Lot 169: Ana Rupene and Child

Gottfried Lindauer (1839-1926)
Ana Rupene and Child
signed 'G. Lindauer' (lower left)
oil on canvas
unframed
34 x 26 7/8 in. (86.4 x 68.2 cm.)

The best known of the several extant versions of this composition by Lindauer is in the Partridge Collection, Auckland City Art Gallery, and was awarded the Grand Prize at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, U.S.A., in 1904. 'Ana Rupene was a well-known resident of the Thames in former days, and was noted as being one of the handsomest girls on the Hauraki ... Ana Rupene, with her pretty child on her back, as depicted in this canvas, was often to be seen in the early Seventies of the last Century walking the streets of the Thames goldfields town with her handsome friend and constant companion Paré Watene. The two Maori girls made a beautiful picture as they sauntered along, seemingly unconscious of the admiring attentions of all who beheld them.' (J. Cowan, Pictures of Old New Zealand, The Partridge Collection of Maori Paintings by Gottried Lindauer, Auckland, 1930, p.190.)