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In Wellington in the 1940s and 1950s, the centres of left-wing and modernist culture and discussion were Unity Theatre, Modern Books and the French Maid Coffee Bar on the corner of Willis Street and Lambton Quay. The coffee bar was run by Dick Singleton and exhibited works by New Zealand artists, including Colin McCahon. Rona Bailey remembered it as attracting 'a real circle of left, arts people, painters and such like drifting in and out'.
Using this item
Alexander Turnbull Library, Arthur Singleton Papers
Reference: MS-Papers-1977-01
by Leo Morel
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.