A painting by a Hawke’s Bay artist of her great-great-grandmother has made it into the finals of the New Zealand emerging Māori artist awards.

Anna Jepson, of Ngāi Tahu and Danish descent, is thrilled the portrait of her great-great-grandmother Piraurau, painted from archival photos taken on the day her eldest daughter Sarah became engaged in the late 1870s, has made the cut.

The 2023 Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award, a partnership with the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata, was launched in 2020 to inspire a new generation of emerging artists to create portraits of their tūpuna (ancestors).

Jepson says she is honoured to be selected for the award. Her painting is titled Whakanu.

 “I think she is powerful and beautiful,” Jepson said.

“I started researching my family history as part of my Fine Art Diploma back in 2002. I found it fascinating and it has been amazing to see some of my ancestors come out of the woodwork.

“I am one-sixteenth Māori. My parents died a long time ago and I didn’t know about any of this. People have contacted me after seeing the painting and said they were related to her as well. It’s just been fascinating.”

The artworks shortlisted in the country’s portraiture award in honour of Kiingi Tuheitia use a range of media including AI technology, video, whakairo (carving), raranga (weaving), pounamu, stainless steel, photography, ceramics, and oil painting.

Artists were given an opportunity to showcase their talent on a national stage while competing for a first prize of $20,000.

Entries were received from all over the country and from artists residing overseas. Artworks in the finalist exhibition come from as far north as Northland to as far south as Otago, and also include entries from Māori artists living in Australia.

Whakanu. The painting by Hawke's Bay artist Anna Jepson has made the finals of the 2023 Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award.

The finalists were selected by a panel comprising renowned artists who will judge and announce the winners at the opening of the exhibition.

The judges are multi-disciplinary, portrait artist Graham Hoete aka “Mr G” (Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui), researcher, artist, arts educator and curator, Steve Gibbs (Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Rongomaiwahine), and artist Lisa Reihana (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāi Tūteauru, Ngāi Tupoto), who is known around the world for her portraits and digital art.

Director of the gallery Jaenine Parkinson said the quality of entries was extremely high, with everyone paying great respect to their tūpuna as they depicted them in various media.

“Because this award does not limit artists to a specific medium, we are delighted to see the creative innovations emerging Māori artists have brought to articulating their whakapapa,” she said.

Jepson is heading back to Italy in June to do more portraiture study in the old classical style.

The winning artworks will be announced on Wednesday, May 24, and the exhibition will be shown at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery in Shed 11 on Wellington’s waterfront from Thursday, May 25 to Sunday, August 20. Finalist artworks will then tour the country.

You can view the finalists on the website https://www.nzportraitgallery.org.nz.