Ecce Libri

Colin McCahon: There is Only One
Direction, Vol. I 1919–1959

by Peter Simpson

Auckland University Press, Auckland 2019

McCahon Country by Justin Paton

Penguin Books, Auckland 2019

On the centenary of Colin McCahon’s birth it is fitting that two new books on his life and work have been published. Both are substantial, and indeed Peter Simpson’s is monumental and will run to not one but two large volumes. These together will give total coverage of McCahon’s career. The first discusses the years from 1919 to 1959; the second, not yet published, will complete the coverage until his death in 1987. Simpson’s manuscript was originally written as one work and Colin McCahon: There is Only should be seen in this light. Both Paton and Simpson’s books are large format and generously illustrated with some of the best plates of his works yet available. Both are written by authors with established credentials, though neither knew McCahon personally as did Gordon Brown, his friend and author of (1984), which had input from McCahon himself. Brown’s monograph has long been out of print and there has been a need for a new comprehensive introduction to the painter and his works.