Pat Hanly: The Seven Ages of Man

The seven paintings in Pat Hanly's The Seven Ages of Man were commissioned by Hamish Keith in 1975 for the then-new Medical School 'Link' building in Auckland, where they have been ever since, one on each floor. They have never before been exhibited publicly or seen together, but have now been brought together for their gallery debut while extensive building refurbishment takes place at the University.

Hanly's suite of work references Shakespeare's "all the world's a stage" monologue from As You Like It, and coincides with a period of self-discovery he began with his Who Am I?/I Am/Do It works at the start of the 1970s, culminating with the Golden Age series. It was also during this period that he completed a number of major commissions, including murals for the Christchurch Town Hall (1971) and the Auckland International Airport (1977).

Pat Hanly (1932 - 2004) initially trained as a hairdresser before studying art at the Canterbury School of Fine Arts. It was there he met his wife, Gil Taverner, and colleagues Hamish Keith, Bill Culbert and Edward Bullmore, who would later all spend time together in London. Hanly's vibrant, no-frills approach cuts to the point. He was concerned more for the integrity of expression than the commercial value of his work, and demonstrated his concern for social, moral and political issues not only through his painting, but also by public demonstration.

Toured by the University of Auckland's Gus Fisher Gallery