Marcus King New Zealand, 1891-1983
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Where to buy or sell art works by Marcus King
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About Marcus King
Born in Taranaki, New Zealand in 1891, Marcus King joined the architectural division of the Public Works Department in 1906. He later transferred to Auckland where he studied under Edward Fristrom at the Elam School of Fine Arts. He became friendly with Fristrom and they worked together exhibiting at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. After service in World War I he returned to Wellington to become a commercial artist and part-time art teacher at the Wellington Technical College. He joined the National Publicity Studios about 1920 and joined the Quoin Club which promoted the fostering of Arts & Crafts in Auckland. He was a member of the Academy of Fine Arts and served on the council from 1929 to 1941. King also continued to exhibit at the Academy until 1964. Marcus King is perhaps best known for the significant body of commercial and fine art work that he created for the New Zealand Tourism Department.
The total number of works by Marcus King offered for sale by auction since 1988 is 361, of which 301 (83%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $14,794 for Mitre Peak sold by Dunbar Sloane in March 2023. This year 2 works have been offered for sale. Works by Marcus King are held by the Museum Of New Zealand, Auckland Art Gallery and Suter Art Gallery.
Marcus King is listed in the following standard biographical references:
- McGahey, Kate. The Concise Dictionary of New Zealand Artists Painters Printmakers Sculptors, Gilt Edge Publishing, Wellington, New Zealand, 2000. Page 140
- The Find New Zealand Artists web site: a database of artist names that directs researchers to the rich resources found in New Zealand's libraries, art society exhibition histories and published sources.
The Australian Art Sales Digest is a database of over 610,000 works by more than 12,000 artists who are listed as having either lived or worked in Australia or New Zealand, and an additional 36,000 foreign and other artists, offered for sale by auction in Australia and New Zealand from the early 1970s to the present day.
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