Pah Homestead Opens

Kiwi Art Finds Home In Restored Mansion.

This weekend is a landmark occasion for lovers of the arts. Open for viewing for the first time in a permanent home will be James Wallace's unique collection of New Zealand art. The venue is the Italianate-style Pah Homestead at Hillsborough's Monte Cecilia Park, which has been restored by the Auckland City Council and fitted out as a gallery. The location is as impressive as the collection, which is the fruit of Mr Wallace's passion since he bought his first Toss Woollaston watercolour in the mid-1960s.

From the moment it opens to the public on Sunday, this art centre will be a worthy complement to the Auckland City Art Gallery. Items from Mr Wallace's 5000-plus artworks have previously been loaned to universities, hospitals and galleries, and that practice will continue. The Art Gallery despite the current expansion on it's Kitchener Street site, cannot hope to compete with the Wallace centre's location in 14 hectares of parkland.

The Auckland City Council has spent $10 million on restoration and fit out.

Excerpt from NZ Herald Online
By Bernard Orsman  4:00 AM Saturday Feb 28, 2009