Colin McCahon
The Canoe Mamari, 1969
acrylic on four hardboard panels
4 panels, each 603 x 603mm
603 x 2406mm overall
603 x 2406mm overall
Inscriptions 1: THE CANOE MARAMI. [sic] THE FIRST HISTORY. (brushpoint, t.l.); McCahon April '69 (brushpoint, b.l.); Colin McCahon / The canoe Mamari / No 1 of a series of 4...
Inscriptions
1: THE CANOE MARAMI. [sic] THE FIRST HISTORY. (brushpoint, t.l.); McCahon April '69 (brushpoint, b.l.); Colin McCahon / The canoe Mamari / No 1 of a series of 4 / The April / Paintings. 1969 (on reverse)
2: THE CANOE MARAMA. [sic] THE SECOND HISTORY. (brushpoint, t.l.); McCahon April '69. (brushpoint, b.l.); Colin McCahon / The Canoe Mamari / No 2 of a series of 4 / The April Paintings / 1969 (on reverse)
3: THE CANOE MAMARI. THE THIRD HISTORY. (brushpoint, t.l.); McCahon April '69 (brushpoint, b.l.); Colin McCahon / The Canoe Mamari / No 3 of a series of 4 / The April paintings / 1969. (on reverse)
4: THE CANOE MAMARI. THE FOURTH HISTORY. (brushpoint, t.l.); McCahon April '69. (brushpoint, b.l.); Colin McCahon / The Canoe Mamari / No 4. Series of 4 / The April Paintings 1969 (on reverse)
Extended inscriptions
1: THE CHIEF OF THE CANOE
WAS RANUI
HIS SONS WERE
KORAKO-NUI-A-RUA
TE MARU-O-TE-
HUIA
AND RUATAPU.
2: KORAKO-NUI-A-
-RUA HAD
A SON MATITI WHOSE
SON WAS HAKUMANU
WHOSE SON WAS TAIWAWE
WHOSE SON WAS
TUPUTA
3: TUPATA HAD A SON
RUANUI (THE SECOND)
WHOSE SON WAS TARAUAUA
WHOSE SON WAS MORE
WHOSE SONS WERE TE
IKANUI AND WHEERU.
WHEERU MARRIED
TAIMAINIA
4: TE IKANUI WHO WAS
YOUNGER THAN HIS BROTHER
WHEERU HAD A LARGE
FAMILY
AND MANY DESCENDANTS.
THE CHIEF OF THE CANOE WAS
RUANUI
THE NAME OF THE
CANOE WAS
MAMARI
1: THE CANOE MARAMI. [sic] THE FIRST HISTORY. (brushpoint, t.l.); McCahon April '69 (brushpoint, b.l.); Colin McCahon / The canoe Mamari / No 1 of a series of 4 / The April / Paintings. 1969 (on reverse)
2: THE CANOE MARAMA. [sic] THE SECOND HISTORY. (brushpoint, t.l.); McCahon April '69. (brushpoint, b.l.); Colin McCahon / The Canoe Mamari / No 2 of a series of 4 / The April Paintings / 1969 (on reverse)
3: THE CANOE MAMARI. THE THIRD HISTORY. (brushpoint, t.l.); McCahon April '69 (brushpoint, b.l.); Colin McCahon / The Canoe Mamari / No 3 of a series of 4 / The April paintings / 1969. (on reverse)
4: THE CANOE MAMARI. THE FOURTH HISTORY. (brushpoint, t.l.); McCahon April '69. (brushpoint, b.l.); Colin McCahon / The Canoe Mamari / No 4. Series of 4 / The April Paintings 1969 (on reverse)
Extended inscriptions
1: THE CHIEF OF THE CANOE
WAS RANUI
HIS SONS WERE
KORAKO-NUI-A-RUA
TE MARU-O-TE-
HUIA
AND RUATAPU.
2: KORAKO-NUI-A-
-RUA HAD
A SON MATITI WHOSE
SON WAS HAKUMANU
WHOSE SON WAS TAIWAWE
WHOSE SON WAS
TUPUTA
3: TUPATA HAD A SON
RUANUI (THE SECOND)
WHOSE SON WAS TARAUAUA
WHOSE SON WAS MORE
WHOSE SONS WERE TE
IKANUI AND WHEERU.
WHEERU MARRIED
TAIMAINIA
4: TE IKANUI WHO WAS
YOUNGER THAN HIS BROTHER
WHEERU HAD A LARGE
FAMILY
AND MANY DESCENDANTS.
THE CHIEF OF THE CANOE WAS
RUANUI
THE NAME OF THE
CANOE WAS
MAMARI
Provenance
Collection of Dame Jenny GibbsExhibitions
An Exhibition of Paintings by Colin McCahon, Peter McLeavey Gallery, Wellington, 22/7/1969 - 9/8/1969
Colin McCahon: A Time for Messages, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2/2/2001 - 13/5/2001
Picturing History: Goldie to Cotton, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland, 25/4/2009 - 21/2/2010
Colin McCahon: On Going Out with the Tide, City Gallery Wellington, Wellington, 8/4/2017 - 30/7/2017
Art Basel Hong Kong with Gow Langsford Gallery, 29-31 March 2018, Hong Kong
Colin McCahon: A Journey, 23 November 2024 - 25 January 2025, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand