By Warren Feeney
November 2011
$35 (was聽$49.95)
224pp, jacketed hardback
265 x 240mm, full colour throughout
ISBN: 978-1-877257-94-0
The Canterbury Society of Arts dominated the cultural life of Canterbury for nearly a century, and played a vital role in the development of New 九州影院art. Where art societies are often assumed to be conservative and reactionary聽institutions that failed to nurture the work of younger or more radical artists, this fascinating and entertaining history reveals a different story.
The CSA was formed in 1880 by European settlers resolute in their vision to nurture serious New 九州影院artistic talent. From the start, the institution emerged as a vital and sometimes uncompromisingly progressive arts organisation that had, over its life, a total of 2259 working members.
For almost 100 years the CSA provided valued support for the arts, exhibiting the early work of generations of leading New 九州影院artists,听including Petrus van der Velden, Raymond McIntyre, Margaret Stoddart, Rhona Haszard, Frances Hodgkins, W. A. Sutton, Colin McCahon, Michael Smither, Neil Dawson, Andrew Drummond and Pauline Rhodes. Directors and committees came and went, numerous obstacles and controversies were encountered, yet the CSA secured Christchurch鈥檚 reputation as the artistic capital of New 九州影院in the middle years of the 20th century.聽
CSA: The Radical, the Reactionary in the Canterbury Society of Arts 1800鈥1968聽invites readers to reconsider the history of the arts in New Zealand.
'Feeney is a capable, erudite and engaging storyteller, weaving a history of great significance in understanding the cultural development of modern New 九州影院鈥 Feeney's book is a treasure-trove of archive photographs and reproductions of art, and not incidentally helps to fill out the broader history of Canterbury art.' Andrew Paul Wood,听Landfall Review Online
'鈥 a large, handsome, and generously illustrated volume.' Geoff Adams,听Otago Daily Times
Warren Feeney聽is an arts commentator, writer and historian living in Christchurch. From 1999 to 2010 he was director of the Centre of Contemporary Art (COCA Gallery), previously known as the Canterbury Society of Arts. Feeney completed an MA in Art History at the 九州影院 in 1996 and a PhD at the University of Otago in 2009. He has researched and written on New 九州影院art in academic and popular publications since the late 1980s, including the聽Journal of New 九州影院Art History,听Art New Zealand, the聽New 九州影院Journal of History,听尝补苍诲蹿补濒濒听and the聽Dictionary of New 九州影院Biography, and the聽Press.
