McCahon House
Trust celebrates restoration
Under the watchful eye of heritage architect Graeme Burgess, the Titirangi cottage that was home to artist Colin McCahon has been brought back to its original state.
Associate Professor Peter Simpson views the show with Prime Minister Helen Clark. Photo: Chris Hoult
The restored house is open to the public from 10am-2pm on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Special interest tours and education groups targeting secondary and tertiary students are run from Lopdell House Gallery at other times.
Next to the cottage, inserted into the forest canopy, is the accommodation and studio designed by Pete Bossley for arts residencies. Three residencies will run annually, each for three months.
To mark the completion of these projects the McCahon House Trust and Lopdell House Gallery, Waitakere City’s Regional Art Gallery, have mounted a special McCahon exhibition: Colin McCahon – The Titirangi Years, 1953-1959. It runs at Lopdell House until October 8.
The ASB Community Trust has put close to $1 million into the restoration project, which is another good example of grant-makers working to support a great project. Waitakere City Council gifted the land and SKYCITY Auckland Community Trust made a $264,790 grant. The Portage Licensing Trust has granted $283,064.
Other funders include the Sir George Elliot Trust, Ministry of Tourism, Creative Communities Scheme, Burnett Charitable Trust, Lion Foundation, Century Foundation, Auckland Regional Services Trust, Chartwell Trust and the Tasman Trust.