as she shares her insights into this fascinating project and the stories it has uncovered about this beloved artwork in the Gallery’s collection.

TUESDAY 20 JUNE AT 10.30AM
AUCKLAND ART GALLERY

Limited to 12 attendees. Tickets are by donation towards the fundraising campaign (see website for details).
https://www.mackelviesociety.com/avillagefair

Contact [email protected] to learn more and to RSVP.

This event is in association with the Mackelvie Society’s Fundraising Campaign for the purchase of a handmade bespoke frame for A Village Fair before it goes on display in October.

Over the last three years the Auckland Art Gallery's conservation team has been working on a major project to restore Pieter Brueghel the Younger's A Village Fair. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​To complete this project and have the artwork ready for display in October 2023, we’re looking for support to frame this artwork from the Mackelvie Collection.

Auckland Art Gallery is committed to acquiring frames from the expert period frame makers in the case of the most important works in the collection. The Breughel is one of those.

We warmly invite you to help bring this Mackelvie Collection painting to life with a beautifully crafted frame, fitting for a painting of this calibre. We are inviting supporters to make a donation towards the frame.

If you’d like to make a donation to the frame we welcome you to do so via our website, or via bank transfer.

For more info - https://www.mackelviesociety.com/avillagefair

A reminder of our next Mackelvie Society Event - 'Research on the Run' to be held at the Auckland Museum​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Join Paula Legel and Mary Kisler as they share the tale of the their recent research trip to France to track down James Tannock Mackelvie’s life after he left New Zealand in 1871.

As this talk is being held on a Twilight Tuesday – Museum late night, open from 10am to 8.30pm, including the cafe and bistro, we invite you to come along before the talk, or stay later to enjoy our city’s fine museum.

When:
Tuesday 18 July 2023, 6PM – 7PM
40 minute talk with Q&A

Where:
Auckland Museum
Whaowhia Room, Ground floor - Access via the Tāmaki Herenga Waka Gallery

Please RSVP:
To secure a seat please RSVP [email protected]. This talk is limited to 20 people only, with priority booking for Mackelvie Society Members.

Join us for the next Special Collections Up Close event, as we delve into the 17th-century publishing history of Shakespeare’s plays.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Join us for a close-up look at these rare books, including the Second Folio, published in 1632, just nine years after the first published edition of Shakespeare’s plays.

WHEN
Saturday 20 May 2023
10.30am-11.30am

WHERE
Central City Library | Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero, 44-46 Lorne Street, Auckland City Centre, Special Collections Reading Room, Level 2

We look forward to seeing you there.
https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/events/2023/05/piringatahi-special-collections-up-close-rare-shakespeare/