Dunedin Public Art Gallery receives Frances Hodgkins watercolour ‘The Bridge’

The Dunedin Public Art Gallery has added a watercolour by Frances Hodgkins to its collection through a bequest made in 2025. ‘The Bridge’ (c.1907–08), painted on paper mounted on strawboard, is not currently on display, but the gallery says it is planning an exhibition debut for the work.

The bequest expands the institution’s holdings of Hodgkins’ work from her period in Dordrecht, Holland. It will join ‘Dordrecht’ (c.1908), a painting purchased by the gallery in 1913 through public subscription, creating a direct connection between two works made during the artist’s year in the Dutch city.

Hodgkins was born in Dunedin and left her hometown in 1901, sailing to London. She was living in Dordrecht during 1907–08, when she produced ‘The Bridge’. The gallery describes this as an active period of painting and drawing, with the works offering insight into Hodgkins’ experience of the city in the early 20th century.

The newly acquired watercolour is identified in the gallery’s collection information as having been bequeathed by Joan Mayes. Its addition continues a long history of gifts and bequests shaping the Dunedin Public Art Gallery’s holdings, alongside purchases and other forms of public support.

Established in 1884, the Dunedin Public Art Gallery describes its collection as Aotearoa New Zealand’s first public art collection. Its current collection presentation, ‘Te Ahikāroa — Artists & Stories of Dunedin Public Art Gallery’, traces the institution’s history through works and stories gathered since the collection was first exhibited. The exhibition runs from 28 March 2026 to 30 June 2027.

The gallery has not announced when ‘The Bridge’ will first be shown, and no exhibition dates are currently attached to the bequest. For now, the work remains in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery collection, alongside the earlier ‘Dordrecht’ and the institution’s broader holdings of Hodgkins’ art.