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Section 6
Portrait of the Collector
Through
his passion for collecting, Rex Nan Kivell recreated himself as an
antiquarian and gentleman connoisseur of international repute. Based
in London from 1919, he began to collect material for a pictorial
history of New Zealand and Australia. His interests soon extended
beyond the purely pictorial and, with extensive contacts in the art
world, he was in an ideal position to extend his collection. Most of
his purchases were made at auctions or through dealers who drew his
attention to items they thought would interest him. He also contacted
other collectors and families with significant colonial connections to
see if they held material of interest that they would be prepared to
sell. Concerned for the collection's safety in postwar Britain, Nan
Kivell negotiated with the (then) Commonwealth Library to accept its
care in return for unlimited public access. The first items began
arriving in 1949 and ten years later, after protracted and delicate
negotiations, the collection was purchased. Nan Kivell continued
adding to the collection until his death in 1977.
On the recommendation of the Australian Government, Nan Kivell was
twice honoured; first in 1966 with a CMG for services in providing the
National Library of Australia with valuable early Australian and
Pacific paintings and manuscripts; and then in 1976 with a knighthood
for 'services to the Arts'.
1.
Unknown
Portrait of a Lady
c.1840
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