Fixed Lindauer back on display
A colonial taonga has been lovingly restored to its former glory and taken to Masterton to put on display with its whanau.
A portrait of Huru Te Hiaro, recently repaired by a Te Papa conservator, arrived at Aratoi Museum on Friday amid much fanfare.
The Gottfried Lindauer portrait was greeted with a powhiri, and onlookers were given their first glimpse of the painting that had been repaired after being ripped before coming into the national collection.
The portrait joins 11 Lindauer portraits of Wairarapa rangatira, or leaders, on display as part of Te Marae o Rongotaketake – Redressing Our Kahungunu History exhibition until September 3.
Newly appointed museum director Susanna Shadbolt said it was an honour to secure the painting to complete the collection.
‘‘It’s such an important work and it is great to have as part of the exhibition. Even though the exhibition is halfway through, they still reckoned it needed to be part of it to bring the whanau together,’’ Shadbolt explained.
Lindauer expert Roger Blackley, of Victoria University, spoke to a rapt audience at Aratoi Museum recently about the collection.
‘‘I am particularly interested in the depiction of indigenous peoples, the history of exhibitions and museums, and theories and practices of collecting. Another keen interest is art forgery – especially the subtle borderline that divides ‘authentic’ from ‘inauthentic’,’’ he said.
Lindauer’s commissioned portraits had been ‘‘highly priced status symbols’’ and tended to cost between £20 and £50 in his heyday in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Blackley talked about the recent theft of two paintings in Auckland in April this year, and how he was approached extensively for comments on the importance of the works that were taken in the heist.
The audience gathered at Aratoi included artists, academics, museum professionals, museum donors, archivists and residents of Woodville, where Lindauer lived for about 40 years and where he is buried.