Gottfried Lindauer and Henry Partridge: A Timeline

Explore the major events in the lives of Gottfried Lindauer and his patron Henry Partridge, and the development of the Partridge Collection.

5 January 1839 - Gottfried Lindauer is born at Pilsen (Plzeň), Bohemia. He is the son of Hynek-Ignác (or Ignatz) Lindauer, a gardener, and his wife, Maria Schmid.1

17 June 1848 - Henry Edward Partridge is born to Charles Partridge and Mary-Ann Seagrave at Somers Town, London.2

Gottfried
LindauerFig. 1 Gottfried Lindauer, Self-portrait. Private Collection. Image courtesy of Lindauer Replica Studio, Woodville.

1855 - Lindauer travels to Vienna to study painting at the Academy under Léopold Kupelwieser and Josef von Führich.3

1858 - Partridge enters the workforce in London at the age of 10. He works for Epp's Cocoa Factory for ten hours a day, six days a week.4

1861 - Partridge joins the Navy at around 13 years of age and works on a number of ships, travelling to Nova Scotia, the West Indies and the Gulf of Mexico. Partridge is hurt during a voyage and the injury prohibits him from continuing naval service.5

1861 - Lindauer joins the studio of Carl Hemerlein, a fashionable portrait painter.6

1863 - 64 - Lindauer is commissioned to paint murals for two churches in Moravia.

1864 - Lindauer establishes his own studio in Pilsen under the patronage of a physician, and specialises in portraits of the local gentry.7

1866 - Partridge finds himself stuck in China after having joined the crew of a merchant ship involved with the tea trade. Here Partridge meets sailors who tell him of the gold rush in Australia. He then takes a three-month voyage, arriving in Sydney in October 1866.8   

Henry Edward
PartridgeFig. 2 Unknown. Henry Edward Partridge c. 1899. Image kindly supplied by Bruce W. Graham.

1867 - Having been told about the gold fields in Buller and Otago, Partridge travels to New Zealand on the Tainoni, arriving at Hokitika in early 1867.9 Two of his siblings, Jesse Adelaide and Arthur, later follow him to New Zealand.10

1870  - Partridge settles in Moanataiari Creek, Thames and this is where his acquaintance begins with James Mackay, Government Agent in the Waikato.11 Partridge accompanies Mackay to Māori villages to meet important rangatira (chiefs).

2 Aug 1870  -  Partridge marries Miriam Antoinette Odlum.12 Miriam's brother then in turn marries Partridge's sister, Jessie. Although a further two children (Ethel Alice and Horace Louis) die in infancy, Henry and Miriam raise seven children, who are named Lillian Jessie Katherine, Miriam Lena, Henry Harold, Myra Lindauer, Mary, Eileen Lois and Colleen Jean Conradine Mary.13

1873 - Henry Partridge moves his family from Thames and starts a business in Auckland.14

6 August 1874 - Gottfried Lindauer arrives in Wellington on the Reichstag.15

c. 187416 - Lindauer comes to Auckland and meets Henry Partridge. Soon after, Partridge begins commissioning portraits of well-known Māori from Lindauer.

1874 - Earliest production date of Lindauer paintings in the Partridge Collection. These are Eruera Maihi Patuone (1915/2/24), Huria Matenga Ngarongoa (1915/2/15), Taraia Ngakuti Te Tumuhuia (1915/2/41), and Te Hira Te Kawau (1915/2/69).

1877 - Lindauer holds an exhibition in Wellington which draws interest and leads to prominent Māori chiefs commissioning their portraits from him.17

1879 - Lindauer is married in Melbourne, Australia, to Emelia Wipper of Danzig, Germany.  She dies in Christchurch on 24 February 1880.18

15 September 1885 - Lindauer is married at Napier, New Zealand, to Rebecca Petty, of Bishop Stortford, England.19 They have two sons, Hector and Victor.20

1886 - Walter Buller commissions the New Zealand section at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London. As a major patron of Lindauer's, he includes 12 of his paintings in the exhibition.21 The display of these works was to 'illustrate fully the history, art, manners, and customs of the Maori race'.22  One of these paintings, Poi Girl, is presented to the Prince of Wales23 after he had admired it.24

