The Queenstown home and studio of internationally renowned landscape artist Tim Wilson is on the market for sale, three-and-a-half years after he died.
He and his husband Vaj Ekanayake built the home in 2017, but Ekanayake told OneRoof it was finally time to let go of their four-bedroom house on 27 Edinburgh Hill Drive, in Queenstown Hill.
“I’ve got a plan for what I’m going to do for Tim’s legacy. I don’t know where I’m going to go next. But Tim said ‘if you can’t live here, make sure you go wherever you want to go and you live happily’.”
Wilson’s work was collected by buyers from all over the world. He made headlines in 2016 when an Abu Dhabi prince paid $575,000 for a piece of his art – a record price paid for a painting by a living New Zealand artist.
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While the identities of many of his buyers were confidential, people like Shania Twain, Robert Kennedy Jnr (son of Bobby Kennedy and nephew of JFK), and wealthy Americans collected his work, and Wilson travelled all over the world to paint and sell his work.
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His luminous landscapes consistently sold for over $100,000 to $200,000, with a healthy resale market too.
The couple had moved to Queenstown from their Saint Marys Bay home in Auckland in 2009 to be close to the mountains and the South Island landscape Wilson loved, opening a gallery in town that drew in the wealthy holidaymakers.
Buying the land was a stroke of luck for the couple, as Ekanayake said Wilson had wanted to live in the country while he was a city boy. Queenstown Hill was a compromise, but the views on their daily commute to the gallery gave them both what they needed. The 1058sqm section also abuts a native reserve, extending their views beyond their own section.
The Queenstown Hill property was the home of renowned Kiwi artist Tim Wilson and his husband Vaj Ekanayake. Photo / Supplied
Wilson at work. The artist and gallery owner died in 2020. Photo / Supplied
The couple had always admired the timeless architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. They briefed architect Jeremy Kingan after seeing his work for the Jack’s Point clubhouse, knowing he could achieve the timeless look they were after.
The house features double-height windows, kauri ceilings and oak and parquet floors, gold leaf designs on the stairwell and, on the exterior, Oamaru stone cut to match the dimensions of one of Wilson’s famous paintings. Naturally, for the man known as the ‘master of light’, light is important, from the translucent glass floor on the walkway to the studio to the skylights he designed in a style reminiscent of the 1920s.
The kitchen, designed for the couple’s legendary entertaining, features a Falcon cooker, European appliances and a spacious pantry.
The house was planned to be a showcase for Wilson’s art with his lower floor studio, designed with visitors in mind. Ekanayake said it was his favourite place, where he would sit with the artist, often helping as his “brush boy”.
The property was inspired by the work of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and highlighted Wilson's connection to nature. Photo / Supplied
The building materials, from the kauri used in the ceilings to the French oak in the floor boards, were hand-picked by Wilson and Ekanayake. Photo / Supplied
Wilson’s unfinished pieces are still hanging in the studio – unfinished. Right up until his death, Wilson was working on seven or eight pieces at once – although collectors are still asking to buy the unfinished works.
“You know every single piece of artwork, I have seen blank canvas become a beautiful piece of art,” Ekanayake said.
“I want to show Tim’s work in a different way. And we have our own art collection, so we designed the walls so the artworks aren’t affected by the sun.”
Ekanayake said crafting the house took nearly four years, a slow process due to Wilson’s meticulous eye for detail, getting materials and craftspeople from Auckland if needed. Budgets flew out the window.
“I worked with the budget, but Tim didn’t have a budget. I said ‘okay darling, I know you’re doing it for us’, as a legacy. He was an amazing, amazing man.”
Detail was everything in the three-level house, which has lake and mountain views from nearly every room.
“Every single window, Tim wanted to be like one of his paintings, he thought of someone looking through the beautiful landscape,” Ekanayake said.
The property has an RV of $5.23m and sits on 1058sqm of land. Photo / Supplied
“My Queenstown life, my journey is, is very different without him. You know, we build everything together, we lived together and without him, my house is empty for me, it’s just a shadow,” he said.
Agent Hamish Walker, of Walker and Co, who is marketing the property, said it was a once-in-a-lifetime find.
He would not comment on the likely price the home will fetch at the deadline sale closing February 15, but said buyer feedback in the first week of marketing has been around $10 million. It has an RV of $5.23m.
“It’s a prime position on Queenstown Hill with 270-degree views that span from the Gondola to The Remarkables. It’s mostly Australians who are interested in the design and its remarkable positioning.
“With the landscape framed up perfectly through the windows, when you’re in there it has a remarkable presence, it’s a calming place,” he said.
“It’s very inspiring visiting the home which has seen some of the most incredible art created I’ve ever seen.”
- 27 Edinburgh Drive, Queenstown Hill, Queenstown is for sale by deadline closing February 15
