Gottfried Lindauer
Replica Studio

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The Project: History

The Lindauer Studio project came about as a Mainstreet group initiative.

A suggestion had been made to move the original studio from Pinfold road in January 2000; this was not possible so a Replica Studio was planned and built with the help of many volunteers from the community and business sector.

The Gottfried Lindauer Replica Studio is almost identical to Lindauer’s studio and the only difference is the addition of an electric lighting, heating and an attached corridor link to the I-site for ease of entry for the public .

Located in the Vogel Street (on SH 2) the Studio opened on 16 th June 2001 with 15 reproductions and 4 originals that were loaned for the occasion.

Lindauer’s four grandchildren and their families as well as local dignitaries and the Czechoslovakian Consul Miroslav Paulik attended the opening.

The opening was timed to commemorate the 75 th anniversary of Lindauer’s death on the 13 th of June 1926

Mainstreet and the local council community boards were duplicating services in Woodville and the two groups combined in 2002 to form the Woodville Districts’ Vision (WDV) to promote the town and district and now is the parent group running the Replica Studio.

The Studio won the Norsewear Conservation Cultural Heritage Award in 2002.

It is estimated that Lindauer painted around 1000 painting during his time in New Zealand and the majority of these are in private ownership. The largest collection consisting of around 70 paintings is housed in the Auckland City Art Gallery and is known as the Partridge collection. The Buller Collection is housed in the Wanganui Art Museum and consists or approximately 20 paintings all of which are of Maori.

It is because of these collections Lindauer become known as a Maori portrait artist but this was not entirely correct. Only about a third of his paintings were of Maori and the rest were of Europeans. He painted landowners, public dignitaries, businessmen and their wives and families.

A lot of originals are starting to deteriorate through age and the New Zealand climate and a number have been damaged through neglect and this damage shows up clearly on the photos. The reproduced photographs are enlarged and imperfections touched up. The best environment for the originals would be in a climate-controlled area but then they would not be on display for the public to see this great artists work.

This is where the studio comes to the fore. We display more images at a time, on a regular basis than any other institution/studio in New Zealand.