WATERCOLOURS RESTORED

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 929, 24 March 1930, Page 16

WATERCOLOURS RESTORED

A VALUABLE DISCOVERY SAVING CHEVALIER PICTURES The work of a Wanganui man, Mr. H. Newrick, has succeeded in saving from destruction several beautiful and very valuable watercolours and pencil drawings. jyjß- NEWRICK is associated with, the Sarjeant Gallery in Wanganui. He has already restored several valuable pictures from the Chevalier collection. and this has justified the hope that his process will be invaluable in restoring pictures in all parts of New Zealand. Chevalier pisited New Zealand in 1866 with the Duke of Edinburgh and made a splendid collection of pictures and drawings of the country at that time. After his death Mrs. Chevalier presented a valuable collection of her husband’s pictures to the New Zealand Government. Without knowledge cf their great pictorial and artistic value the pictures were placed in the basement of the old Parliamentary Buildings, where they were attacked by damp and dust and “brown spot.” It was thought that the collection was utterley ruined. The honorary curator of the Sarjeant Gallery, Mr. Louis Cohen, saw the pictures and suggested that Mr. Newrick could restore them. One of the worst was selected and sent to Wanganui, where Mr. Newriek's magic hand restored it to its original beauty and removed the “brown spot,” which is he ruination of so many valuable drawings and water colours. Mr. Newrick has now been entrusted by the Government with the restoration of 150 water-colours and sketches. Mr. H.M. Gore, secretary of the New Zealand Fine Arts Society, recently visited Wanganui and expressed Ms pleasure at Mr. Newriek’s work and ha,s sent him a large water-colour by the late John Gully, for restoration. Mr. Newriek’s discovery should be of great interest to all lovers of art, as it sems that lie has discovered a method of restoring pictures which have formerly been regarded as utterley hopeless. He has done restoration work for Sir Charles and Lady Fergusson and the Archbishop of New Zealand.