Colin John McCahon New Zealand, 1919-87
Past Sales
Sales by Medium
Where to buy or sell art works by Colin McCahon
Auction Houses
About Colin McCahon
Born in Timaru, New Zealand in 1919, Colin McCahon studied at the Dunedin School of Arts. Along with Rita Angus and Toss Woollaston he has been credited with pioneering the modern movement in New Zealand painting. McCahon married the artist Anne Hamblett, and they lived on the South Island until 1953 when McCahon was appointed keeper of the Auckland City Art Gallery. In 1964 he became lecturer at the Auckland University School of Fine Arts. McCahon exhibited widely from 1947.
Colin McCahon is one of the most prolific of the artists listed in our database, with the number of works offered for sale by auction since 1975 of 1,212, of which 884 (73%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $2,129,729 for Is There Anything of Which One Can Say Look This is New? sold by Webb's in September 2022. In addition to this sale, a further 3 works by this artist have been sold for over $1 million. This year 15 works have been offered for sale. Works by Colin McCahon are held by the Auckland Art Gallery, Museum Of New Zealand and a further seven major public national galleries (see list below).
Colin McCahon is listed in the following standard biographical references:
- Gil Docking, with additions by Michael Gunn covering 1970-90. Two Hundred Years of New Zealand Painting, David Bateman Ltd., New Zealand, 1990 Page 184
- McGahey, Kate. The Concise Dictionary of New Zealand Artists Painters Printmakers Sculptors, Gilt Edge Publishing, Wellington, New Zealand, 2000. Page 162
- 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.
Access to the database is available on either a monthly or annual subscription. During the subscription period you have unlimited access to the site. If you would like to subscribe, please proceed to our Subscription Form.