press kit
Important, interesting, and well-chosen works of art are a hallmark that elevates Rosewood Cape Kidnappers to impressive heights, lending a tasteful sophistication to the farm style lodge setting. New Zealand’s art world stars feature alongside specially commissioned works by international artists, blending seamlessly with European gems. Such attention to detail and careful curation gives the lodge the feel of a private home rather than a hotel. Some of the standout works are highlighted below.
“Cow Painting”, by Mary Roberson (b.1948)
Above the reception desk in the main foyer, a striking depiction of cows against a muted, earth-tone background, specially commissioned for the location by Idaho-based wildlife artist Mary Roberson, is warm and captivating. Roberson builds her paintings, which are contemporary though not abstract, through multiple layers of paint, allowing the viewer to see the world as she sees it – as a place of wonder and freedom. A love of nature, wildlife and the environment inspire Roberson, making her work a perfect choice for a locale like New Zealand. When the canvas arrived at the lodge, Julian Robertson thought it too small for the space, so Roberson obliged by extending the painting on to another canvas, thus it is a diptych.
“McFedries Farm” by Toss Woollaston (1910-1998)
Another work in the main entrance and hung on the stone wall sits a landscape painting by arguably New Zealand’s greatest 20th century landscape painter. Mountford Tosswill “Toss” Woollaston began his art studies in Nelson, New Zealand, in the 1930s, inspired by the work of French impressionist painter Paul Cézanne for his creative tension between depicting a specific landscape and the formal construction of the picture. Considered at the time the most modernist of New Zealand painters, Woollaston often exhibited beside his great friend and art world contemporary Colin McCahon. Woollaston was made a Knight Bachelor in 1979, being the first New Zealander to be knighted for their contributions to art. Woollaston’s depiction of McFedries Farm is a highly important work as it is exemplary of his style.
“The Hills”, by Jo (Fisher) Speedy (b.1962)
Wellington-born artist Jo Speedy is perhaps the most local artist in the Rosewood Cape Kidnappers collection, as she lives and works in Te Awanga, just down the road from the lodge gates. Her ethereal landscapes are both fluid and distinct, capturing in oil the beauty of Hawke’s Bay and beyond. The large diptych in the long open hallway of the main lodge reminds viewers of the spectacular landscape they are surrounded by at Cape Kidnappers. Jo Speedy takes private art classes with lodge guests, on request.
“B2” from “Series B” by Colin McCahon (1919-1987)
Tucked away in the library sits the most important and valuable work in the lodge collection, a 1973 landscape by Colin McCahon. Born in Timaru, McCahon is widely recognised as New Zealand’s foremost painter. Painted as part of his B Series and entitled B2 - this represents a remarkable phase in McCahon’s career where he pushed art to the limit. With a “rough and ready” jute canvas as support, he wanted the works in the series to evoke raw land as well as raw painting, conveying more than the usual NZ landscape meaning. Using a minimal black & white acrylic, McCahon painted these landscapes in thin washes that allow the tone of the jute to show through. In other places the brush is thick with paint, thus drawing out the suggestion of movement across the water, and detritus left by the tide. McMahon’s painting from this series captures the environment, evoking not just a sense of place, but the passage of time.
“Yellow Painting” by Dick Frizzell (b.1943)
Dick Frizzell is another one of New Zealand’s most widely known and celebrated painters, with an output that includes a diverse repertoire of imagery and styles from text-based artworks, Kiwiana iconography with motifs from Māori art traditions, pop-art as well as landscapes. Yellow Painting is from a series inspired by roadside signs, where he pushes the boundaries of tradition by intwining high art and popular culture. Such signs are redolent of small enterprises on a rural NZ hinterland that might tap into one’s psyche by harkening back to golden summers of a simpler New Zealand childhood. The way Frizzell uses colour, space, and line on the canvas, however, becomes as important as the varied phrases.
“Ranga Ika” by Dick Frizzell (b.1943)
A second painting by Frizzell also graces the lodge, this one a landscape, a beautiful coastline depiction of the southern side of the Cape Kidnappers Peninsula. The painting is quite different to the “Yellow Painting” with its roadside sign, pop-art style, illustrating the true diversity of the artist’s oeuvre.
“Crosses” by Stephen Bambury (b.1951)
Christchurch-born/Auckland-based abstract painter Stephen Bambury’s productive preoccupation throughout his career has been the square, circle, and the cross, yielding a body of work that mines rich themes. He explores and reconnects the dualities of light/dark, negative/positive while fusing intellectual and emotional content with material forms, such as the cross. Cross works utilise both the form of the cross and its historical associations, such as four cardinal points or closer to home, McCahon’s Tau cross. Bambury has travelled widely and found inspiration for his work in the US, Europe and Australia and lives and works in Auckland.
“Wellington Heads” by Melvin Day (1923-2016)
Melvin Norman “Pat” Day was a respected New Zealand artist and art historian. He was a former Director of the National Gallery of New Zealand (now Te Papa Tongarewa) in Wellington, while simultaneously developing his practice as an artist. Considered a scholarly painter, Day’s work engages in various periods of Western art history, as reflected in the striking landscape at Rosewood Cape Kidnappers depicting New Zealand’s Wellington Heads.
Ceramic Plate by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Aside from the important New Zealand works, the lodge collection also boasts an original Picasso plate. Demonstrating a fusion of tradition and modernity as he drew inspiration from both ancient pottery technique and contemporary painting, the plate adds a touch of whimsy and international sophistication to the farm luxe style of the lodge. These ceramics, made from the hand of one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century, are highly collectable.
