Sleuths solve Foxton mystery
Archive discovery is a window to the town’s past
No matter how hard historians try, there is always a mystery in history — even when a new discovery sheds light on the past. The Foxton Historical Society recently uncovered an 1880 painting of Foxton in its archives, the oldest known surviving oil painting of the town. The painting gives us a stunning glimpse into life over 120 years ago — but researching who made it wasn’t as clear.
The artist’s signature read “JP Murray” and after much research (and a few false leads) it was discovered James Park Murray ran a Foxton boarding house in the early 1890s. Many of his known paintings are of Kaikoura and Marlborough so it appears he travelled a lot and specialised in landscapes.
He listed his occupation as “artist” as well as boarding house keeper on government records, so he had a dedication to painting. One newspaper report described a South Island painting of his as “painstaking . . . successful work”— but criticised the way it was hung on the wall.
There was one other question — even if the painting was signed JP Murray, was it genuine? Thanks to legendary Foxton forger Karl Feodor Sim, any old painting discovered in Foxton comes under immediate suspicion. Sim may have made counterfeits of up to 87 artists in his life — was James Park Murray
amongst them? To answer that question, the society enlisted the help of Te Manawa to make an authentication and society archivist Kiri Pepene investigated the Foxton records.
The team discovered that the painting was donated by a Foxton local before Sim began his forgeries, to much relief.
The artwork is in need of restoration to preserve its unique window into the past. Although much has changed since the 1880s, there are
still familiar landmarks to help us adjust to Murray’s time. The ranges stand in the background and the All Saints Church can be seen amongst the buildings in town.
But the river loop is no longer able to welcome the ships Murray painted and his art has become a reminder of the work still to be done to restore its health and flow. The painting was reframed many years ago and parts of it are flaking so, like the river loop itself, it needs some help to be returned to how it should be.
But this is not the only painting the Foxton Historical Society is involved with. The society is selling prints of Funky Foxton — a pop art painting of the town that includes the River Loop and the old Courthouse used by the Historical Society.
Funky Foxton was painted by local artist Z Goode, a member of the Artitude group who meet at Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom on Tuesdays. With the work of old artists and new, Foxton has much more history to be made and discovered.