| Image number | W635, image courtesy of the New Zealand Parliament | Description | Oil on canvas | ||
| Size (cm) | 76 x 66 | Signed | Yes | Dated | 1906 |
| Inscribed | Owner | NZ Parliament | |||
| Exhibited | |||||
| Picture notes | The painting is of a stuffed specimen which in 1906 was, it seems, in the Otago University Museum. In 1906 not only was the takahe believed to be extinct, but the Otago specimen was the only one in New Zealand. Mabel Hill was commissioned to paint it. Her daughter wrote, "For a few days, its glass case was unlocked each morning and the bird taken out, re posed by Mother, studied, drawn, painted and then, when she had had enough, put back like a precious jewel in its case.? | ||||
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