Sir George Grey, governor of New Zealand from 1845 to 1853 and
from 1861 to 1867, was the founding donor for Auckland's public
library and its art gallery.
Overview
As well as a considerable manuscript and rare book collection,
he presented the City with 58 works of art that were the
nucleus of the Gallery's collection, including works by Caspar
Netscher, Henry Fuseli, William Blake and David Wilkie.
Grey's 1887 gift of European, British and local paintings was
displayed at the opening of the Auckland Art Gallery on 17 April
1888. He took a scholarly interest in Māori culture and language,
and gifted his second collection of taonga Māori to the gallery in
1893.
Image credit: Casper Netscher, Girl Arranging Flowers
1683, oil on canvas, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Gift
of Sir George Grey, 1887