Francis McWhannellFrancis McWhannell

Francis McWhannell is a freelance curator and art writer based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

The Katherine Mansfield of paint: Frances Hodgkins’ European Journeys, reviewed

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Francis McWhannell goes on a grand tour of escapism, adventure and parochialism with our quintessential expatriate artist, Frances Hodgkins, at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. Few artists from Aotearoa deliver escapism like Frances Hodgkins (1869–1947). She has a gift for teasing out the transcendent in the world about her. An early watercolour depicts a … Read more

Oh the humanities! On the state of arts study at New Zealand universities

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In the wake of this week’s news about Otago University’s art history programme, Francis McWhannell considers the current crisis in the arts in tertiary education and wonders whether we’re beyond salvation. “The building is crumbling round us – which is scary, coz I just got in the elevator.” This comment was made to me the … Read more