In Mitimiti yesterday, John Martin was at the urupa, the cemetery where his cousin Ralph Hotere will lie when his body is flown by helicopter to the beachside marae.

Artist Ralph Hotere, 81, who was one of only a handful of people to be made a Member of the Order of New Zealand, died peacefully in Dunedin yesterday.

A series of Ralph Hotere prints are being exhibited at University of Canterbury this week in a tribute to one of New Zealand's greatest artists who died yesterday.

Tributes are flowing for 81-year-old sculptor, painter and collaborative artist Ralph Hotere, who died surrounded by family in Dunedin.

Ralph Hotere, one of New Zealand's most acclaimed and provocative artists, has died.

A Banksy mural at the centre of a controversial auction has been withdrawn from sale at the last minute, the council campaigning for its return to the UK says.

If its subject were less illustrious, this memoir would probably receive little attention.

He may have lived just briefly in Wellington with his family when he was a teenager, but New Zealand has an important place in British comic artist Rufus Dayglo's heart.

This is very good, with an unusual proviso; this narrative has more routine everyday mountain climbing than anything I've read.

Yolanda Bartram has body painting in her blood. Her mum was a trained theatre artist in the Netherlands, using a young Yolanda as a canvas. Life & Style Editor Nicky Park visited Yolanda's Auckland studio to watch her paint a wolf on to the bare chest of Hannah, a 19-year-old "exhibitionist". “For me it’s normal to paint naked people but I guess a lot of people would find it strange,” Yolanda said. “I like to think I’m a collector of images. I have things in my head that I like to see.” · You can check out Yolanda at work at The International Tattoo and Art Expo, happening this weekend in Hamilton. Visit the website for more info.

Ella Mizrahi and Celia Harrison are bringing Auckland to life - their events company, Celery Productions.

The 19th century novels I still like give a strong sense of demanding to be read aloud to an audience. But by 1950, I would say, that lingering expectation of how a novel delivers had changed, in most languages and even most genres.

All sorts of unexpected, unsettling things happen in these 30 short stories. In Phoenix, Arizona, jobless Victor heads south with his nation's worst-ever storyteller to reclaim parental remains.

Graham Reid gets his fill of fine food and fascinating art on an uncrowded island.

A previously unknown short story written by Katherine Mansfield will be unveiled at the National Library in Wellington today.