BOOK LAUNCH: PETER MCLEAVEY - THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A NEW ZEALAND ART DEALER

Last evening some 100 plus art enthusiasts packed Webb's Gallery for the Auckland launch of this attractive, highly illustrated and interesting title. The speakers were author Jill Trevelyan, Peter McLeavey's daughter Olivia McLeavey, Te Papa Chief Executive Michael Houlihan, and artist John Reynolds.

All speakers mentioned the relevance of the location for the launch and before official proceedings got underway we were able to wander about looking at the present exhibition -    
Important Paintings & Contemporary Art  -  which is on view daily, including this weekend 
11am – 3pm until Thurs Nov 28 -6.30pm.
Unsurprisingly many of the artists featured in the exhibition are mentioned in the new book.

McLeavey’s biography is the big story of contemporary New Zealand art itself, in a period of massive change and growth. It is a must-read for anyone interested in New Zealand’s art, culture, or recent history.

About the author

Jill Trevelyan is a curator and writer specialising in twentieth-century New Zealand art. 

She was the editor of Toss Woollaston: A Life in Letters (Te Papa Press, 2004), shortlisted for the Montana Book Awards in 2005; co-curator of Te Papa’s exhibition Rita Angus: Life & Vision (2008), and co-editor of the accompanying catalogue; and author of Rita Angus: An Artist’s Life (Te Papa Press, 2008), winner of the Montana Medal for Non-Fiction in 2009. Jill lives in Wellington and manages the art collection at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Peter McLeavey: The life and times of a New Zealand art dealer 

Jill Trevelyan - Te Papa Press

NZ RRP  $64.99
Extent: 496 pp 

Waiting their turn to speak ! Left to right - Olivia McLeavey., John Reynolds and author Jill Trevelyan. Photo - Studio Guidon


And from the New Zealand Book Council's Unbound:

Jill Trevelyan on Peter McLeavey, art and stellar biography

Jill Trevelyan’s new biography, Peter McLeavey: The life and times of a New Zealand art dealer, is the first biography of Peter McLeavey, a charismatic, pioneering art dealer who has shaped and transformed New Zealand art since the 1960s. We asked Trevelyan about her relationship with McLeavey, what makes a stellar biography, and what books she hopes will make an appearance under the tree this year. Read on here.