Towards Modernism: The Walter Cook Collection at Te Papa: author biography and interview

Justine Olsen has worked at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa since 2009 as Curator Decorative Art and Design. A Curator of Applied Art at Auckland Museum from 1988 to 1993, her research, publication and exhibition interests lie in New Zealand and international design, especially relating to the way knowledge is disseminated. Her special interests include the Walter Cook collection and the impact of modernism on New Zealand design and contemporary practices including studio jewellery and ceramics. With Michael Fitzgerald, she co-curated the 2012 Te Papa exhibition Walter Cook: A Collector’s Quest.

Q1: The Walter C Cook Collection of Decorative Arts is one of the many jewels of Te Papa’s collections. When did you first encounter it?

In the early 1980s, I was invited to lunch at the Thorndon home of Walter and his then wife Adriann and it was quite an experience to see so many ceramics, glass and metal work – colour and pattern was everywhere. Later, when I started at Te Papa, I learnt so much more about the scale and breadth of the collection.

Q2: Would you agree that the story behind its accumulation is unusual, if not unique, in New Zealand?

There are so many aspects of this collection that make it unusual. It’s a personal story of collecting in Wellington between the 1960s and 1980s. Through his reading, Walter created a very clear brief to look at the evolution of modernism from 1870 to 1970. He largely kept to this and worked very closely with the dealers from the secondhand shops and antique shops nearby in Thorndon. They were enormously helpful in finding examples of design, at times guiding him, too. It was right place, right time and Walter was collecting ahead of the design revivals of the 1960s and 1970s such as Art Nouveau. As he bought, Walter recorded the dealers and dates of acquisition and so we have a wonderful record of sales and provenance which adds to the picture of the way dealers can influence taste in New Zealand.

Walter Cook and Glenn MacDonald, the owner of Mr Smiles curio and secondhand shop, on Upper Cuba Street, Wellington, photographed by Graeme Simpson in 1986. Alexander Turnbull Library (PA12-1766-03).

Q3: How possible would it be to diligently and deliberately amass a collection such as this today?

It would be hard to replicate this approach today as the market has changed enormously. There are not as many secondhand and antique shops, and you would have to draw across local and international auctions and the online market of Trade Me and eBay etc. And there would be very few of the local stories that characterise this collection.

Q4: Favourite ceramic object and why?

There are so many ceramics that are appealing, but among my favourites is the tall Tenera Vase by Danish designer Berthe Jessen, made in 1963. I love her imaginary flowers and the way she created the pattern that climbed up the vase form. It’s a delicate yet lush design. The vase encapsulates the story of how Royal Copenhagen developed a fresh approach to design by hiring young women artists straight from art schools across Scandinavia. It has that art to industry approach.

Vase, ‘Tenera’ ware, 1963. Manufacturer: Royal Copenhagen, Denmark. Designer: Berte Jessen. Artist/maker: Nils Thorsson. Ceramic, faience, 363 x 143 x 125mm, CG001892.

Q5: Favourite metal object and why?

The Liberty Tudric pewter jug of 1904 epitomises Archibald Knox’s superb design skills – simple, elegant and functional with a subtle attention to Celtic design. At the time he was designing for the British firm Liberty & Co., but he was not well known because of the company’s policy of not crediting designers. It took another 50 to 60 years before his name was discovered through research by curators including Shirley Bury of the V&A. I like this story of discovery, as there are so many stories like this that are uncovered in design histories.

Jug, ‘Tudric’, 1904. Commissioner: Liberty & Co, England. Manufacturer: WH Haseler Ltd. Designer: Archibald Knox. Pewter, enamel, cane, 220 × 135 × 135mm, GH004274.

Q6: Of course, favourite does not necessarily mean most important. Are there one or two objects in the collection that fit that description?

Two objects that Walter collected – one from a dealer and one by chance – are important. The large ceramic dish by William De Morgan, made about 1885, conveys his brilliant sense of design. Trained in art and working with William Morris’s workshop in the late 1860s, De Morgan later set up an independent workshop designing vessels and decorative tiles. He was inspired by historic designs, but his work was also imaginative and humorous, and his intense glazes became enormously popular at the time. Today they continue to be admired and collected.

Dish, c.1885. Manufacturer: William De Morgan, England. Designer: William De Morgan. Earthenware, red lustre glazes, 53 x 362 x 362mm, CG001805.

Christopher Dresser’s South American jug, made between 1879 and 1882, appears an oddity in the collection, and epitomises his curiosity about design and the influence of a wide range of cultures. Dresser designed for numerous manufacturers in Britain including Linthorpe Art Pottery, for which he was an art director. This is among his most important pieces. The wonderful rich glazes of work like this were acclaimed at the time and continue to be praised today.

Jug, 1879–82. Manufacturer: Linthorpe Art Pottery, England. Designer: Christopher Dresser. Earthenware, glazes, 180 x 165 × 157mm, CG001806.

Q7: Walter Cook is still alive. How did you and he work together on the book?

It was a wonderful opportunity to do further work with Walter in updating the development of the collection, the story of which first appeared after 1994 as the unpublished manuscript ‘Let these Dry Bones Live’. Our research and writing started in late 2022, at the end of the Covid pandemic, and we found that emailing and phoning were the safest ways of working together. Walter also helped to update manufacturing information and dates.

Q8: The book also serves as a sort of condensed trade and retail history of New Zealand, or at least of Wellington. Why was this important to emphasise?

This facet can often be overlooked, and I thought it important to consider how and why domestic design arrived in Wellington and New Zealand. Retailers were, and continue to be, influential conduits between designers and makers and buyers; they help to create a market and shape taste.

Q9: Will the collection continue to be seen as important do you think?

The collection shows significant links between international design and its influence on the local market, so this is a valuable record. Other areas of the collection highlight the role of women designers, the influence on design of international exhibitions and the way these aspects manifested over one hundred years of design.

Q10: What various inspirations and information do you hope readers will take from this book?

This collection highlights the way designs circulate around the world through trade, be it from Japan to Europe or Britain to New Zealand. The role of the dealer is also revealed in almost every object and is a reminder of their influence. The book also shows that collections are personal stories. This one occurred in the heart of Wellington over quite a short period of time, from the 1960s to the 1980s, within living memory for many readers.