THE HANAN COLLECTION LOTS 134 - 148

A friendship conducted through correspondence existed between Dunedin lawyer, Mark Hanan and the Anglo-Welsh artist Sir Frank Brangwyn RA. Brangwyn represented Britain at the Venice Biennale and was the first artist to be given a retrospective exhibition at the Royal Academy during his lifetime. Along with Diego Rivera and Josep Maria Sert, he was chosen by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to decorate the concourse of the RCA Building in New York City with murals. A sequence of large murals on canvas (originally from Horton House, Northamptonshire) is held by the Dunedin Public Art Gallery and Te Papa Tongarewa.

Well aware of the austerity imposed by rationing in post war England, Hanan would regularly send parcels of New Zealand products such as woollen clothing and cheeses to his artist friend. In turn, Brangwyn sent Hanan paintings by both himself and other artists whom he admired and collected. This exchange continued until the artist's death in 1956. The largest collection of Sir Frank Brangwyn paintings in New Zealand is permanently held by the Hanan family. In 2012 the collection was loaned to the Dunedin Art Gallery for a grand retrospective exhibition. A small selection of works from the collection are now offered for sale.

In 2006, Hanan's daughter Susie attended the exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of Brangwyn's death which toured the UK.