Collection Curator at the Aigantighe Art Gallery.
When you read an artwork label at the Aigantighe Gallery, chances are it has been prepared by an art curator like Petrena. Her art history skills help her learn about the past. Her office used to be home to the Grant family. She has a great story to tell about Helen Grant's daughter Jessie Wigley.
I have worked at the Aigantighe Art Gallery as Collection Curator for just over 3 years now. My role is both practical and administrative – it includes the care of the Gallery’s permanent collection but also research about the collection. I always wanted to have a role like this in a public art gallery, and I feel very privileged to be able to say that I am working in my dream job.
If you would like to know a little bit more about my professional journey, and are interested in the route I took to get this position, please see here: canterbury.ac.nz/art-history-and-theory/petrena-fishburn
The Aigantighe Art Gallery opened in 1956 after being the Grant family’s home. Helen and Alexander Grant had this Queen Anne Revival Edwardian house built for their retirement when they moved to Timaru from Grey’s Hills Station in Burkes Pass. When the Aigantighe House was gifted to the people of South Canterbury, the Grant family also gave their art collection, which – when joined with the art collection of the South Canterbury Art Society – became our public art gallery and its permanent collection. Jessie Wigley was Helen and Alexander’s daughter, her name had changed when she married Rodolph Wigley.
Learn more about The Aigantighe House
Researching and writing about art is a real passion of mine. Art is a visual expression of the artist’s voice produced at a certain time of history. There are many theories that can be used as tools to unpack and interpret art, but today, let’s talk about this: when researching representational art – for example, artworks that look like what they depict, say, a painting, drawing, or sculpture – there are things to consider, like describing what you see, like its wider historical context, or even what was taking place in the artist’s life when they created the artwork. Researching is like playing a detective – you follow leads until you find a story that you feel is worth telling. This process is particularly exciting when you are telling a story that others may have overlooked – whether it be by using new information or looking at things from a new angle.
Recently, I researched and wrote about a water colour painting in the Aigantighe Art Gallery’s permanent collection by Jessie Wigley: Edinburgh from Calton Hill, c.1950, Aigantighe Art Gallery Accession No. 1980.29.
I would like to share some of my process to inspire you to follow your own research leads….
After selecting an artwork to research, a great first place to start if you are researching a New Zealand artist is findnzartists.org.nz. This database is the work of Librarians from the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, and Art Historians – it was initially funded by The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.)
Something to keep in mind as you research, is how trustworthy your sources (or places that you find the information) are – they need to be reliable or your story will be incorrect. The Find New Zealand Artists website is a reputable index of New Zealand artists and will hopefully give you some helpful information that has been gathered from libraries around New Zealand – like where archives might be held about the artist, where the artist has exhibited, and the dates of birth and death of the artist.
Please note that the date of the artist’s death is important when considering if you can publish (on a website, in an article or book) a reproduction of the artwork legally. According to New Zealand Copyright Law if an artist is still alive or has passed away within the past 50 years you need to make contact with them, or the artist estate representative, to ask permission to use an image of their artwork.
For more information please see tips and tricks for respecting copyright
While this website tells me that Jessie Wigley’s archives are held at the The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, I also knew of some archives closer to home. I began searching through the artist’s files at the Aigantighe Art Gallery. The Aigantighe holds archives about artists in its permanent collection. You are able to contact the Collection Curator (Me! Please email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) to see if we have archives about your artist, then you can make an appointment to come and view these archives at the Gallery. A lot of helpful background information can be found in these files. (But, I need to say that because my research on this topic was conducted during our national period of lockdown for Covid-19, I only had access to some digital copies of these archives.)
Search on line to see what ‘Dr Google’ can find for you. It is very likely that professional writers and researchers have broached this topic before you. You may find that trustworthy institutions such as other public galleries in New Zealand have published information about this artist. For example, a search on “Jessie Wigley artist” brings up Timaru Herald articles on Stuff that mention the artist, articles from the Aigantighe Art Gallery, and a biography about Rodolph Wigley, Jessie’s husband, on Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand website.
I also knew of an important document recently written by Christchurch Architectural Art Historian, Laura Dunham, and Conservation Architect, Ian Bowman, Heritage Assessment - Aigantighe Art Gallery, Timaru, July 2019. This document uncovers a lot of information about Jessie Wigley – her involvement in the arts community of South Canterbury and the role she played in the interior design of her family’s retirement residence in Wai-iti Road, Timaru – which would later become the Aigantighe Art Gallery.
Sometimes your searches will only be the beginning of your research journey and will give you further leads to follow up on. For example, you may find that a search brings up a page from the South Canterbury Museum – a page which tells you the Museum holds photographs or archives that you could view. All you need to do is email or phone and make an appointment with the Curator of Documentary History, Tony Rippin. Please email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Then in my project, I compiled all the information I had gathered from the above sources I have mentioned, and turned my attention to Jessie Wigley’s painting itself. I am sad to admit that I have not yet visited Edinburgh in Scotland, so I returned to my on line search. I wanted to try and identify the buildings which Wigley had captured in her cityscape, and to understand the importance of this location and vista as a tourist destination. I then considered the importance the hill-top-view might have held for the artist herself. I knew from my research that Jessie Wigley’s mother, Helen Grant, was born in Edinburgh, and that gave me a lead to interpret her painting and what she might have been intending to capture.
You can follow this link below to read the text and the end result of this research – which has been published on the Aigantighe Art Gallery website. aigantighe.co.nz/jessie-wigley
- Petrena Fishburn
Collection Curator, the Aigantighe Art Gallery.
May 2020