One of the first oil paintings ever created in New Zealand is now back in the country to go on display.

William Hodges' Dusky Bay was painted in April 1773, and has now been bought in England by the Fletcher Trust Collection.

New Zealanders will get a chance to see the tiny and precious painting at an exhibition of more than 80 works at Waikato Museum from today.

The diminutive work on wood was painted when the artist sailed here with Captain James Cook on HMS Resolution and is thought to have been painted from the ship's deck, because of its vantage point.