Pat Perrin in studio

item details

NamePat Perrin in studio

ProductionSteve Rumsey; photographer; 17 August 1967; Auckland

Classificationportraits, black-and-white prints, gelatin silver prints, black-and-white photographs, works of art

Materialsphotographic gelatin, silver, photographic paper

Materials Summaryblack and white photograph, gelatin silver print

Techniquesblack-and-white photography

DimensionsImage: 403mm (height), 504mm (length)

Registration NumberO.027667

Credit linePurchased 1998

Overview

This black and white photograph by Steve Rumsey was taken in 1967. It shows potter Patricia Perrin in her Arthur Street studio in Ellerslie, Auckland, surrounded by examples of her ceramics. Rumsey was commissioned to take this photograph by the New Vision Gallery, Auckland, who was Perrin's dealer and a major outlet for New Zealand pottery in the late 1960s. The photograph was intended to illustrate the front cover of Perrin's New Vision Gallery exhibition catalogue.

Photographs of potters
Pat Perrin in studio is a good example of the way Rumsey photographed artists and craftspeople. In 1965 he established Photo Associates Limited, and quickly became the photographer of choice for institutions like the New Vision Gallery. Te Papa owns photographs of Len Castle, Barry Brickell, and Peter Stichbury, among other potters, which were taken by Rumsey in both a professional and private capacity. His photographic archive is therefore one of the most comprehensive documentaries of the Auckland pottery and craft scenes the 1960s and 1970s, and his photographs have been reproduced in a number of books, including Artists and Craftsmen in New Zealand by Peter Cape, published in 1969.

Contemporary catalogues
Rumsey's photograph of Pat Perrin was recently reproduced in the catalogue of the Patricia Perrin: Potter exhibition held at Corban Estate Art Centre in 2005.