John Bevan Ford was one of New Zealand's pioneers in contemporary Maori Art. His paintings and sculptures achieved wide recognition with major sculptures in the International Sculpture Parks of Beijing, Changchun in China, paintings and sculptures in museum collections in London, Edinburgh, Berlin, Amsterdam, Leiden and Stuttgart. He is represented in the collections of the Museum of New Zealand, Auckland City Art Gallery, Robert McDougall Art Gallery (Christchurch Art Gallery), regional art galleries and museums, Fletcher Art Trust, Rutherford Trust, Government House, Securities Commission as well as many other corporate and private collections.