Peter McLeavey - The Life and Times of a New Zealand Art Dealer

Te Papa Press, 2013. Some fading and minor tearing to the edges of the DW. This has been covered. SDedication to previous owner, sgned by both author and subject.

The first biography of Peter McLeavey, the charismatic, pioneering art dealer who since the 1960s has shaped, even transformed, New Zealand art. McLeavey's personal story is remarkable, but his contemporaries will recognise common themes: the religious upbringing, the struggle to be bohemian in repressive mid-century small town New Zealand, the challenges of marriage and fatherhood, the dilemma of whether to stay or leave New Zealand, and the need to make a mark. Through exclusive access to McLeavey's extensive and hitherto untapped archive of letters, diaries, exhibition files and more, this book offers insights into the artists McLeavey has represented across half a century. Here, in their own words - lively, salty, and often heart-breaking - are Colin McCahon, Toss Woollaston, Len Lye, Milan Mrkusich, Michael Smither, Gordon Walters, Michael Illingworth, Don Driver, Robin White, John Reynolds, Yvonne Todd and many more. Far more than a simple biography, this is the big story of contemporary New Zealand art itself, in a period of massive change and growth, and Trevelyan offers an utterly fresh and compelling historical account of the birth of the modern art market and the status of art today.