Artwork finds a home

JASON OXENHAM

NEW HOME: The refurbished Pah Homestead will house James Wallace’s extensive art collection as the new TSB Bank Wallace Arts Centre.

JASON OXENHAM

FITTING RESTORATION: Auckland City Council chief heritage adviser George Farrant has worked hard to ensure the modern additions required for the arts centre did not compromise Pah Homestead’s heritage value.

JASON OXENHAM

FUTURE OUTLOOK: Pah Homestead was built between 1877 and 1879 and was purchased by the Auckland City Council in 2002. It was built to take advantage of the Auckland panorama and brings its own wealth of history to the new arts centre.

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Arts patron James Wallace is breathing a sigh of relief.

After almost 10 years, his extensive New Zealand art collection finally has a place to call home.

This Sunday, the avid collector and philanthropist, in partnership with the Auckland City Council and TSB Bank, will open the doors of the freshly renovated Pah Homestead, as the TSB Bank Wallace Arts Centre.

"We will be here for the next 30 years at least," Mr Wallace says.

"It's a relief not having to worry about moving on a monthly basis. We'd been looking for a home for a long time. Now we've got this it's a magnificent conclusion."

Mr Wallace says visiting numerous galleries overseas while hitchhiking as a teenager sparked his interest in art and he started to purchase New Zealand work in the 1960s once he finished law school.

Now his trust owns more than 5000 pieces of work.

"I never imagined it would grow this big. And it's still growing, almost every week we get something."

With the smell of freshly drying paint surrounding some of the country's most exceptional pieces of artwork, the house could almost be mistaken for an art studio rather than a spruced-up building site.

The structure of the Italianate style of architecture has been strengthened, electrics fitted, layers of security installed and ornate fittings, including parquet flooring, restored.

Although the council purchased the Hillsborough homestead off the Catholic Diocese in 2002, the majority of the $7 million restoration work only began in June last year.

"It was in a sad state. It had been through a genteel long period of decay," says chief heritage adviser George Farrant.

"We didn't want to go overboard and make it look brand new so there are still lots of dings and knicks and scratches. It's important that the building keeps it narrative."

As a cultural resource, the arts centre will host a variety of exhibitions, tour shows and education programmes.

Currently composer Chris Adams is the centre's artist in residence as a Mozart Fellow from Otago University.

To celebrate the opening of the TSB Bank Wallace Arts Centre, a range of activities are on offer for families, including artist talks, guided tours of the exhibition and heritage tours of the homestead and park at 72 Hillsborough Rd, from noon to 4pm.

Entry is free.

- © Fairfax NZ News