Tuesday 25 November 2025
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is delighted to announce a bequest of 20 significant New Zealand artworks from Auckland-based collector and philanthropist Greg Moyle. Facilitated through the Auckland Art Gallery Foundation, the gift will enrich the Gallery’s collection of modern and contemporary New Zealand art, spanning more than a century of practice and featuring key artists including Rita Angus, Jacqueline Fahey, Louise Henderson, Frances Hodgkins, Ralph Hotere, Raymond McIntyre and John Pule.
Over more than five decades, Greg Moyle has assembled one of New Zealand’s most wide-ranging private collections of twentieth-century art. The Gallery’s curatorial team worked with Moyle to select pieces from his collection that would complement the Gallery’s existing collection and address important gaps.
“Over the years, I have witnessed a number of important collections, including works that should remain in the public domain, being sold... I am motivated to keep the important items from my collection together for the benefit of the community, including my family, rather than having them sold upon my death, and I am delighted that they will find a permanent home with Auckland Art Gallery,” says Moyle.
Auckland Art Gallery Curator of New Zealand Art Julia Waite says, “The twenty works are outstanding and destined to become firm favourites with our visitors. Each painting comes from a vital moment in the artist’s career, offering layers of history, meaning, and visual impact. A work of the calibre of Rita Angus’s Boats, Island Bay would be beyond the Gallery’s reach to purchase, and we are so grateful for Greg Moyle’s vision and generosity in gifting such a remarkable collection.
The works in the collection represent a “who’s who” of twentieth-century New Zealand art, showcasing exceptional examples of each artist’s practice alongside works by others whose contributions are less widely known.
Highlights include:
- Rita Angus, Boats, Island Bay, 1968
- Raymond McIntyre, Woman in Chiffon Jacket, c.1914
- Frances Hodgkins, Chapel in the Field, Corfe Castle, 1944 and River Tone, Somerset, c.1939
- Ralph Hotere, Binisafua, 1978, and Menorca, 1978
- Russell Clark, The Shearer’s Wife, 1952
- Michael Smither, Boys Fighting Over Pink Gun, 1968
- John Pule, Higher Ground, Lower Ground, 2007
Greg Moyle’s interest in art was sparked at Mount Albert Grammar School, where his Year 9 art teacher was celebrated artist Arnold Manaaki Wilson (Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Arawa). While working as a young accountant in Newmarket with George Walker Antiques across the road, he began purchasing works, collecting only what he could afford and what he liked.
“For me, purchasing a piece of art is an emotional experience... While I am not an artist, my appreciation of art has developed over the last fifty years. I count myself fortunate that circumstances have enabled me to assemble a unique collection of artwork that I have been able to share with my family, friends and the wider community.”
This bequest continues the spirit of generosity that has defined the Gallery since its founding in 1887, from founding benefactors Sir George Grey and James Tannock Mackelvie, to more recent supporters such as the Chartwell Trust, Dame Jenny Gibbs, Thanksgiving Foundation, and Julian and Josie Robertson. The gift from Greg Moyle continues this long-standing legacy, ensuring that nationally significant works will be conserved and available for the public to enjoy.
The gift will be celebrated in an exhibition at the Gallery opening 23 May 2026, offering audiences the first opportunity to preview the collection.