I found out a while back the “full story” behind the Clairmont Mangamahu Possum painting (see my entry). You can see the TVNZ story here. I like how they took Orlando Clairmont down there to collect what he could and confront Mere Keating. Its an interesting story. I also think Nigel Brown is right and the painting was intended to be “hung” the opposite way up - another reason why the signature is fake.
Tags: Clairmont
February 5, 2008 at 1:05 am
[...] But I got all concerned about ownership after seeing Orlando Clairmont at the auction on TV. I don’t actually doubt its provenance (you can put me right on that of course) but someoneiknow would probably suggest I hang it in the garage anyway. EDIT: See my update. [...]
May 29, 2008 at 4:42 am
[...] here in New Zealand when the Mangamahu Possum painting was listed for sale on Trademe, there was discussion in the comments about a tradition [...]