Paora Tuhaere

Gottfried Lindauer was born in Pilsen, Bohemia, and studied portrait painting at the Academy in Vienna from 1855 until 1861. He moved to Germany in 1873 but was eager to avoid compulsory military service; portrait commissions had been in decline since the introduction of photography so Lindauer decided to try his luck abroad. He sailed from Hamburg aboard the Reichstag and in August 1874 arrived in New Zealand, where he quickly developed a reputation as a portraitist, receiving commissions from prominent Mäori and colonial settlers alike. Friendships with photographer Samuel Carnell and ornithologist Walter Buller led to some important commissions and a dozen works from the Buller collection were exhibited at the 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London. Paora Tühaere was the nephew of the rangatira Apihai Te Kawau, an esteemed leader of Ngäti Whätua. He and his wife Harata Rewiri Tarapata lived at Öräkei, on the shores of Ökahu Bay. In portraits commissioned by Mäori clients the sitter is almost always shown in European clothing, whereas those painted for Päkehä patrons such as Buller usually featured traditional Mäori attire. (from The Guide, 2001)

To find out which artworks are available for print requests and reproduction please enquire here. This service only applies to select artworks in the Gallery's collection.