Watercolour New Zealand had the honour of contributing to the national commemorations of the
Landings at Gallipoli 100 years ago. WW1 in Watercolours at Splash was welcomed as an exhibition
which was held at St Paul's Cathedral at 45 Molesworth Street, Thorndon, Wellington from 18th
April - 3rd May 2015.
259 original watercolour paintings by members, along with prints and sketches created during WW1
were on display. These were the works of our guest artists who were on active service in WW1 or
were appointed Official War Artists.
Guest artists:
New Zealand servicemen and Official War Artists of WWI - Nugent Welch, George Butler and Horace
Moore-Jones along with four Wellington servicemen Sydney Higgs, Esmond Atkinson, Ernest Casey
and Hal Atkinson.
This was the largest Splash exhibition of historical and contemporary watercolours to be held in
Wellington.
Watercolour New Zealand is very appreciative of the funding provided by the Lottery World War
One Commemorations, Environment and Heritage Committee.
We also acknowledge the support of Archives New Zealand, the Keeper of the National Collection
of War Art, who have been collaborating with Watercolour New Zealand on all aspects of the WW1
section of the exhibition.
Exhibition Sponsors:
Our thanks also go to the exhibition team (Alan Collins, Vivian Manthel-French, Dianne Taylor,
Chris Andersen, and Claire Clark, our exhibition manager) and all the volunteers for their
contribution to the exhibition.
Winners:
Joint winners of the Supreme Award for the 'WW1 in Watercolours at Splash' exhibition:
"Ahuriri River Terraces" by Adrienne Pavelka
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"The Wilderness" by May Iremonger
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REPORT IN NEWSLETTER 160:
On the eve of ANZAC Week 2015 in Wellington the Chiefs of the Army, Air Force and Navy and a
contingent of Gurkha Officers joined watercolourists for the Opening of WW1 in watercolours at
'Splash' at Wellington Cathedral of St Paul. It was an event that touched the heart, shone a
spotlight on four WW1 servicemen from Wellington, and brought together many parts of New
Zealands society from the Diplomatic Corps, government, Defence, colleges, churches and the
Arts. Everyone had a role and collectively we delivered both an event for the ANZAC
commemorations and showcased New Zealands talent amongst both our WW1 and contemporary
watercolourists. The exhibition would receive over 3,500 visitors viewing the war art and
'Splash' and sell 76 watercolours representing sales for half the exhibiting artists.
Campaign medals, 'Splash' and swathes of navy blue silk veiling artworks provided colour at the
Opening. The ceremony began with a procession and the marching in of flags to remember the Royal
Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) of WW1 accompanied
by the flag of the Royal New Zealand Navy. Family members and students of Wellington and St
Patricks Colleges unveiled WW1 artworks for the first time in 100 years and school scarves were
draped beside college old boys. I shed a tear as two years of planning came to fruition, when
the Dean of Wellington The Very Reverend Digby Wilkinson and John A Cardinal Dew Archbishop of
Wellington spoke the names and blessed the artworks of Corporal Ernest Casey NZEF, Sapper Sydney
Higgs NZEF and Lieutenants Esmond and Hal Atkinson RNVR. From the balcony mournful notes of the
Last Post rang out, a silence, then Reveille.
Guest speaker Rear Admiral David Ledson (Rtd) spoke of the four men, their endeavours to source
pens, paper and paint to record their WW1 experiences and that through this exhibition three WW1
naval art collections by Casey and the Atkinson brothers were discovered. No such collections
had been expected as New Zealand did not have a navy in WW1 and he took pride in announcing that
the Casey watercolour collection has now passed into the collection of the National Museum of
the Royal New Zealand Navy.
Nancy Tichborne, Patron of Watercolour New Zealand, announced that May Iremonger and Adrienne
Pavelka were the joint winners of the Watercolour New Zealand Supreme Award and opened Splash.
That evening guests praised the ceremony, the ambience and the specialness of being in the
Cathedral for Anzac commemorations.
Visitors expressed appreciation for the rare opportunity to view originals of WW1 war art and
prints of Official war art by Nugent Welch and George Butler and of Gallipoli by Horace
Moore-Jones. Messages of best wishes and congratulations for the success of the exhibition were
received from Their Royal Highnesses The Duke of Edinburgh and The Prince of Wales who are both
watercolourists. The glossy 32 page commemorative catalogue WW1 in watercolours and ink
generously published by the Royal New Zealand Navy was popular with visitors. The 1914-1918
themed Postcards to the Front by New Zealand and international artists in their matching frames
attracted interest and half the postcards sold. While 'Splash' sold paintings on every theme it
was noticeable that Red is for remembrance and iconic WW1 themes appealed to buyers. Early sales
included Rosemary Mercers delicate tapestry of crosses, Adrian Caves military band (in red),
Phillip Markhams moody Fiordland with a tiny navigation light (red) and several studies of
poppies. All the watercolours in 'Splash' glowed across the Cathedral as the layout of the
exhibition was designed for openness and to retain grand views through the Cathedral.
The exhibition had a national internet profile and was a popular WW1 listing on
Eventfinder.co.nz until April 2015 when interest skyrocketed as the Wellington City Councils
Anzac Week advertising commenced and pushed total viewings to 48,800! National promotion was
already underway with items in Air New Zealands inflight magazine Kia Ora, AA Directions and
MindFood magazines and
TV One News
. Stories appeared in local newspapers and on Stuff. Minders recorded visitors from across the
North Island and Cathedral staff reported conversations with many new visitors drawn in by the
exhibition and musical events. I am heartfelt in acknowledging the exhibition sponsors and the
support of the WW1 artists families, Heads of mission for Pakistan, South Africa and Turkey,
David Ledson, Ronnie Pace, WW1 Splash Exhibition Team and the Volunteers and Minders of
Watercolour New Zealand who supported and manned the exhibition.
Claire Clark
MSc, Dip Bus Tourism Management
Exhibition Manager
