Hamish Keith

In the early 1990s Keith became embroiled in a public dispute about his role in the National Art Gallery of New Zealand's controversial purchase of two paintings by Charles Goldie.Willing to stand up publicly for his opinions, Keith has played a significant role in the artistic life of New Zealand since the late 1950s.Keith was both a member of the board that set up the Museum of New Zealand and was also on its interim board[1] He has, however, been a consistent critic of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, referring to it as a "theme park", the "cultural equivalent to a fast-food outlet" and "not even a de facto national gallery"[2] but seems to have moderated his opinion more recently when making a case for exhibition space on the Auckland waterfront.Keith has been a regular radio and television broadcaster and worked on the pioneer arts program Review as reporter and director.In 1982, with Bruce Morrison, he made Profiles, a series of six half-hour documentaries on contemporary New Zealand artists Tony Fomison, Richard Killeen, Neil Dawson, Greer Twiss, Philip Clairmont and Jeffrey Harris.In 1976 he persuaded the Muldoon government to present the major Colin McCahon painting Victory over Death to the newly opened National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.