Media Advisory
Tuesday 7 February 2017

The Māori Portraits: Gottfried Lindauer’s New Zealand closes next weekend

“The special exhibition of Lindauer portraits of Māori chieftains was fascinating. Get there while it's still on as there's nothing like it in the world.”
– TripAdvisor comment

Gottfried Lindauer, Maoris Plaiting Flax Baskets 1903, oil on canvas, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of Mr H E Partridge, 1915

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki’s celebrated exhibition The Māori Portraits: Gottfried Lindauer’s New Zealand closes next Sunday 19 February.

With more than 81,000 visitors to date, the free exhibition is set to be one of the most highly visited since the Gallery reopened its doors in 2011.

Gallery Director Rhana Devenport says she expects The Māori Portraits to be recorded as one of Auckland Art Gallery’s most memorable exhibitions.

‘If there is one exhibition New Zealanders should visit right now, this is it. It is highly unlikely this many of Lindauer’s portraits will be seen together again in our lifetime,’ she says.

The final two weekends of the exhibition include additional programmes and events to enrich the visitor experience.

Guided exhibition tours: 12.30pm and 2.30pm daily – $10 bookable on the day

Saturday 11 February

11am to 4pm – New Zealand tā moko artist Rangi Kipa will demonstrate the art of tā moko (Māori tattoo). Rangi will also discuss tā moko featuring in Lindauer’s portraits.

12pm and 2pm – Descendant Kahu O Te Rangi Ropata will talk about ancestor Wi Parata Kakakura who was depicted by Lindauer and is seen in the exhibition.

Sunday 12 February

11am to 4pm – New Zealand tā moko artist Rangi Kipa will demonstrate the art of tā moko (Māori tattoo). Rangi will also discuss tā moko featuring in Lindauer’s portraits.

12pm and 2pm – Talk from descendant Kahu O Te Rangi Ropata about ancestor Wi Parata Kakakura who was depicted by Lindauer and exhibited in the exhibition.

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Sunday 19 February (closing day)

12pm and 2pm – Descendants John McEnteer and Peter Calvert tell stories of their ancestor and famous Lindauer portrait subject Pare Watene.

1pm – Nigel Borell, Curator, Māori Art holds the final tour of the exhibition

3pm – Researching your whakapapa with Robyn Williams. The New Zealand Society of Genealogists President advises on how to research your family history

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Visitor quotes (Facebook and TripAdvisor comments)

“Absolutely loved this exhibition. Just beautiful. So many portraits of fine Māori men and women with strength, dignity, and mana.”

“The Māori portraits were absolutely fantastic. Such a prolific and talented artist. I highly recommend this exhibition.”

“I will never forget this collection of Maori portraits lovingly done by Gottfried Lindauer who not only gave detailed dignity to the chiefs but also a historical snapshot of a mighty people.”

(ends)

Exhibition details:

The Māori Portraits: Gottfried Lindauer’s New Zealand

When: Closes Sunday 19 February 2017
Open 10am to 5pm daily
Where: Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
Corner Kitchener and Wellesley Streets
Auckland, New Zealand
Admission: Free

Notes to Editor:

Accompanying book: Gottfried Lindauer’s New Zealand: The Māori Portraits

A 300-page book, Gottfried Lindauer’s New Zealand: The Māori Portraits, was co-published by Auckland University Press and Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. Edited by Ngahiraka Mason and Dr Zara Stanhope.

This definitive book presents 67 major portraits and eight genre paintings alongside detailed accounts of the people and their lives, with essays by leading scholars that take us inside the world of Lindauer: from his artistic training in Bohemia to his travels around New Zealand as Māori and Pākehā commissioned him to paint portraits; his artistic techniques and deep relationship with photography; Henry Partridge’s gallery on Auckland’s Queen Street where Māori visited to see their ancestors; and the importance of the paintings in marae and memory.

RRP $75.00

About Gottfried Lindauer

Gottfried Lindauer (1839–1926) was the most prolific and best-known painter of Māori subjects, in particular portraits, in the late 19th to early 20th centuries.

He was born in Pilsen, Bohemia, now known as Czech Republic.

Professionally trained at the Academy Fine Arts in Vienna, he migrated to New Zealand in 1874. Lindauer's first portraits of Māori were painted in Nelson. He worked in many parts of NZ before establishing a studio in Auckland in the late-1870s where he met businessman, Henry Partridge (1848–1931), who over the next 30-plus years commissioned from Lindauer numerous portraits of eminent Māori as well as large-scale depictions of traditional Māori life and customs. Partridge’s commission project aimed to create a pictorial history of Māori at a time when society was rapidly changing.

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