This portrait was acquired by the New Zealand Academy of Fine
Arts sometime before 1936, the year it was donated to the newly
opened National Art Gallery. The identity of the sitter is unknown.
However, as Leonard Bell noted in his book The Maori in
European Art, 'She is handsome and assured, with a
straightforward, no nonsense look. She could not be
mistaken for a museum record of a member of an allegedly dying
race, the relic of a past age.'
Dougal Austin, Curator Māori and William McAloon, Curator
Historical New Zealand Art, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa
Tongarewa
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