Peter McLeavey

Peter McLeavey was born in Raetihi and grew up moving around railway settlements in New Zealand's North Island, following his father a railways worker.

A seminal figure in the development of the contemporary Aotearoa art world, McLeavey started his art dealing career in 1966 in the bedroom of his apartment on The Terrace in central Wellington. In a 2009 documentary about his life, The Man in the Hat, McLeavey stated that he set up the gallery to "feed the culture, and to expose the culture to people who didn't know about it".

The McLeavey Gallery at 147 Cuba Street opened in 1968 and, alongside other early emerging dealer galleries such as Barry Lett Galleries in Auckland, played an important role connection collectors to contemporary New Zealand artists. Major sales included Colin McCahon's 'Northland Panels' to the then National Art Gallery (now the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa) in 1978.

Under McLeavey's daughter, Olivia McLeavey, the gallery continues to operate in he same location, and more than 500 exhibitions have been mounted there.

The Peter McLeavey Gallery still represents some of New Zealand's best-known modern and contemporary artists, including Laurence Aberhart, Bill Hammond, Richard Killeen, Colin McCahon, Yvonne Todd, Robin White, Toss Woollaston, and Jeffrey Harris.

Alexander Turnbull Library acquired the McLeavey Archive in September 2018. See ATL catalogue.

See also McLeavey Gallery.