1888 -  The Partridge family have several changes of residence within Auckland until settling in a house at 50 Grafton Road25 in Grafton, overlooking the Auckland Domain,26 where Partridge remains for the rest of his life.27 The Partridge Collection was initially displayed at this residence, possibly in the basement level,28 which was used as a workshop for Partridge.29

1889 -  Lindauer settles in Woodville, Hawkes Bay at a section on Pinfold Road. He remains at this property for the rest of his life.30

1898 - A number of Partridge's collection of Lindauer's paintings 'formed a notable feature' of the Art Gallery in the Auckland Industrial and Mining Exhibition.31 The first film shot in New Zealand shows at the opening of this exhibition on December 1, made by New Zealand's first filmmaker, Alfred Whitehouse.32

1900 - Lindauer is estimated to have painted 50 portraits of Māori for Partridge by this date. The Collection was described as Partridge making 'a hobby of forming a portrait gallery of celebrated Maoris'.33

1901 - The Partridge Collection goes on display at the Lindauer Art Gallery, on the floor above34 Partridge's business premises35 at 204 Queen Street, Auckland. The collection is  exhibited free of charge.36

1901 - Publication of James Cowan's Maori Biographies: Sketches of Old New Zealand : Descriptive Catalogue of Maori portraits Painted by Herr G. Lindauer, printed for Henry Partridge.

1903 - Lindauer is described in a newspaper as dividing his 'devotion between painting and la petite culture'.37 This is likely referring to his personal landscaping activities and his raising of poultry on his land in Woodville.38

March 1904 - Partridge is approached to lend the New Zealand Government several Lindauer paintings for display at the St. Louis World's Fair in Missouri, USA (April 30th - December 1st, 1904). Ten paintings are eventually sent for display. They are shown in the Department of Forestry and Game, and the Palace of Agriculture.39

1904 - British-born sculptor Allan Hutchinson, while at the St. Louis World's Fair, completes a bust of Gottfried Lindauer, commissioned by Partridge. Hutchinson had lived in New Zealand between October 1899 and February 1902 and Partridge had commissioned the bust during this time.40 Some 'very fine casts of Maori types' by Hutchinson were also displayed in Partridge's Lindauer Art Gallery on Queen Street around 1901.41 Hutchinson's bust of Lindauer is now held at the Auckland Art Gallery (U/30/2).

February 1906 - Partridge offers the Partridge Collection to the New Zealand Government to purchase for ₤10,000. It refuses the offer. Partridge states that his motivation for sale is because the lease on his business premise in Queen Street expires at the end of 1908.42

April 1906 - Henry Partridge is informed that he has been awarded a 'Gold Medal for Paintings of Maori Types' from the International Jury of Awards at the Universal Exposition (World's Fair) of St. Louis, 1904.43

December 1912 - After reading in a newspaper of Partridge's intention to close the Lindauer Art Gallery due to lack of space, C. J. Parr, the Mayor of Auckland, contacts Partridge to suggest that the Collection should be loaned to the Auckland City Council for display in the Auckland Art Gallery.44 Parr contacts Partridge at the suggestion of Thomson W. Leys.45

Early 1913 - Partridge loans his collection to the Auckland Art Gallery. He agrees to pay for the cost of the move, insurance, and not to hold Council liable for any damage while at the Gallery.46

1914 - Henry Partridge's desire to help the Belgian refugees of World War I begins when he, his wife Miriam, and two of their daughters47, Miriam Lena and Eileen, travel in 1914 to Switzerland where Eileen has an operation. In July, as the political situation in Europe deteriorates, Eileen is not well enough to travel, and in August, the family are marooned in Berne upon the declaration of war. The Partridge family eventually reach England, and later travel back home to New Zealand, arriving in Auckland in early 1915. During that difficult journey, Partridge witnesses the mass fleeing of Belgians who are escaping the advancing Germans. Upon his return, Partridge discovers an appeal has already been launched in Auckland to fundraise for Belgian refugees.48 Thus, he offers to donate the Partridge Collection to the City of Auckland, if £10,000 could be raised for the Lindauer Fund of the Auckland Belgium Relief Fund. 

