Five Questions With: Lily McCowan
We speak to Webb’s recently appointed Specialist, Art Online.
Lily McCowan | Specialist, Art Online
Webb’s: Welcome to Webb’s Lily and congratulations! What excites you about your new role and the Art Online auction that you will be managing?
Lily McCowan (LM): Thank you for the warm welcome! I’m delighted to continue Art Online’s mission to offer works by upcoming and established artists that are both accessible and high quality. I’m also hoping to influence the next generation of collectors through our online auction and social media presence while also providing a platform for artists to showcase their work.
How do you feel social media is influencing the art world and/or how people buy and sell art?
LM: We have entered a period of incredible change in technology, for better or worse. Webb’s strong digital presence has allowed it to connect meaningfully with a new generation of collectors as well as help collectors expand their knowledge base and visual references of local art. Personally, social media is a valuable way for me to stay connected with developments in Aotearoa's art scene, and I have always enjoyed perusing Webb's online catalogues, which I now get to curate for Art Online!
Yvonne Todd, Next Time It Will Be Different, 2021, offset print on paper, edition of 200, 841 x 594mm.
Price Realised incl. BP:$2,868
You have already gained some wonderful experience in the art world in Wellington having worked at McLeavey Gallery, Dunbar Sloane as well as being awarded Wellington Club’s 2024 Parkin Scholar, a guest curatorship at Katherine Mansfield House and Garden). What do you feel has been the most exciting, memorable, proud moment in your career to date and what made it so?
LM: McLeavey Gallery was very special to me as it wasn’t just a gallery but a space for fostering relationships and ideas. t is the oldest gallery in Aotearoa and I had just completed a double major in history and art history from Te Herenga Waka, so this suited my interests here. The revered Peter McLeavey was often engaged in friendly competition with Peter Webb as they represented many of the same artists. I felt connected to the first generation of artists McLeavey shepherded in the young arts scene in Wellington as well as the newest generation of artists who represent my identity of being a woman and as an immigrant.
One of my proudest moments in my time at McLeavey was my first serious sale; Dame Robin White’s Aio Ngaira (this is us). Anyone who knows the gallery well will know, you never know who's going to walk up those stairs. It was absolutely thrilling, similar to how I feel as the new specialist for Art Online at Webb’s.
Webbs, Bank of New Zealand Art Collection. Collection Originally founded by Peter McLeavey
Any favourite New Zealand artists or styles/eras?
LM: Choice paralysis! It’s quite difficult to decide considering I love most art I see.
Yvonne Todd is a longstanding favourite of mine. Her practice of employing models and dressing them up in campy costumes is always marginally unnerving, making these beautiful men and women slightly unsettling and all the more compelling. Even her work now experimenting with AI in art is opening a necessary conversation on human creativity. Todd’s works regularly appear in Art Online so I’m looking forward to experiencing those in person!
The works of Ayesha Green are quite loaded. They speak of New Zealand nationalism in the visual arts in such frank terms and have always inspired me to think critically about what I’m looking at. In a digital age where images are everything, I am grateful for this reminder. I personally hope to acquire one of Green’s screenprints through Art Online at some point.
Dame Robin White is another inspiration for me, I think even more so after seeing Gaylene Preston’s documentary on White called Grace: A Prayer for Peace at NZIFF this year. Her career has spanned over fifty years using countless mediums, achieving record auction prices, and yet she’s remained concerned with the idea of common humanity in her art. A simple woodblock of hers is one of my most prized possessions.
Robin White, Morris Commercial, Hokianga, 1978, screenprint on paper, artist's proof, 720 x 540mm.
Ayesha Green, In the Extension of My Feet, screenprint on paper, 10/20, 630 x 620mm.
Price Realised incl. BP:$5,377.50
Do you collect art as well and do you have any tips for anyone starting their own collection via Art Online?
I do collect! When I was starting my collecting journey, I asked Olivia McLeavey whose work I should buy. She told me that every collector should buy works not for investment, but for the joy that art can bring you. I buy works by artists who I relate to and who also promote ideas that inspire and invigorate me. Zhu Ohmu is a great example of an artist who I can relate to as we both are women living in Aotearoa who come from elsewhere. Her recent 2025 series To hold, & to be held spoke of the blue sadness of missing family overseas, something I can relate to.
If possible, taking risks and buying big is another tip, I did this with my last piece by Polly Gilroy. It’s terrifying making your first significant acquisition, but becoming part of an art group or applying for a MyArt loan is an economical way to start this process - shameless plug: we accept MyArt loans at Webb’s!
Extra bonus points question: Tell us something surprising about yourself.
Asides from art, I also collect books and shoes!
About Lily McCowan
Lily brings experience from Dunbar Sloane’s Art Department and McLeavey Gallery in Wellington, alongside a BA with First Class Honours in History and Art History from Victoria University of Wellington. She was the Wellington Club’s 2024 Parkin Scholar and completed a guest curatorship at Katherine Mansfield House and Garden, further enriching her understanding of New Zealand’s art and cultural heritage. As Specialist for Webb’s Art Online platform, Lily curates accessible, high-quality works at a range of price points and collaborates with diverse consignors to ensure their artworks reach engaged collectors.
Auction Highlights
Lot 60. Colin McCahon, 15 Drawings, Dec '51 to May 52', 1967, lithograph on paper, 24 pages. 270 x 205mm. EST. $8,000—$10,000
Lot 35. Dick Frizzell & Bootleg Design, Marbellous Mutt, 2023, acrylic on plastic, 800 x 500 x 330mm (widest points).
EST. $3,000—$5,000
Lot 9. Robyn Kahukiwa, untitled, 1971, watercolour on paper, 530 x 690mm.
EST. $6,000—$8,000
Art Online
Online Auction
16—21 January
Bidding Closes
Wednesday 21 January, from 8pm
Viewing by Appointment
Wednesday 21 January, 9am—5pm
Location
33a Normanby Road
Mount Eden, Auckland
Contact
Lily McCowan
Specialist, Art
lily@webbs.co.nz
+64 22 068 4932