Alongside Charles Frederick Goldie (1870 - 1947), Gottfried Lindauer (1839 - 1926) believed that the indigenous Maori people were dying out and that it was his artistic duty to preserve in paint, the existence of this "noble" race. Lindauer painted numerous portraits of individuals and also recorded a number of pastimes and activities of the Maori such as tattooing, weaving, plaiting and digging with traditional implements. Despite the somewhat negative press that both Lindauer and Goldie have received for their attitudes and beliefs concerning the Maori, many now see their works as taonga as they protect inimitable ancestral images of koroua and kuia, which are of sacred importance to the Maori.Lindauer's portrait of Hera Hunia (c1850  - 1913) is a characteristic example of his approach to portraying Maori figures. As is common in many of Lindauer's portraits, Hera Hunia is presented to the viewer in three-quarter length and full-frontal view against a plain, painted backdrop. The smooth meticulous brushwork is tight and controlled, obviating any evidence of the artist's hand with the result that the portrait possesses a photographic clarity and a perceived authenticity and validity. Dressed in a cloak and adorned with jewellery of bone and pounamu while sporting a prominent huia feather in her hair, Hera Hunia stares out of the picture plane in a wistful, contemplative manner. The appearance of the revered huia feather, which was used by the Maori to adorn warriors and the deceased, in conjunction with the greenstone jewellery and shark-tooth earring, attests to the power and stature of Hera Hunia. Indeed, the sitter was of an illustrious lineage as the daughter of Kawana Hunia, chief of the Ngati Apa, Rangitikei, and granddaughter of Te Hakeke, Te Rauparaha's great rival and arch enemy. Hera Hunia was generally known as Princess Sarah and, although she never married, she maintained a position of prominence in the Hawke's Bay where she joined her mother's people, the Ngai Te Upokoiri at Ngatarawa. Lindauer has paid fastidious attention to translating her individual features and the idiosyncratic elements of her dress and jewellery as well as the details of her moko. The portrait is set against an indeterminate ground and framed by a soft light, and the spectator's attention is focused explicitly on Hera Hunia. Lindauer's painterly finesse, combined with the strength and poise of his sitter, provides this work with an absorbing timelessness and shows Lindauer at his best in his transcribing of the people that he encountered while travelling through 19th-century New Zealand. The
present portrait was presented by Hera Hunia to Donald McLean, cousin of Sir Donald McLean of Maraekakaho, and, by descent, the painting passed to its previous owners. Jemma Field

Note; Hera Te Ūpokoiri, a surname from her Mother’s side, also known as Hera Hūnia from her fathers side, was born (c 1830) is a member of the Takitimu and Kurahaupō waka.
She was the daughter of Ruta kau, a woman of high rank of Ngāi te Ūpokoiri of Ōmāhu (6km Northwest of Hastings)
Her father, Kōwana Hūnia was the principle Chief of Ngāti Apa, his pā, Pārewanui was located at Bulls. She was raised by her mother’s people of Ngāi Te Ūpokoiri at Ōmāhu. Her brothers and sisters were raised by her father’s people at Bulls. She worked for the benefit of her people through the courts over Maori land acquired by dubious means.