Tauranga Art Gallery to showcase Buller's Birds

Tauranga Art Gallery to showcase illustrations from Te Papa’s Buller’s Birds

A Te Papa art exhibition showcasing the illustrations from New Zealand’s most famous book on native birds, opens at the Tauranga Art Gallery tomorrow.

The six week exhibition Buller’s Birds:The art of Keulemans and Buchanan displays illustrations used in Walter Buller’s iconic 1873 book, A History of New Zealand Birds and its smaller spin-off, Manual of the Birds of New Zealand.

The exhibition includes original hand-coloured lithographs by London-based renowned natural illustrator Johannes Keulemans, as well as engravings and drawings by New Zealander John Buchanan.

“We are delighted to bring these beautiful illustrations from Te Papa to the Bay of Plenty,” Tauranga Art Gallery’s Media and Marketing coordinator Martine Rolls says.

The touring exhibition is part of Te Papa’s broader programme to work with regional museums and galleries and showcase more of the national art collection more often.

“We work hard to ensure all New Zealanders, regardless of where they live, can see our national treasures,” Te Papa’s Chief Executive Rick Ellis says.

Te Papa Art Curator Dr Rebecca Rice says the illustrations are accompanied by examples of Buller’s publications, along with specimens of the illustrated birds.

“Given how wonderfully clear and true to life the illustrations are, it’s incredible to think Keulemans and Buchanan most often worked from bird skins, rather than observations in the wild,” Dr Rice says.

The exhibition runs until 19 July 2015.

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