3 April 1915 - Lindauer Fund is inaugurated by the inclusion in the daily newspapers49 of a large two page, double-sided appeal asking the public 'Will you show in a practical manner your appreciation of the donor's generosity? Will you help the Belgians? Will you help to secure the pictures for Auckland?'50

22 May 1915 - Lindauer Fund is closed on or about this day after £10,000 is raised.51

1915 - The Partridge Collection is accessioned into the Auckland Art Gallery's collection.

1918-1920 - Lindauer's eyesight deteriorates and he ceases to paint.52

1920 - Partridge retires at the age of 72.53

13 June 1926 - Lindauer dies at Woodville.54

1930 - Publication by Whitcombe and Tombs of James Cowan's book Pictures of Old New Zealand: The Partridge Collection of Maori Paintings.

12 September 1931 - Partridge dies at his home in Grafton, and is buried in Purewa Cemetery in Meadowbank, Auckland.55

1965 - J.C. Graham's book Maori Paintings; Pictures from the Partridge Collection of Paintings is published. Graham, known as Jock, is Partridge's grandson, the child of Myra Lindauer Graham.

1953 - After the radio broadcast of an episode of Superman in which a character is ordered to damage pictures of 'non-white people', seven Māori portraits at the Auckland Art Gallery are pierced through the eye and another is slashed.56

1987 - The Partridge Collection is shown and a new visitors' book is made available during the exhibition Te Maori Te Hokinga Mai: The Return Home.

1997 - The Partridge Collection is shown in its entirety and a dedicated visitors' book is made available at the Auckland Art Gallery's Goldie exhibition.

2010 - Whakamīharo Lindauer Online is launched, featuring the Māori portraits of Gottfried Lindauer and the Visitors' Book recording the  comments of visitors to the Partridge Collection from 1901-1918.

