The lark's song, 1969
| Record number | cm001360 |
| Title | The lark's song |
| Date | 1969 |
| Medium | synthetic polymer paint |
| Support | 2 hardboard panels |
| Dimensions | each panel: 810 x 1980 mm overall: 1626 x 1980 mm |
| Inscriptions | FOR MATIRE KEREAMA ... POET (brushpoint, t.l.); The lark's song. (brushpoint, b.l.); Colin McCahon August-October-'69. (brushpoint, b.c.); Colin McCahon / AUG OCT '69 (brushpoint, b.r.); FOR MATIRE KEREAMA...POET (on reverse) |
| Collection | Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki |
| Credit line | Gift of the artist, 1982 |
| Accession number | 1982/7/2 |
| Extended inscriptions |
Ka tahi tii ka rua tii. Ka noho mai te patii te patoo re. Ka rau na. Ka noho te kiwi. Ka poo he wai. - - - Tai tai to pi to paa. Ka hui a mai - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ka toko te rangi - - - - - - Kai ana te whetu. Te marama i te rangi. - - - I te papa takina. E hui tarere. - - - - - - Ko te tio e rere. Ra runga ra tope Kapeka. E hue kaurere turakina te arero o te rangi Kotare wiwi wawa keke. Te manu i tau noo tuu-e Ka tahi tii ka rua tii. Ka noho mai te patii te patoo re. Ka rau na. Ka noho te kiwi. Ka poo he wai. Tai tai to pi to paa. Ka hui a mai. Ka toko te rangi. Kai ana te whetu. Te marama i te rangi. I te papa takina. E hui tarere ko te tio e rere. Ra runga ra tope kapeka. E hue kaurere turakina te arero o te rangi. Kotare wiwi wawa keke. Te manu i tau noo tuu - e - - e - CAN YOU HEAR ME ST. FRANCIS. |
| Exhibition history |
1969 Christchurch: The 69 Group Show, CSA Gallery, Christchurch, 15-29 November 1969, cat. no. 75, $1,000. 1972 Auckland: Colin McCahon/a survey exhibition, Auckland City Art Gallery, Auckland, 7 March-21 April 1972, cat. no. 67. 1988 Auckland: Colin McCahon: Gates and Journeys, Auckland City Art Gallery, 11 November 1988-26 February 1989, cat. no. N5. 2002 Amsterdam: Colin McCahon: A Question of Faith, Stedelijk Museum, 30 August-10 November 2002. |
| Notes | The main text is from chapter 21 of Matire Kereama's The Tail of the Fish: Maori Memories of the Far North (Oswald-Sealy, Auckland, 1968), while the last line is from Peter Hooper's poem of the same name. |