New Exhibition At National Library Explores Katherine Mansfield’s Last Year

‘A child of the sun’: Katherine Mansfield’s last year is a free exhibition at the National Library of New Zealand’s Te Puna Foundation Gallery (Te Ahumairangi ground floor foyer, corner of Molesworth and Aitken Street, Wellington), from 9 August – 9 November 2024.

This intimate exhibition at the National Library explores the last year of Katherine Mansfield’s life and considers her legacy.

It includes original manuscripts, photographs and the personal objects she treasured, including those left to loved ones in her will. At the centre of the exhibition is her Chinese silk shawl, a massive two by two metres, which was draped over her coffin during her funeral in Fontainebleau, France, just over 100 years ago. This will be the first time the shawl will be on public view following recently completed conservation work, thanks to support from the Turnbull Endowment Trust.

Exhibition Advisor, Dr Fiona Oliver, said that "co-curating ‘A child of the sun’: Katherine Mansfield’s last year, along with Cherie Jacobson of the Katherine Mansfield House & Garden, has been a rewarding and challenging exercise. The Library holds the largest Mansfield collection in the world, so there was an abundance of material to choose from”.

The Alexander Turnbull Library and National Library hold the world’s largest collection of Katherine Mansfield works, writings, objects and artefacts. The breadth and depth of the Alexander Turnbull Library and National Library Collections is huge. This exhibition is a great example of the range of taonga held in the Collections – so much more than just books.

This exhibition is kindly supported by the Katherine Mansfield House & Garden, Turnbull Endowment Trust, and the Ambassade de France en Nouvelle-Zélande, aux Îles Samoa et aux Îles Cook.

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