William Strutt's painted depiction of the New Zealand Wars may be almost 160 years old but, amid recent claims of racism and propaganda, it’s making headlines in 2018.
Some consider it a colonialist masterpiece, while others say it is simply colonialist propaganda.
The artist depicts a scene from a fraught time in this nation's history – the New Zealand Wars.
And just like any artwork or moment in history, the painting’s meaning is subject to interpretation and destined to alter with time.
In this week’s episode of Ours, we turn our gaze to the Strutt painting.
Where other choices have tended to reflect discovery and success, this adds, like the John Minto helmet, a dimension of the tension and even violence that is part of who we are as New Zealanders.
Te Papa has described the scene as a “tense moment of Māori resistance to European settlement in Taranaki”.
In 2015, the museum bought the work for $1.5 million.
At the time of purchase, Te Papa's then chief executive Rick Ellis said: "There are very few paintings that reflect the historical events that were unfolding during this period - it captures a powerful moment in our history."
The painting is now back in the spotlight after the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth mooted the idea of including the work in an upcoming exhibition.
In response, Taranaki kaumātua Peter Moeahu told media that the gallery would be perpetuating “colonialist's propaganda” by exhibiting the work.
The painting denigrated Māori as thieves as it inferred they were stealing from settlers, he said.
"I understand from an art point of view that controversy is great, but from my point of view it stunk,” he told the Taranaki Daily News.
Another Taranaki kaumātua, Grant Knuckey, agreed and said the painting should be burnt.
The painting is currently displayed in Te Papa’s New Zealand Wars gallery near the entrance.
Speaking before the controversy erupted, Te Papa's curator of historical New Zealand art, Rebecca Rice, acknowledged the piece made a statement.
“I was quite keen to use it as the initial encounter into this very complicated history we’re trying to tell, to use a painting at the outset to allow viewers to engage on their own terms seemed an important thing to do.”
Strutt made the work in Melbourne after living in Taranaki in the mid-1850s. He relied on previous sketches he had made and newspaper reports to create the work.
Rice describes it as a dramatic painting…
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