National Art Gallery of New Zealand

The National Art Gallery was opened in 1936 and occupied the first floor of the National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum building on Buckle Street, Wellington. It was originally populated with a collection gifted from the Academy of Fine Arts [ [http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/TePapa/English/AboutTePapa/AboutUs/Our+History.htm Te Papa website] ] . The Gallery was formed with the passing of the National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum Act (1930). Both the Dominion Museum and Gallery were overseen by a single board of trustees.

The function of the Gallery was not defined in the 1930 act. 3 key objectives were identified in the National Art Gallery, Museum and War Memorial Act of 1972. They were:
*to acquire, preserve, act as a national repository for, and display collections of works representing the whole range of visual arts
*to provide educational services in connection with these collections and the general field of the visual arts and
*to co-operate with and assist other public art galleries and allied organisations in the performance of the above functions.

Eru D. Gore was secretary-manager from 1936 till his death in 1948 when Stewart Bell Maclennan was appointed the first director. This was the first appointment in New Zealand of a full-time art gallery director. Past directors of Gallery include:
*Stewart Bell Maclennan (1948-68)
*Melvin Day (1968-78)
*Luit Bieringa (1979-89)
*Jenny Harper (1990-92)

In the early 1990s Hamish Keith was involved in a public dispute about his role in the National Art Gallery of New Zealand's controversial purchase of two paintings by Charles Goldie.

With the development of the Museum of New Zealand proposal it was decided that the Gallery would be amalgamated into the proposed Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and this took place with the passing of the Te Papa Tongarewa Act of 1992 [ [http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/TePapa/English/AboutTePapa/AboutUs/Our+History.htm Te Papa website] ] .

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