Masterpieces by Picasso, Dalí among art going on display in Auckland

Masterpieces from some of the world's best and most profound artists — including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Salvador Dalí and Pierre Bonnard — are going on display in a new exhibition at the Auckland Art Gallery.

The exhibit, The Robertson Gift: Paths through Modernity, takes visitors on a journey through the modern art era of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Among the artwork on show are 15 pieces worth more than $100 million gifted to the gallery from the late American philanthropists Julian and Josie Robertson.

The couple first visited New Zealand in the 1970s, and quickly fell in love with the country.

The hedge fund billionaires promised the pieces which surrounded the walls of their Manhattan apartment to the Auckland Art Gallery in 2009.

Julian and Josie Robertson's son Jay said it was a dream come true "16 years in the making".

"Seeing the art that they saw on their walls now on these walls — it's exciting.

"My dad came here based on the beauty of the country and he and my mother fell in love with the people and I think that's what brought everything to life."

The couple's third son, Alex Robertson, said he believed his parents wanted to marry the beauty of the country with "some of the prettiest man-made images that would go along with a country that's meant a lot to them".

Alex, Jay and Spencer travelled to New Zealand from the US with their families to unveil the pieces.

The artworks were transported to New Zealand at the end of 2023, following Josie's death in 2010, and Julian's death in 2022.

Auckland Art Gallery curator Kenneth Brummel said the donation is unprecedented.

"To receive, from one donor, 15 modernist masterworks is really an occasion," he said.

"Any museum around the world would be honoured to be the recipient of that kind of gift."

The artwork is among one of the most significant philanthropic gifts New Zealand has received.

It's hoped the artwork will inspire New Zealanders and their love for art.

"To have that material here allows generations of students, of future artists, of future art lovers to engage with what the best of European art can offer and what we in Aotearoa New Zealand can offer in response," Brummel said.

The free exhibition opens today and will run for the next two years. Visit the Auckland Art Gallery's website for more information.