Biography
The Auckland Gallery, sharing the building wth the free public library, opened its doors on 17 February 1888. The collection, the core of which came from founding donor Sir George Grey, governor of New Zealand, was initially dominated by European old master paintings following the standard taste of the 19th century.
Today the collection has expanded to include a wider variety of periods, styles and media, and numbers over 17,000 artworks. Many New Zealand, Māori and Pacific Island artists are represented, as well as Europe, and material from the Middle Ages to the present day. Notable New Zealand artists with extensive representation include Gretchen Albrecht, Marti Freidlander, C. F. Goldie, Alfred Hanry o'Keeffe, Frances Hodgkins, Gottfried Lindauer and Colin McCahon. Ovwer 30 years the Contemporary Art Society, London donated works by British artists such as Mark Gertler, Henry Moore, Bridget Riley and Julian Opie
