Watercolour painting of a blue vase with thick branches of yellow blossoming flowers. Prickly thorns can be seen over the lip of tha vase.

In 2020, Te Papa acquired an 1897 watercolour painting by Margaret Stoddart that had been given the title Yellow blossom and rosemary by the cataloguers. But what are those blossoms, really? And is that rosemary in the vase, or something else? Here, Curator of Historical Art, Rebecca Rice unpacks the painting and suggests it could be somewhat pricklier than it first appears.Read more

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View from interior of a room, with woman and dog at the threshold - the woman turned to look back at the artist.

During lockdown, we’ve been encouraged to ‘post’ objects in our windows to offer symbols of solidarity – teddy bears and Anzac poppies – for people walking past, looking in. Rebecca Rice, Curator Historical New Zealand Art reverses the direction and looks at works in our collection where the artist shows us views from the inside out.Read more

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As we celebrate the mothers in our lives this coming Sunday, I thought it timely to reflect on some of the remarkable women present in the historical galleries of Ngā Toi │Arts Te Papa. They are present as heroines and homemakers, as artists and as benefactors. They may not haveRead more

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In: Art, Māori

William Strutt’s View of Mt Egmont, Taranaki, New Zealand, taken from New Plymouth, with Maoris driving off settlers’ cattle, 1861 has been described by some as the ‘holy grail’ of colonial New Zealand painting. Paintings of this calibre are few and far between in New Zealand’s art history, as buddingRead more

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Tour participants feeling paint sample produced to emulate sweeping brushwork of Albrecht painting.

As I listened to Judith Jones, one of Te Papa’s hosts trained in audio description, describing the tumultuous sea, the approaching storm and the strange geography of Nicholas Chevalier’s Cook’s Strait New Zealand c. 1885, I ‘saw’ the painting as never before. For the other tour participants, listening acutely, thisRead more

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China Lecture and Symposium, Thu 15 May, 2pm–8pm, Te Papa Face to face with Shi Lu Working on the exhibition Shi Lu: A revolution in paint has been a revelation for me. Ever since my Uncle traveled to China in the 1980s, bringing back memorabilia from the Friendship shops, teachingRead more

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There is something magical about the installation period for an exhibition. As Paul Alexander, the lead exhibition preparator for Shi Lu: A revolution in paint, says, it’s a lot like Christmas. Having spent hours poring over plans with thumbnail images, it’s exciting getting the works out, getting them ready, andRead more

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In: Art, Behind the scenes
Shi Lu's Horses drinking at Yan River - draft 4

The horse has loomed large in China’s long and storied past. It’s not surprising then, that several pop up in the works of the master of modern Chinese painting, Shi Lu (1919-1982), in an exhibition soon to open at Te Papa, Shi Lu: A revolution in paint. Since its domesticationRead more

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