Behind the Brush - First Episode

Series Behind the Brush looks at the glorious work of 19th Century portrait artist Gottfried Lindauer. Each episode expands on the people he painted. The descendants of these tūpuna tell their stories as they have been passed down. In this debut episode, three portraits go under the microscope: famed beauty Pare Watane of Ngāti Maru, Kamariera Te Hau Takiri Wharepapa of Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Tuhoe leader Eru Tamaikoha Te Ariari. Accounts of the tūpuna tell of heartbreak, new beginnings and the fight to reserve Māori culture. In 2014 a second season studied 21 further subjects of Lindauer's work. 

...they lacked the resistance to the European diseases that came upon them, and so they succumbed to that — as did many other Thames Māori.

– John McEnteer, descendant of Pare Watana, on the effects of introduced illnesses, early in this episode

Key Cast & Crew

Ben Milsom

Art Director

Jeff Hurrell

Lead Editor

Steven Ray

As: Gottfried Lindauer

Maramena Roderick

Producer

Rio Hemopo

Narrator

Julian Arahanga

Director, Executive Producer, Camera Operator