Five Pākehā Painters Exhibition

From the onset of colonisation, European immigrants and their descendants have been bringing and maintaining their own culture in Aotearoa, including a characteristic art tradition.

These twelve artworks by five Pākehā painters illustrate the way in which people of European heritage in New Zealand have responded to the land of Te Matau a Maui / Hawke’s Bay over a period of 90 years.

Art, like anything conceived by people, is embedded within culture: hence these paintings reflect not only what the artists could see around them while living in Te Matau a Maui, but also how they saw: through the prism of particular values, beliefs, and social systems intrinsic to their Pakeha society.

All artworks are from the collection of Hawke’s Bay Museum Trust, Ruawharo Ta-u-rangi.