The Eastern Southland Gallery presents - Home is where the art is

Feb. 11 - Mar. 11, 2012

Eastern Southland Gallery, Gore

11 February – 11 March

 

Des Smith and Ray Yallop were well known in Dunedin art circles.  Des, who was a former student of RN Field and an art school colleague of Colin McCahon, Doris Lusk, Rodney Kennedy and Anne Hamblett, was an enthusiastic champion for the arts in Otago.  He worked as an art restorer and was an active member of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery Council.

The modest house that he and Ray shared in Dunedin was stacked floor to ceiling with not only historic paintings and works from the mid 1900’s, but their collection also included significant pieces from the cream of young Dunedin based talent.  Their patronage for emerging artists was vigorous and often extended beyond the simple purchase of art works to a highly social ‘home-away-from-home’ for many.

Des had always had a strong connection to Gore.  His late sister and brother-in-law, Marjorie and Raymond Lusk owned the local music shop and Des made many visits to Gore to see them.  In the course of those visits he became an enthusiastic supporter of the Eastern Southland Gallery and latterly a benefactor, in the form of various gifts.

Sadly Des passed away in 2009 at the age of 89 and Ray died in 2010, but given their strong Gore connections, provision was made for 50 works from their collection to come by way of gift to the Eastern Southland Gallery.  This exhibition not only celebrates that gift, but also the lives of two remarkable patrons of the arts.