Prints of Maori Portraits painted by Goldie, Lindauer - Should they be allowed by New Zealand Galleries?

Maori portrait by Goldie

Faced with the dwindling supply of prints of paintings by Charles Frederick Goldie we were talking in the office today about the problems publishers of prints are having with the publication of Maori portraits that are held in some major New Zealand public galleries.

For a long time paintings of Maori subjects have been reproduced as prints. Goldie himself did a handsigned print of "A Good Joke" in the 1920s (which now sell for around $1000 each on the rare occasion they come up at auction). However during a major Goldie exhibition at the Auckland Art Gallery in 1997 some Gallery staff became nervous about the use of Goldie's Maori portraits (on a large calender) after they were questioned about their right to do so by at least one descendant. Since then the idea of seeking permission from descendants of a [Maori] portrait's subject before a painting is reproduced has taken hold at at least two major New Zealand public art galleries. We have heard the term "moral copyright" being used to describe this new idea that if a print is being made of a painting with people in it there is an obligation to trace descendants of the subjects to ask their permission.

Because we stock all Maori portraits available as prints we have descendants of Goldie (and Lindauer) subjects emailing or calling on at least a weekly basis who want to purchase prints of their ancestors that are not currently in print. Print publishers are facing a gallery policy that is inventing a new form of copyright that is not recognised outside of a couple of institutions in New Zealand. We would love to hear views from all sides of the debate about the publication of prints of Maori Portraits - please add your comment to the discussion below.

Auckland Printmaker Mark Compton releases prints

Auckland printmaker Mark Compton works for one of New Zealand's leading fine art screenprinters. As a major part of Artrite's production team Mark has had the pleasure of working with some of the great names in contemporary New Zealand printmaking and producing many fine prints.

As a result of more than ten years experience producing screenprints Mark has a great technical and artistic understanding of the production process that informs the creation of quality prints of his own. We are delighted to stock all prints from Mark including the popular Recession and two brand new Tiki prints, Red Hot and Amigos.

Valerie Beale Pacific Prints

Valerie Beale has been a full-time professional painter for over twenty years. Her Pacific series of prints are inspired by her extended Samoan family and Beale's many visits to the Pacific Islands. She works from her studio in the Bay of Plenty which looks out onto a tropical garden filled with hibiscus, frangipani , palms, and taro. Her first series of four prints were very popular, the editions of Village Gossip and Too Many Mangoes have sold out completely and as of today we have only 3 copies of Friendly Disagreement and Warm Breeze left. I have enjoyed cataloguing Valerie's new signed collection of Pasifika prints over the past couple of days - they remind me of a very enjoyable visit to Samoa and remind me how much I want to go back to the Islands again!

Sarah Platt - Prints of New Zealand Towns

Sarah Platt's first exhibition was called "Our Town". She says that "that title pretty much sums up what my art is about. It's about our place, where we live and grow, where we come from and even where we are going. It's about who we are as a community." Proud to be a sixth generation New Zealander Platt has a keen sense of history, Sarah writes "when I finish a new print, particularly if it's of a place I've not painted before such as New Plymouth I have a great sense that I've produced something that is important. My work is a historical documentation. The more towns I cover, the more complete the documentation becomes". Platt trained as a teacher but now paints full-time.

This morning we have catalogued Sarah Platt prints of Palmerston North, Wanganui, Hastings, Wellington, Havelock North, Napier, Waipawa, Waipukurau and Shannon. I need local help to identify all the buildings and features in the prints please - post a comment below and we'll add your description to the print's listing in our catalogue.

Framed Prints

Customers have reacted favourably to our initial picture framing trial - where via one of our publishers we offered framed prints from a selection of popular artists like Grahame Sydney and Diana Adams. Just over 400 framed prints were shipped during this trial pre Christmas so we have had plenty of opportunity to refine our processes before rolling out the new picture framing service on a much larger scale. From March 2009 we are now offering affordable and elegant picture framing for all prints in stock. Please contact us or call 0800 800 278 for a quote for framing your chosen prints. New Zealand wide delivery in extremely sturdy packaging is just $NZ20 per order (for any number of framed prints or posters) and delivery is in ten working days. We deliver framed prints world-wide by Airmail at cost - around $NZ 30 - $NZ 60 depending on the destination and size/weight of the print.

The illustration shows how prints were framed during the trial period (this style is known as a "box frame") and we offered three colours of picture frame - white, black and cream. Black is by far the most popular frame colour choice so far...