Americans are about to get their first look at paintings by one of New Zealand's most important artists.
The first major exhibition in the United States of Maori portraits opens this weekend. A total of 31 paintings by Gottfried Lindauer go on display at the de Young art museum in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.
The New Zealand Government has helped support the seven-month long exhibition which follows Auckland Art Gallery's The Maori Portraits: Gottfried Lindauer's New Zealand. It closed in February having attracted 99,167 visitors.
Gallery director Rhana Devenport says taking the portraits to the United States extends its mission to share New Zealand's cultural heritage and stimulate discussion. It has previously toured them to Berlin in 2014 and to Lindauer's home of Pilsen, in the Czech Republic, in 2015.
![Rhana Devenport. Photo / Greg Bowker](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/3FEUQQ4ZVASDWHGOVBCQUVJGMI.jpg?auth=cb44d3857f864ddcc90822a572be4408bbe4e9c1213f41ac299403b98129536d&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)