Next month, this piece is being auctioned at Auckland house Cordy's for the first time, and is expected to fetch $40,000 to $60,000. Photo / Supplied
Next month, this piece is being auctioned at Auckland house Cordy's for the first time, and is expected to fetch $40,000 to $60,000. Photo / Supplied
A remarkable art collection from two leading lights of the North Shore literati and arts scene is going under the hammer next month.
Sydney and Marjorie Musgrove lined the walls of their stylish Art Deco apartment in Devonport with rare artworks from some of New Zealand's greatest artists of the 20th century.
Their daughter Judith, an esteemed Maori history scholar, was married to celebrated artist Don Binney.
In the mid-1960s, Binney gave his mother-in-law two oil paintings, including one depicting a Pipiwharauroa, or shining cuckoo.
Next month, the piece is being auctioned at Auckland house Cordy's for the first time, and is expected to fetch $40,000 to $60,000.
Another Binney landscape painting, with an estimate of $14,000 to $18,000, is inscribed, 'For Marj From Bin, Birthday 1965'.
Photo / Supplied
Other treasures in the Musgrove estate sale include pottery by the internationally renowned Len Castle, Paul Beadle and Greer Twiss bronzes, and a North Otago landscape by Colin McCahon, often hailed New Zealand's greatest ever artist.
A 1964 oil painting by abstract pioneer Milan Mrkusich is "the best we have handled", auctioneer Andrew Grigg said today.
When Mr Grigg entered the Musgrove's home, he knew he wasn't dealing with any ordinary collection.
"The living room was graciously filled with treasure, a McCahon to my left, two Binneys in front, an early Len Castle on the window sill and books galore ... it was exciting," he said.
Oxford-educated Professor Sydney Musgrove was a distinguished Shakespearean scholar and head of Auckland University's English department from 1947 until his retirement in 1980.
His wife, who died in July aged 100, sewed much of the tapestry and costumes for his plays.
Dame Judith Binney, whose Tuhoe history was the 2010 New Zealand Post Book of the Year, died in 2011, aged 70.
The Musgrove collection, up for auction on Tuesday, has already impressed buyers with its provenance and quality, Mr Grigg said.
Provenance in the world of art is becoming critically important to collectors and institutions looking at major works.
"The two Don Binney and Colin McCahon paintings from the Musgrove estate have impeccable provenance with a family deeply involved with the literati and arts scene," he said.
"Feedback from buyers already suggests that with this provenance and quality of the works that our estimates may well be exceeded."
