79. Arthur Dagley
Port Theme
Acrylic on board
45 x 75 cm
Signed
est. $800 - 1,200
Fetched $1,200
Relative Size: Port Theme
Relative size

Arthur Dagley (1919-1998) lived and worked in Tauranga his whole life. A sign-writer by trade, Dagley became a full-time artist in 1966. He attended several summer school and weekend courses organised by the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts and was taught by Rudi Gopas, Louise Henderson, and Paul Olds.

Dagley exhibited and sold throughout New Zealand. Living in Tauranga, without a public art gallery or high profile dealer galleries, Dagley opened his own gallery (1968-75) and later worked and exhibited from his home in Otumoetai. Dagley's loyalty to Tauranga meant his own status suffered and he has been excluded somewhat from New Zealand's art history. Warwick Brown noted that "more than once when his work has been critically reviewed, Dagley has been called the most underrated painter in New Zealand." This exhibition sets out to readdress Dagley's contribution and status.

Dagley was a prolific artist whose style was forever developing and changing. His oeuvre includes landscapes (Tauranga, the Coromandel, Taupo, Europe, and so on), seascapes (including many inspired by the burgeoning expansion of Tauranga's port), religious pieces, portraiture, and figurative narratives. During the 1970s Dagley worked in an abstract style often combining painting and sculpture. The last series he worked on, from the mid 1990s up to his death, were figurative narratives including a poignant series based on the art gallery. Everything from opening nights to trying to educate bewildered elderly visitors became the subjects for these late works.

During his full-time painting career of three decades, Dagley exhibited in approximately 50 solo exhibitions and numerous group shows. He was a 1968 Benson & Hedges Art Award finalist and recipient of the National Bank Art Award in 1973. Dagley's work is held in several collections including the Dunedin Public Art Gallery.

Penelope Jackson, Curator, Tauranga Art Gallery

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