Inaugural Auction: 40 Years of Leo Bensemann

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W.T. Macalister Announces Inaugural Auction: 40 Years of Leo Bensemann

As owner of Watson's Specialist Auctioneers and Valuers, William "Toby" Macalister is pleased to announce his establishment of W.T. Macalister, a boutique auction house concentrating on high-end single-vendor collections, art dealing and bespoke jewellery.

With over a decade managing the sale and placement of many of New Zealand's most coveted works, Toby Macalister has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the valuation and marketing of fine art.

His purchase of the South Island's leading auction house Watson's in 2006, following his return from overseas posts in London, South Africa and America, established Macalister as a leading figure in the New Zealand fine arts scene.

Watson's remains at the forefront of the New Zealand industry, and whilst remaining involved in the day-to-day business, Macalister has sought to pursue his vision for curating premium collections for auction with a particular focus on New Zealand fine art from the 19th through 21st Century through his new company.

This combination of passion and experience can be seen in the inaugural W.T. Macalister auction, 40 Years of Leo Bensemann. Despite the scarcity of Bensemann (1912-1986) works it is impeccably curated, bringing together 18 of the artist's paintings across four decades plus two sketches by his contemporary Rita Angus, who briefly shared a studio with Bensemann and invited him to join the quintessential artistic organisation "The Group" (1927-77).

Although Bensemann is a hugely influential artist in Canterbury, his work remains undervalued in the context of his contemporaries and is an oft-overlooked figure in the New Zealand art scene.

However, amongst these contemporaries - The Group's members counted Colin McCahon, Doris Lusk, Toss Woollaston, Olivia Spencer Bower, William Sutton and Angus - he was held in high esteem, and his work on the seminal Landfall magazine and the Caxton Press is hugely influential in New Zealand typography and publishing.

Bensemann's landscapes of Canterbury and the wider South Island; his fantastic portraits of imaginary figures; his signature depictions of key New Zealand figures; his idiosyncratic mythological turns; all Bensemann's hallmarks are on display in this collection.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to purchase the work of an artist whose work is rapidly growing in reputation and influence as art historians revise and review his history.

The auction takes place at 6.30pm on March 28 at The George Hotel, Christchurch.

Viewing Information.

Online at wtmacalister.com

Ocula
Level One, 25 Sale St, Freemans Bay, Auckland
March 12, 5.30pm/ 7.30pm Professor Peter Simpson, author of Fantastica: The World of Leo Bensemann (2011), will be talking about the collection
March 13, 11.00am/ 2.00pm

W.T. Macalister
2 Oxley Ave, St Albans, Christchurch
March 22, 5.30pm/ 7.30pm Professor Peter Simpson, author of Fantastica: The World of Leo Bensemann (2011), will be talking about the collection
March 23, 11.00am/ 3.00pm
March 26, 10.00am/ 5.00pm
March 27, 10.00am/ 5.00pm
March 28, 10.00am/ 2.00pm

ENDS

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