Members lecture series | Lindauer’s legacy: 100 years on | Kotahi rau tau | Lecture 1
Event detail
Join in celebrating the legacy of Gottfried Lindauer 100 years after his death with three fascinating lectures about one of the most prolific portrait painters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Aotearoa New Zealand.
This lecture series is open to Members only. Become a Gallery Member today to enjoy this event and many more benefits.
Lecture 1 – Gottfried Lindauer: The man and the myth
Gottfried Lindauer (1839–1926) is increasingly well-known for his portraits of Māori, but many myths about his life’s work persist. His portraits of Pākehā are often considered rare and his photographic practice is entirely unknown. There is speculation that he used photography as the source of his paintings, while other people maintain he painted from life. Drawing on new research into the Gallery’s collection Jane Davidson-Ladd will address these myths offering a deeper understanding of Lindauer’s legacy 100 years after his death.
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Kauhau #1 | Gottfried Lindauer: Te tangata, te iho pūmanawa
E mōhiotia whānuitia ana a Gottfried Lindauer (1839-1926) mō āna whakaahua peita o te Māori, heoi, he nui tonu ngā kōrero tipatipa e pā ana ki tāna mahi. He puiaki āna whakaahua o te Pākehā, ā, ko tāna mahi hopu whakaahua kāore rawa e mōhiotia ana. E kī ana ētahi, i whakamahi ia i ngā whakaahua hei tauira mō āna peita, heoi ki ētahi atu, i peita tūturu ia i te tangata. Ka aro atu a Jane Davidson-Ladd ki ēnei kōrero, me ngā rangahau hou o te kohinga o Toi o Tāmaki hei taunaki, kia whai māramatanga mō ngā taonga tuku iho o Lindauer 100 tau i muri mai i tana matenga.
About the artist
Gottfried Lindauer was born in Pilsen, Czech Republic, and professionally trained at the Academy Fine Arts in Vienna. In 1874 he migrated to Aotearoa New Zealand. Lindauer's first portraits of Māori were painted in Nelson though he worked in many parts of New Zealand before establishing a studio in Auckland in the late-1870s. Here he met businessman Henry Partridge (1848–1931), who over the next 30-plus years commissioned portraits of eminent Māori as well as large-scale depictions of Māori life and customs.
Other Members lectures in this series
This event is part of a series of lectures for Members celebrating Lindauer's legacy, 100 years on.
Lecture 2: Saturday 11 July
Identifying Lindauer: The authentic and the fake
10:30am to 11:30am
Discover how side-by-side analysis of authentic and disputed works is revealing the signature techniques that help confirm Lindauer’s hand and uncover possible forgeries.
Lecture 3: Saturday 8 August
Māori representation in the work of Gottfried Lindauer
10:30am to 11:30am
Kaitiaki Matua, Toi Māori | Senior Curator, Māori Art, Nathan Pōhio explores Māori representation through the whare tūpuna and its connection to Gottfried Lindauer’s portraits of Māori.
About the speaker
Dr Jane Davidson-Ladd is curator of historical New Zealand art. She worked at the Gallery from 2002 to 2012, returning in 2023. In the intervening period she completed a PhD on Louis John Steele. Passionate about New Zealand’s art of the long 19th century, Jane wants to challenge the orthodox modernist view of it to acknowledge the complex bicultural and transnational world colonial artists operated in, and the entangled histories that resulted.
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Ko Dr Jane Davidson-Ladd te kaitiaki o ngā mahi toi tawhito o Aotearoa. I mahi ia ki Toi o Tāmaki mai i te tau 2002 ki te tau 2012, ā, i hoki mai anō i te tau 2023. I ngā tau o waenga, i whakaoti i tana tohu kairangi mō Louis John Steel. E ngākaunui ana a Jane ki ngā mahi toi o Aotearoa nō te rautau 19, ā, he hiahia nōna kia pātaihia ngā tirohanga o nāianei e kite ai ngā āhuatanga whīwhiwhi, kākano rua hoki o te ao o ngā ringatoi tātāmi, me ngā hītori i hua mai.
More events from Lindauer’s legacy: 100 years on
11 Jul 2026
Members $15
8 Aug 2026
Members free
13 Jun 2026
Free