Arnold Manaaki Wilson (11 December 1928 – 1 May 2012) was a New Zealand artist and educator of Māori (

Ngāi Tūhoe Ngāi Tūhoe (), often known simply as Tūhoe, is a Māori people, Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand. It takes its name from an ancestral figure, Tūhoe-pōtiki. ''Tūhoe'' is a Māori-language word meaning 'steep' or 'high noon'. Tūhoe people a ...

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori people, Māori iwi and hapū (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the ''Arawa (canoe), Arawa'' migration canoe (''waka''). The tribes are based in the Rotorua and Bay of Plent ...

) descent. He is regarded as a pioneer of the modern Māori art movement.

Early life and education

Born in

Ruatoki Ruatoki North is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty of New Zealand, just south of the small town of Tāneatua and approximately south of the town of Whakatāne. The Whakatāne River runs northwards through the Ruatoki Valley and has formed broa ...

on 11 December 1928, Wilson was the youngest of five children born to Taiha Ngakewhi Te Wakaunua and Fredrick George Wilson. His maternal grandfather, Heteraka Te Wakaunua, was a political leader from Te Mahurehure and Ngāti Rongo

hapū In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...

of the Tūhoe

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

. Wilson was educated at the Ruatoki Native School and then won a scholarship to attend Wesley College in Auckland. He showed an interest in art from an early age and was encouraged by his teachers. Wilson studied at the

Elam School of Fine Arts The Elam School of Fine Arts, founded by John Edward Elam, is part of the University of Auckland Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries, Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries at the University of Auckland. It offered the first Bachelor of ...

at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

. In 1955 he graduated with a Diploma of Fine Arts with first class honours in sculpture, the first Māori student to graduate from Elam. After graduating from Elam, Wilson attended Teachers Training College.

Teaching career

Wilson's first teaching job was in Kawakawa at Bay of Islands College. He went on to become head of department in art at

Mount Albert Grammar School Mount Albert Grammar School, commonly known as MAGS, is a co-educational state secondary school in Mount Albert in Auckland, New Zealand. It teaches students in year levels 9 to 13. , Mount Albert Grammar School is the second largest school in N ...

. Later in life, Wilson was director of Te Mauri Pakeaka, the cross-cultural community involvement art programme at the Ministry of Education. Wilson was part of what is known as the 'Tovey generation', so called after educator and administrator

Gordon Tovey Gordon Charles Tovey (4 July 1912 – 16 April 1994) was an English people, English first-class cricketer and schoolmaster. Tovey was born at Salisbury, Wiltshire in July 1912. He was educated at Clifton College, where he played for the cricke ...

. Tovey was the Department of Education’s national supervisor of arts and crafts and he employed and trained a group of young artists including Wilson,

Paratene Matchitt Paratene Temokopuorongo Matchitt (10 August 1933 – 19 July 2021) was a New Zealand sculptor and Painting, painter, known for combining traditional Māori culture, Māori art forms with those of modernist art. His work also references events fr ...

, Fred Graham,

Muru Walters Muru Walters (16 January 1935 – 14 February 2024) was a New Zealand author, master carver, broadcaster, artist, rugby union player and Māori Anglican bishop. He was the first Pīhopa (bishop) of Te Pīhopatanga o Te Upoko o Te Ika from his c ...

and

Katerina Mataira Katerina (Greek: Κατερίνα, ''Katerína''; Russian, Bulgarian and Macedonian: Катерина, ''Katerina'') is a feminine given name. It is a Greek variant of ''Ekaterini'' and a Russian and Bulgarian short form of ''Ekaterina'' or '' ...

as art advisors. Art historian Mark Stocker notes that Wilson "sought to show young Māori artists how they could take strength from their heritage, but use both traditional Māori and European sculptural materials and methods to convey their ideas".

Artistic career

Wilson is known mainly for his work as a sculptor. Along with artists such as

Ralph Hotere Hone Papita Raukura "Ralph" Hotere (11 August 1931 – 24 February 2013) was a New Zealand artist. He was born in Mitimiti, Northland Region, Northland and is widely regarded as one of New Zealand's most important artists. In 1994 he was award ...

and

Sandy Adsett Raymond Henry "Sandy" Adsett (born 27 August 1939) is a New Zealand visual artist and educator. He is acknowledged for championing the art of kōwhaiwhai painting, creating a context for the artform within the development of contemporary Māor ...

, Wilson experimented with blending Maori and European artistic traditions. Wilson employed both traditional and non-traditional materials, working with wood, metal and vivid paint colours. Art historian Jonathan Mane-Wheoki wrote that his work as a sculptor "reflected his Māori upbringing while also drawing on the stripped-down forms of early-20th-century European modernism". Arnold had a long exhibiting career, in New Zealand and internationally. A pivotal early exhibition was held at the

’s Adult Education Centre in June 1958, where Wilson showed work with four other teachers: Hotere, Mataira, Walters and Selwyn Wilson. They worked in Northland. Mane-Wheoki identifies this as "the first exhibition of work by modern Māori artists adapting the styles of contemporary European modernism". Important exhibitions featuring Wilson's work include: *''Recent New Zealand Sculpture'' (1968)

Auckland City Art Gallery Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

, *''Ten Māori Artists'' (1978) Manawatu Art Gallery (now Te Manawa) *''Haongia te Taonga'' (1986)

Waikato Museum Waikato Museum () is a regional museum located in Hamilton, New Zealand. The museum manages ArtsPost, a shop and gallery space for New Zealand art and design. Both are managed by the Hamilton City Council. Outside the museum is ''The Tongue of ...

*''Kohia Ko Taikaka Anake'' (1990) National Art Gallery, Wellington (now

Te Papa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa (Māori language, Māori for 'Waka huia, the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the Nation ...

) * ''Te Waka Toi: Contemporary Māori Art from New Zealand'' (1992) a touring exhibition that travelled in the United States *''Arnold Manaaki Wilson: Pou Ihi , Pou Whenua , Pou Tangata'' (2014)

Auckland Art Gallery Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

Honours and awards

* 1991 –

Queen's Service Medal The King's Service Medal (created as the Queen's Service Medal in 1975 and renamed in 2024) is a medal awarded by the government of New Zealand to recognise and reward volunteer service to the community and also public service in elected or app ...

for public services, in the

1991 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1991 were appointments by Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by people of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. They were published on 28 December 1990 for the United Kingdom, ...

* 2001 – Te Tohu Toi Kē Award from Te Waka Toi for new directions in contemporary Māori art * 2007 – Arts Foundation Icon Award in 2007 * 2008 – Honorary doctorate from AUT University, acknowledging his work in education and the arts * 2010 –

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

for services to Māori and the arts, in the

Queen’s Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are p ...

Death

Wilson died in Auckland on 1 May 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Arnold Manaaki 1928 births 2012 deaths Elam Art School alumni Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal People from Ruatoki New Zealand educators New Zealand Māori artists People educated at Wesley College, Auckland 20th-century New Zealand sculptors 20th-century New Zealand male artists 21st-century New Zealand sculptors 21st-century New Zealand male artists Ngāi Tūhoe people Te Arawa people