Roger Blackley
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Roger Allan Blackley (29 July 1953 – 15 May 2019) was a New Zealand
art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...
, author, and curator. He was a noted authority on the work of artist C. F. Goldie.


Early life and education

Blackley was born in
Masterton Masterton () is a large town in the Wellington Region, Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand that operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa ...
in 1953. He studied art history 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 ...
, graduating
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
with first-class honours. During his time at the university, he was a member of the Auckland Gay Liberation Front, describing himself as a "radical gay" who believed it was "too late for liberalism, because gay means more than just who you screw - it's a whole lifestyle." His 1978 master's thesis ''Writing Alfred Sharpe'' was a study of the painting and writing of the 19th-century landscape artist
Alfred Sharpe Sir Alfred Sharpe (19 May 1853 – 10 December 1935) was Commissioner and Consul-General for the British Central Africa Protectorate and first Governor of Nyasaland. He trained as a solicitor but was in turn a planter and a professional hu ...
.


Career

From 1983 to 1998, Blackley was the curator of historical New Zealand art at
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 ...
, and in 1992, his MA thesis was published as the exhibition catalogue to accompany the exhibition ''The Art of Alfred Sharpe'' at that gallery. Other exhibitions curated by Blackley include ''Two Centuries of New Zealand Landscape Art'' in 1990, as part of the 150th anniversary commemorations of the signing of the
Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...
; and an exhibition of the work of Albin Martin in 1988, which toured nationally. Blackley curated two exhibitions at
Adam Art Gallery The Adam Art Gallery (in Māori language, Māori: ''Te Pātaka Toi'') is a purpose-built arts gallery located in the Kelburn Campus of Victoria University of Wellington in Wellington, New Zealand. History On 15 July 1997, Jenny Harper and Tin ...
: ''Stray Leaves: Colonial Trompe-l'oeil Drawings'' in 2001 and ''Te Mata: The Ethnological Portrait'' in 2008. Blackley wrote a number of books, including the bestselling ''Goldie'' (1997). In that book, he challenged the prevailing view of art historians at the time that C. F. Goldie's portraits of
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
were racist and patronising, instead arguing that Māori held Goldie and his artistic skills in high regard and that his subjects had control over how they were portrayed by Goldie. Blackley became an expert on the works of Goldie and
Gottfried Lindauer Gottfried Lindauer (5 January 1839 – 13 June 1926) was a Czech and New Zealand painter. He was famous for his portraits, including many of Māori people. Czech life and Austrian school He was born Bohumír Lindauer in Plzeň (Pilsen), Bohe ...
, and advised on the authenticity of those artists' works. In 1998, Blackley was appointed as a lecturer in art history at
Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...
, and rose to the academic rank of associate professor. He continued his curatorial activities, producing two exhibitions and accompanying catalogues for the
Adam Art Gallery The Adam Art Gallery (in Māori language, Māori: ''Te Pātaka Toi'') is a purpose-built arts gallery located in the Kelburn Campus of Victoria University of Wellington in Wellington, New Zealand. History On 15 July 1997, Jenny Harper and Tin ...
. His research at Victoria focused on the Victorian and Edwardian cultures of collecting, culminating in his 2016
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
thesis and the subsequent book, ''Galleries of Maoriland: Artists, Collectors and the Māori World, 1880–1910'', published by
Auckland University Press Auckland University Press is a New Zealand publisher that produces creative and scholarly work for a general audience. Founded in 1966 and formally recognised as Auckland University Press in 1972, it is a publisher based within the University ...
in 2018. The book was shortlisted for the 2019 Ernest Scott Prize. Blackley died in
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
on 15 May 2019.


Published works

Published works by Blackley include: * ''Goldie'' (
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki 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 ...
, 1997). * ''Galleries of Maoriland: Artists, Collectors and the Maori World, 1880–1910'' (
Auckland University Press Auckland University Press is a New Zealand publisher that produces creative and scholarly work for a general audience. Founded in 1966 and formally recognised as Auckland University Press in 1972, it is a publisher based within the University ...
, 2018). * ''Stray Leaves: Colonial Trompe L'Oeil Drawings'' (
Victoria University Press Te Herenga Waka University Press or THWUP (formerly Victoria University Press) is the book publishing arm of Victoria University of Wellington, located in Wellington, New Zealand. As of 2022, the press had published around 800 books. History V ...
, 2001). * ''Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki: The Guide'' (Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki in association with Scala Publishers, London, 2001). * ''Te Mata: The Ethnological Portrait'' (Adam Art Gallery and Victoria University Press, 2010). *''The Art of Alfred Sharpe'' (Auckland City Art Gallery and David Bateman, 1992).


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackley, Roger 1953 births 2019 deaths People from Masterton University of Auckland alumni Academic staff of Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington alumni New Zealand art curators New Zealand art historians