Award-winning artist Robert McLeod has sold his Wellington villa to a young family who fell in love with property’s bold colour scheme.
The four-bedroom house at Pirie Street, in Mount Victoria, got more than the asking price $1.795 million.
It has been home to McLeod and his educator wife Robyn for more than 40 years, and has given birth to twisted cartoons, distorted heads and piercing social commentary.
McLeod’s studio is at the centre of the home but his colourful imagination can be seen at work on every wall of the house.
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The doors and window frames are hot pink, artworks fill every available space, sometimes creeping up from the floor, and each room is painted a different colour, from mustard yellow in the kitchen to burnt orange in the bedroom.
“Rob put colour together in his paintings and he’s done the same in the house, slightly tempered by me,” Robyn told OneRoof when the house hit the market for sale last month. She said the couple were selling up to move to Auckland.
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Listing agent Amy Allen, from Lowe & Co, said the villa had been popular with buyers, attracting 40 groups through the open homes and numerous offers.
“A young family have bought it. They’re creatives and really loved the studio,” Allen told OneRoof. “They wouldn’t change anything. They loved how it presented, the colours throughout.”
“They’re really excited about moving in, and the owners are really happy about a family taking over.”
Allen said she was unable to disclose the exact sale price but confirmed it was more than the asking price.
Robert McLeod's artworks can be found throughout the house, sometimes emerging from the floor. Photo / Supplied
McLeod's studio is the beating heart of the house. Photo / Supplied
Robyn told OneRoof last month she bought the former boarding house in the early 1980s. “It was a very run-down and unloved [house],” she told OneRoof. The renovation over the following eight years was a massive undertaking. “In the ’50s they were very keen on concrete, and we had to dig up every piece of the ground.”
When Robyn got together with Robert and the latter moved in, the couple set about extending the home to cater for his art and her children’s growing needs. They built a studio at the back and then added a new level to house the master bedroom and bathroom.
Robyn said architect David McGill, who designed the second storey, did an excellent job. “I keep wanting to see David because I want to say how grateful I am, because of course being an architect, he fussed over everything, including the wood used. So, we were never caught up in any scare about the wrong materials because David was so professional.”
Robert McLeod is one of New Zealand’s most prolific and vigorous artists. He grew up in Glasgow where he studied art in the 1960s, and his form of expressionism is derived from a fascination with the physical properties of paint. His awards include the 2004 Jury Prize, Wallace Art Awards, 1998 Lillian Ida-Smith Award for Painting, QEII Arts Council Grants in 1977 and 1981, and in 2016 he won the prestigious Molly Morpeth Canaday Award from Craig Investment Partners.
The historic cottage on Levina Avenue, in Aro Valley, Wellington, sits on one of New Zealand's shortest streets. Photo / Supplied
The cottage faces west and makes the most of the afternoon sun. Photo / Supplied
The Pirie Street deal follows the sale of another fantastical Wellington home, a historic cottage on Levina Avenue, in Aro Valley. The former rental property was the birthplace of the out-there ArOlympics and the suburb’s bid to host the 2078 Olympics.
The house was occupied for seven years by illustrator Stephen Templer, who is known for his wall art and his friendship with Flight of the Conchords star Jemaine Clement, with whom he collaborates on the comedy podcast The Mysterious Secrets of Uncle Bertie’s Botanarium.
It has been bought by a couple in the fitness industry who liked its location and proximity to the motorway, Lowe & Co listing agent Elise Boulieris told OneRoof.
The sale price was below the property’s RV of $1.42m.
“The buyers had been looking for some while. They’re very excited about making Aro Valley their community and immersing themselves in amongst all the great things we highlighted at the beginning of the campaign,” Boulieris said.
“Given their line of work, they are in the fitness industry it would make them good candidates for the [ArOlympics].”
Boulieris said the Wellington property market was in need of more listings, but in the meantime the lack of supply was good for vendors.
“We haven’t seen the typical spring stock levels that we would normally see at this time of year,” she said. “And that’s creating a window of opportunity for our current vendors.
“It’s Economics 101. Supply and demand. There’s a lot of cash buyers around at the moment and we have this window of opportunity.”
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