A key figure in the history and heritage of Aotearoa New Zealand, Gottfried Lindauer was responsible for preserving in paint a multitude of identities, both Maori and Pakeha, from 19th-century New Zealand. This portrait of Ihakara Tukumaru (c 1813–1881) originated from a suite of 17 works commissioned in Marton in 1882 by Walter Buller, later knighted Sir Walter Buller. Buller’s publicly stated aim in commissioning this body of work was to ‘illustrate fully the history, art, manners, and customs of the Maori race’ ; however, Buller’s motivation also rested in persuading Lindauer to remain in New Zealand at a time when he was thinking of returning home. While he and his family did visit his home country briefly before the outbreak of WWI, he remained living in New Zealand until his death in 1926.

Ihakara Tukumaru was an important member of the principal family of Ngati Ngarongo. It was one of several hapu (subtribes) of the powerful Ngati Raukawa tribe, whose ancestry is traced back to the migrants of the ‘Tainui’ canoe and which Ihakara headed along with his relation Taikapurua. A central Maori figure in the early years of 19th-century New Zealand colonialism, he signed the Treaty of Waitangi under his juvenile name, Tahu Rangi. Ikahara is primarily remembered both for his position as a seller of land to the Government, particularly in the Foxton district, and for his role as a peacemaker during the turbulent decades of the 1860s and 1870s. In 1852, Ihakara was appointed to the office of Native Assessor by the Government – a post that he held until his death in 1881 and for which he received an annual salary of £50. In regards to the development of Foxton, Ikahara’s key sale of four acres of land to Mr T U Cook for £5 in 1857 resulted in the construction of Foxton Primary School for local Pakeha settlers.

In addition, Ihakara is credited with the organisation of the construction of the first two houses of Christian worship in the area with the first church being built at Te Awahou in 1850–1851, and a second at Matakarapa in 1880. It is important to note that while Ihakara was a principal figure in his community, he did not wear a moko, or full facial tattoo, a practice looked upon unfavourably by the Christian establishment during this period. He also adopted the Christian name Ihakara, the Maori derivation of the Hebrew name Issachar taken from the Old Testament in the Book of Genesis.

Painted in Marton, a central area of the Rangitikei district of the Manawatu-Whanganui region of the North Island, the present portrait was completed in 1882. A barely legible inscription by Lindauer in pencil on the obverse of the painting reads Te Awahou, the Maori name for Foxton, which pertinently refers back to the central role that Ihakara played in the development of the area. His funeral, held in the old Te Awahou Cemetery on 24 January 1881, attracted hundreds of mourners of both of Maori and Pakeha descent. The shops closed for the day and a procession followed his body down the town’s main street to its final resting place.
Lindauer was born in Germany in 1839 and, at the age of 16, relocated to Vienna to study his craft under the city’s two most eminent artists of the time, Léopold Kupelwieser and Joseph von Fürich. He would remain under their tutelage for six years, after which he worked at a portrait-painting studio under Carl Hemmerlein before establishing his own studio in Pilson at the age of 25, where he specialised in painting local gentry. Lindauer arrived in New Zealand in 1874. Here, he continued to work as a portrait painter, with the majority of his work being expressly commissioned. As such, Lindauer’s works often commemorated key figures in society. Lindauer’s position was unique in that the experience and training that he received during his early career afforded him the ability to imbue his subjects with an aristocratic air, capturing the mana and the wairua of the subject, like none other. Indeed, to this day, his works are revered by Maori as important records of their ancestors.

Lindauer often painted from photographs taken by his frequent collaborator, Samuel Carnell of Napier. This work is painted from a Carte-de-Visite photograph, now held in the collection of the Alexander Turnbull library (see illustration). It was common practice to commission a portrait posthumously of a deceased family member or loved one in order to have an eternal visual record. In this capacity, the remarkable level of verisimilitude that Lindauer was able to achieve was an invaluable commodity.

The works produced during the 1880s are regarded as the artist’s most accomplished and this work carries the hallmarks of Lindauer’s finest work. His paintings consistently reward close inspection, as portraits such as the present one of Ihakara yield a plethora of information concerning dress, custom, status and jewellery as well as offering a unique personal likeness. The revered status of the sitter is communicated through aspects of pose and dress. Most apparent in this regard are the two tail feathers from the now-extinct huia that are tucked into Ihakara’s hair. Regarded as a sacred (tapu) species, the huia held a privileged position in Maori culture, and the use of its feathers for adornment was reserved for only those figures of high standing. In his right hand, Ihakara clasps a kotiate, which was a prized weapon in battle but was also commonly used by Maori chiefs during the delivery of speeches: the prominent object highlights Ihakara’s military prowess as well as his leadership qualities, social prestige and, possibly, his oratory skill.

In a similar manner to the well-known New Zealand artist Charles Frederick Goldie, Lindauer is renowned for his mimetic technique, producing hyper-realistic works that are redolent with infinitesimal detailing and the current portrait of Ihakara Tukumaru is no exception. Ihakara Tukumaru is set against a plain, monochromatic ground and appears to come forward towards the viewer from the shadowed depths in a regal and dignified manner. Executed in half-length format and with the subject positioned square on to the viewer, the portrait is distinguished by an enticing quietude, which Lindauer manages to achieve through the soft, ambient lighting that bathes the sitter’s face and parts of his cloak.

Sophie Coupland