Open for viewing

Ravenscar House Museum, the stylish new home for a collection celebrating New Zealand art and artists, opened to the public on November 8.

Designed by Patterson Associates, Ravenscar House Museum is the vision of Christchurch philanthropists Susan and the late Jim Wakefield who gifted it to the people of Christchurch and Canterbury through their Ravenscar Trust.

The House Museum at 52 Rolleston Avenue displays the Wakefield’s art collection (the Ravenscar Trust Collection) of paintings, decorative arts, furniture and antiquities. Works include paintings by Frances Hodgkins, Colin McCahon, Ralph Hotere and a wide range of other beloved New Zealand artists.

The Wakefields began collecting art in the late 1980s. Their collection was originally displayed in their home in coastal Scarborough, until the house was damaged beyond repair in the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes.

The Wakefields eventually settled on a new site for the rebuilt house. This was gifted to the museum for the project by the Christchurch City Council in 2015, following public consultation.

The completed house comprises a foyer and four main rooms reminiscent of the principal rooms at the Scarborough House (the dining room, bedroom, living room and library), arranged around a central courtyard. A glazed gallery overlooks a Sculpture Terrace and the garden which has been designed by Auckland landscape architect, Suzanne Turley.