Robertson Gift

The Robertson Gift: Paths through Modernity celebrates the monumental gift of significant artworks from the collection of New York philanthropists Julian (1932–2022) and Josie Robertson (1943–2010) to the Gallery.

The donation comprises 15 works by influential modern European artists, including Pierre Bonnard, Georges Braque, Paul Cezanne, Salvador Dalí, André Derain, Henri Fantin-Latour, Paul Gauguin, Fernand Léger, Henri Matisse, Piet Mondrian and Pablo Picasso.

Beginning with the suggestive nude bodies of the late 19th century and ending with a monumental colour-field painting from the 1960s, The Robertson Gift: Paths through Modernity takes visitors on a journey through the major art movements of the modern era, including Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Surrealism, and post-war abstraction.

Featuring 49 paintings, prints, drawings and sculpture, the exhibition also includes visitor favourites from the permanent collection as well as loans and other important recent acquisitions, offering a broad survey of the best of late-19th- and early-to-mid 20th-century international art.


Image credit: Paul Cezanne, La route (Le mur d’enceinte). The Road (The Old Wall), 1875-1876, oil on canvas, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of Julian and Josie Robertson through the Auckland Art Gallery Foundation, 2023.