Standing Figure
Molly Macalister1959
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
Auckland, New Zealand
Standing Figure demonstrates how effectively Molly Macalister rendered human presence in a strongly contemplative manner. It was acquired in 1959, directly after the Three Auckland Sculptors exhibition at Auckland City Art Gallery.
Standing Figure has the exquisite quality of a stilled and conscious presence. The figure appears at rest, relaxed and confident. While it is made of concrete, it does not feel austere. Rather, it has a human warmth that is tender and compelling. The pose prefigures Macalister’s Maori Warrior of 1964, now standing in Quay Street. This was one of the most important public sculpture commissions in Auckland during the 1960s.
- Title: Standing Figure
- Creator: Molly Macalister
- Creator Lifespan: 1920 - 1979
- Creator Nationality: New Zealand
- Creator Gender: Female
- Creator Birth Place: Invercargill, New Zealand
- Date Created: 1959
- Physical Dimensions: w385 x h1016 x d440 mm (entire)
- Artist biography: Molly Macalister was born in Invercargill in 1920. She enrolled at the Canterbury University College School of Art in 1938 with the intention of studying painting and drawing, but instead followed the teaching of Francis Shurrock in the modelling department. She became a passionate advocate for sculpture and was a founding member of the New Zealand Society of Sculptors and Associates (1961) and honorary life member from 1979, when she died. Macalister’s public commissions include Maori Warrior (1964) in Auckland’s Queen Street and Little Bull (1967) in Hamilton Gardens.
- Type: Sculpture
- Rights: Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1959
- External Link: Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
- Medium: concrete
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