This work was gifted to the Sarjeant Gallery in 1948 without a frame by J.G. Farrell who lived in Stratford. It was acknowledged in a letter to the donor as ‘of particular interest as at present there is no other Maori portrait in the Gallery’. The work was included in Dunedin Public Art Gallery’s Face Value exhibition in 1975. The person depicted in the portrait is currently unidentified but is thought to possibly be from the Taranaki region.

Jennifer Taylor, Curator of Collections, had a conversation in 2018 with Mary McNaught, daughter of the donor James Farrell. The portrait is reputed to have been found in a junk shop by her father, but this has not been confirmed. McNaught suggested there may be a connection with the Cribb family.

If you have any information that may assist with identifying this sitter, please contact Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery: info@sarjeant.org.nz