A Catholic priest’s artwork has topped the bids in a fund-raiser for restoring Wellington’s Metropolitan Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.
Father David Orange’s painting of Wellington Harbour, “Dawn at Wellington”, sold for $3500.
He says his love of the city and its harbour inspired him to paint the scene in 2019.
The online art auction attracted works by 30 artists from the greater Wellington region. It raised $12,000 for the cathedral, which has been closed since July 2018 for seismic strengthening.
Orange’s connection with the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Sacred Heart extends over several decades. He was ordained there in 1964.
The former hospital chaplain has been painting all his life. Sadly, he is losing his eyesight from macular degeneration and can no longer read or sign his name on his works.
Even that hasn’t stopped him from picking up his brushes though. He still manages to paint less detailed landscapes, though his ability to paint portraits has faded with his eyesight.
“I grew up in Miramar, and I never had any art lessons, but I always painted. I did the scenery for plays in the seminary and I used to illustrate the college magazine,” he says.
He says encouragement to paint came from notable New Zealand portrait painter Sister Mary Lawrence, who painted under the name Julia Lynch. She introduced Orange to oil painting.
Fundraising continues
The Catholic community still has $2.6 million left to raise from the $16.5 million needed to complete the cathedral’s refurbishment.
Among the funds collected to date are an $8.5 million dollar “shovel-ready” grant from the government and $120,000 from the Wellington City Council Built Heritage Incentive Fund.
Volunteer and chief organiser of the art auction, Malcolm Foo, coordinated the 120 works listed on the site.
“We thought it was a great way to connect with the community through the cathedral’s fundraising efforts,” he says.
While Omicron settings meant a last-minute decision had to be made to move the auction online, he says the digital approach had some benefits as it enabled a wider audience to get involved.
“We had bids from as far away as the States, someone from Florida actually purchased a painting,” Foo says.
The strengthening of the cathedral is on schedule to be completed in 2023 and the cathedral reopened.
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