Basil Honour lived a life devoted to art, throughout which he befriended and worked with many of New Zealand's finest artists including Christopher Perkins, Nugent Welch, John Pascoe, Sydney Lough Thompson, James & Alfred Cook, T.A. McCormack and Peter McIntyre. During the Depression, in a bid to improve the lot of his colleagues, he founded an Artist's Union, The New Zealand Society of Artists.

During the week Honour worked as an Insurance Broker for Lumley's, but weekends were spent exploring the countryside for suitable painting locations. His oil entitled Landscape South West Canterbury was included in the important New Zealand Art Centennial Exhibition, 1940. Some years later, in the early 1960s, during a visit to England, Honour attended classes with the British Artist, Peter Lanyon. From this time on, his work developed a strong semi-abstract quality. Throughout his life Honour exhibited widely. His work was well received and he is represented in a number of key Public Collections including Te Papa Tongarewa and numerous Private Collections. The artist generously donated important works to both the Palmerston North and Rotorua Art Galleries.

This Collection of Basil Honour's early New Zealand landscapes was formed over many years. The paintings reflect his focus and talent in capturing the ever-changing moods of land, light, sea and sky which he loved so much.