Keith Levy (born 1945, Wellington) produced images of reduced natural landscapes using etching, screen printing and painting in oils and acrylic, in the 1970s and 80s. Having had a career in advertising and marketing he went on to sail around New Zealand and the Pacific, then in 2001 became, in his own words, a “land gypsy” in a house bus named The Flying Tortoise. He has produced humorous greeting cards, published a book called ‘How to Live Well on a Small Income’ and written a story for film. From 2009-2015 Levy was a regular blogger giving a satirical social commentary on life in New Zealand before deciding to take a step back and focus on performing spoken word and rhyme accompanied by guitar.

These two artworks were purchased by the Mayor at the time, Sir Michael Fowler (in office 1974-83). Mayor Fowler officially opened an exhibition at Antipodes Gallery, where these works were on show, in the basement of the Hope Gibbons Building, on the corner of Dixon and Taranaki Streets.

Since 1882 the Wellington City Council has been acquiring artworks on behalf of the citizens of Wellington. There are many ways artworks have been added to the official City Art Collection. Since the 1990s a panel of experts have been guiding and suggesting which artworks should be purchased or accepted into the City Art Collection. This guidance is to curate a collection of art which is meaningful and specific to Wellington, telling our stories and supporting our local artists.