45blockbuster Constable and surrealism shows, and
benefitted from considerable overseas travel, making
contacts that became invaluable in later years.
These early exhibitions were the foundation of the
international programme the gallery offers today.
Refused a salary increase, Peter resigned to manage
the prestigious Barrington Gallery from 1970 to 1973.
There he introduced Grahame Sydney to Auckland
viewers, in a sensational sell-out show. He also
showed Clairmont, Maddox and Rob Taylor, as well as
Picasso and Matisse.
Peter’s established career began in 1974 when
he founded Peter Webb Galleries. As with the 1957
venture, this began as a dealer gallery. By then the
wider art market had been established by the Barry
Lett and New Vision galleries, but trade was still slow.
Peter commissioned the production of limited-edition
contemporary prints by Gordon Walters and others,
in the hope of attracting new, less wealthy buyers.
In 1976, following overseas trends, Peter decided the
time had come for a specialised New Zealand art
magazine. The hope was that this would provide a
forum for writers and validate all the efforts of artists
and dealers. This hope has been splendidly realised,
but in the beginning things were very tough, with
barely enough money to pay the printers. At one point
the office of the magazine was the spare bedroom of
one of the investors.
Also in 1976 Peter made another significant
contribution to the art market by floating the idea of
an art-collecting co-operative. He hoped this would
help break down the impression in the public mind
that dealer galleries were austere, unwelcoming
places full of incomprehensible items. The Prospect
Collection (1976–87) was a great success, and became
the first of numerous co-ops which proliferate to this
day throughout New Zealand. By exposing many
people to art which they would not ordinarily see,
much less buy, a ripple effect of comfort and education
was created. Several art dealers have said that the co-
ops made all the difference to their businesses in the
late 1970s and 1980s.
Meanwhile, the magazine and print ventures
certainly did not boost the Webb fortunes, so in 1979
Peter decided to have another go at art auctions. The
gallery moved to larger premises in the T&G building
and, while continuing to hold exhibitions, began
to run auctions in 1979 at venues such as the White
Heron hotel. These were immediately successful, with
(for that time) very high prices being achieved for
works by Rita Angus, Don Binney and nineteenth-
century colonial watercolourists. The importance
of these auctions cannot be overstated. By publicly
establishing values for recognised artists, prices for
new work could be properly set and adjusted as time
went on.
In 1990 Webb’s (as it was then and still is known)
moved to a purpose-designed space in Newmarket.
For the next 20 years this was the place to go
to sell and buy art of all kinds, but particularly
contemporary New Zealand art from the 1930s to
the 1980s. With his past publishing knowledge Peter
set a national standard in catalogue production,
lifting the level to the equivalent of the major auction
houses of London and New York. Noted writers
began contributing articles and commentaries. These
catalogues record important images and trace the
development and maturity of the art market over the
last four decades.
Peter’s generosity and elegance will be missed by
all who knew him. He will be remembered for his
sophisticated eye, his immaculate attire, his good
taste, his professionalism and integrity, his knowledge,
foresight and acumen, his unpretentiousness and
unassuming charisma, his wit, his coolness under
pressure, quiet empathy and boundless intellectual
curiosity. He was a very good auctioneer, but always a
gentleman.
Peter is survived by his wife Annie,fourchildren,
two stepchildren and their families.(opposite) Peter auctioning a Rita Angus painting in his rooms in
the T&G building in 1979
(right) Peter Webb on left with Warwick Brown and Annie Webb,
Auckland, January 2017
(Photograph: Studio Guidon)
(below) Peter Webb, 1980s
WARWICK BROWN