Exhibition of paintings

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 1, Issue 12, 23 August 1983, Page 2

Exhibition of paintings

People visiting the Ohakune Photo Pharmacy this week will have an opportunity of seeing about two dozen oil paintings by well known Auckland artist, Harry Sangl. Harry Sangl is perhaps best known for his book of paintings entitled "The Blue Privilege — The Last Tattooed Maori Women, Te Kuia Moko." in which he has recorded portraits of 34 Maori women, all bearing the moko. Harry Sangl was a professional portrait painter in Germany before emigrating to this country in 1969 with his New Zealand born wife Jill, who comes from Southland. He won his first art award in Munich in 1949 with a painting of an elderly Bavarian couple and, with his reputation as a portrait painter still firmly established in Germany, he continues to fulfil as many portrait commissions as time allows during his visits there. These days about 80% of his paintings are of New Zealand landscapes and it is from a selection of these that most of this current exhibition is made up. Some of the landscapes are of local scenes but there are also several portraits of Maori men and women bearing moko. It was a chance circumstance in 1972, when he decided to enter d portrait for this country' s major art award — the Kelliher — that caused him to seek his first maori subject. Knowing little about the MaOri when he first arrived

in New Zealand, after studying the paintings of early artists such as Lindauer and Goldie, he envied their opportunities to observe and record such subjects. Therefore, when searching for his Kelliher portrait subject, he discovered, by chance a newspaper story about a Kuia — a 100-year old Maori dignitary with genuine chin and lip tattoo - he went to find h|Mk His portrait of Ti^J Tuhoro was never entered for the Kelliher award but became instead the first such painting in a collection he gathered together over the next four years, during which time he travelled widely to record the 34 Kuia portraits from life. This is the third time Harry Sangl has exhibited in Ohakune — he lives and paints in the Waimarino for part of each year, using his Arawa Street home as a base. But, despite having his own house in Ohakune and being a borough ratepayer he is sorry to find that he is not eligible to submit work for the annual Tur^^ (Ohakune) Art Awards.