  1. Leonard Bell, 'Lindauer, Gottfried 1839 - 1926', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007,
  2. Conversation with Partridge descendant and lay genealogist, Bruce W. Graham, 11 March 2009.
  3. Leonard Bell, 'Lindauer, Gottfried 1839 - 1926', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007,
  4. Eileen Clayton, Grompy: The Story of a Pioneer (Eileen Clayton, 1959), p 8.
  5. Clayton, Grompy, p 8.
  6. Leonard Bell, 'Lindauer, Gottfried 1839 - 1926', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007,
  7. Leonard Bell, 'Lindauer, Gottfried 1839 - 1926', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007,
  8. Clayton, Grompy, p 10.
  9. Clayton, Grompy, p 10.
  10. Conversation with Partridge descendant and lay genealogist, Bruce W. Graham, 11 March 2009.
  11. Clayton, Grompy, p 18.
  12. Email from Partridge descendant, John Moore, 18 March 2009.
  13. Conversation with Partridge descendant and lay genealogist, Bruce W. Graham, 11 March 2009.
  14. Clayton, Grompy, p 13.
  15. Leonard Bell, 'Lindauer, Gottfried 1839 - 1926', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007,
  16. Leonard Bell, 'Lindauer, Gottfried 1839 - 1926', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007,
  17. 'LINDAUER, Gottfried or Bohumir', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 23 April 2009
  18. 'LINDAUER, Gottfried or Bohumir', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 23 April 2009
  19. 'LINDAUER, Gottfried or Bohumir', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 23 April 2009
  20. Leonard Bell, 'Lindauer, Gottfried 1839 - 1926', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007
  21. Leonard Bell, 'Lindauer, Gottfried 1839 - 1926', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007,
  22. ‘The Maori Court at South Kensington’, Tuapeka Times, issue 1297, 3 November 1886, p 5, Papers Past
  23. 'LINDAUER, Gottfried or Bohumir', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 23 April 2009,
  24. ‘The Lindauer Collection: The old-time Maori’, New Zealand Herald, 1 April 1915, in Lindauer Collection : Newscuttings relating to the Lindauer Collection of Maori Paintings in the Possession of the Auckland Art Gallery, p 7.
  25. Conversation with Partridge descendant and lay genealogist, Bruce W. Graham, 11 March 2009.
  26. Clayton, Grompy, p 20.
  27. Clayton, Grompy, p 35.
  28. Conversation with Partridge descendant and lay genealogist, Bruce W. Graham, 11 March 2009.
  29. Clayton, Grompy, p 24. Eileen Clayton, Partridge’s daughter, only states that ‘for many years the pictures were housed at the large family residence’.
  30. 'LINDAUER, Gottfried or Bohumir', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 23 April 2009
  31. ‘All Sorts of People’, New Zealand Free Lance, vol I, issue 26, 29 December 1900, p 3, Papers Past
  32. ‘The First Picture Show: New Zealand History Gets Moving’, The Film Archive
  33. ‘All Sorts of People’, New Zealand Free Lance, vol I, issue 26, 29 December 1900, p 3, Papers Past
  34. Leonard Bell, 'Lindauer, Gottfried 1839 - 1926', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007
  35. Partridge Correspondence, E.H. McCormick Research Library, Auckland Art Gallery, RC2009/2/45.
  36. Clayton, Grompy, p 19.
  37. Observer, vol XXIV, issue 3, 3 October 1903, p 4. Papers Past
  38. See Notebook part of Lindauer Family: Papers relating to Gottfried Lindauer (MS-Group-0090), Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington
  39. New Zealand Government Catalogue of Exhibits at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition 1904’, copy in Gottfried Lindauer artist files at E.H. McCormick Research Library, Auckland Art Gallery.
  40. Elizabeth C. MacPhail, ‘Allen Hutchinson, British Sculptor (1855-1929): An Artist's Career: From England, Hawaii and the South Pacific to San Diego, Calif.’, The Journal of San Diego History, vol 19, no 2, Spring 1973
  41. ‘Maori Portrait Gallery; The Lindauer Collection’, The Auckland Star, 2 September 1901. Transcription of article in Gottfried Lindauer artist files at E.H. McCormick Research Library, Auckland Art Gallery.
  42. Partridge Correspondence, E.H. McCormick Research Library, Auckland Art Gallery, RC2009/2/45.
  43. Partridge Correspondence, E.H. McCormick Research Library, Auckland Art Gallery, RC2009/2/38.
  44. Partridge Correspondence, E.H. McCormick Research Library, Auckland Art Gallery, RC2009/2/50.
  45. ‘The Lindauer Collection: Priceless Historical Record’, The Auckland Star, 30 March 1915, in Lindauer Collection : Newscuttings relating to the Lindauer Collection of Maori Paintings in the Possession of the Auckland Art Gallery, p 6.
  46. Partridge Correspondence, E.H. McCormick Research Library, Auckland Art Gallery, RC2009/2/51.
  47. Referred to as ‘the Aunts – Lena and Eila’ in Eileen Clayton, Grompy: the Story of a Pioneer (Eileen Clayton, 1959), p 19.
  48. Clayton, Grompy, p 19.
  49. New Zealand Herald and Daily Southern Cross, 3 April 1915, in Lindauer Collection : Newscuttings relating to the Lindauer Collection of Maori Paintings in the Possession of the Auckland Art Gallery, p 9.
  50. ‘From the Appeal’, in Lindauer Collection : Newscuttings relating to the Lindauer Collection of Maori Paintings in the Possession of the Auckland Art Gallery, [frontispiece].
  51. The Auckland Star, 22 May 1915, in Lindauer Collection : Newscuttings relating to the Lindauer Collection of Maori Paintings in the Possession of the Auckland Art Gallery, p 50-51.
  52. Lindauer, Gottfried, Dictionary of New Zealand Biography article written by Leonard Bell
  53. Clayton, Grompy, p 15.
  54. Lindauer, Gottfried, Dictionary of New Zealand Biography article written by Leonard Bell
  55. Conversation with Partridge descendant and lay genealogist, Bruce W. Graham, 11 March 2009.
  56. Jim and Mary Barr, When Art Hits the Headlines: a Survey of Controversial Art in New Zealand (Wellington: National Art Gallery, 1987), p 21.
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