Selections from The Rutherford Trust Collection

The Rutherford Trust was established in 1988 as part of the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand’s commitment to “encourage and enhance New Zealand’s cultural life and heritage.” Part of this mission was achieved by building up a collection of artworks over a decade with the aim of reflecting the development of 20th century New Zealand art and making this collection available to the public. The Trust was named after the building that housed the operations of ECNZ for many years, Rutherford House in Wellington. The Trust assembled a rich and diverse collection of 140 works of mainly contemporary New Zealand art, with all decades from the 1930s to the 2000s represented. Key works from Frances Hodgkins and Rita Angus sit beside works from all the major names of the 1980s and 90s. 

Text extracted from Wairarapa Museum website.