Three works from the estate of Sydney Kelly
Art+Object
Essays
Posted on 6 November 2024
From the estate of Sydney (Syd) Kelly are the following three works.
Kelly dedicated his life to teaching and was an arts education adviser (Northland) under the innovative arts and craft branch programme of Gordon Tovey. He was subsequently promoted to senior arts education adviser within the Department of Education’s Auckland Education Board (1970–1974). Kelly, an early advocate for te reo Māori and the preservation of Māori arts and craft, formed friendships over his lifetime with a number of artists who previously held art adviser roles in Northland including Ralph Hotere ONZ, Marilynn Webb NZOM and Dame Kāterina Mataira
oil on canvas
title inscribed, signed and dated
’66 verso
658 x 480mm
Provenance
From the collection of Sydney
Kelly, Arts and Craft Advisor in
the Department of Education in
the 1960s. Thence by descent to
the current owner, Auckland.
$50 000 – $75 000
oil on board
title inscribed and inscribed yes
726 x 525mm
Provenance
From the collection of Sydney
Kelly, Northland Arts Advisor.
Thence by descent to the
current owner, Auckland.
Note
The title from Latin liturgy
translates as: ‘I will go unto the
altar of god’, and are the opening
words of the Holy Mass.
$20 000 – $30 000
oil on canvas
title inscribed verso
1010 x 1010mm
Provenance
From the collection of Sydney
Kelly, Northland Arts Advisor.
Thence by descent to the
current owner, Auckland.
$15 000 – $25 000
The three paintings were purchased from Hotere
during his visits to stay with Kelly in Auckland for
training.
