Provenance:
Denis Savill Collection, Sydney

This engaging portrait of Chief Tamarere is offered in its original kauri frame. As C.F. Goldie's leading pupil, Vera Cummings enjoyed the endorsement and encouragement of her tutor with a small number of her selected works being presented in the 'Goldie' frame. This frame had been created specifically for C F Goldie by Auckland framer's John Leech Framers est.1855.

Like C F Goldie, Vera Cummings showed talent from an early age. Delicate health and lack of money prevented her from studying overseas. However, at the age of eleven she was awarded a scholarship to attend Elam School of Fine Arts, one of Elam's youngest pupils. From here she became a pupil of Goldie, and is considered the only one able to have reproduced the tonality of Goldie's work, especially with regard to the skin tones of their shared Maori subjects. After graduating from Elam the two often painted side by side. Their models were generally elderly Maori who lived in the Maori hostel near Parnell. Vera herself lived in Parnell near Judges Bay for nearly 60 years.

As far as we can ascertain Cummings painted two versions of the noble Tamarere. The other, a smaller work on wood panel, was sold by International Art Centre in 2005. The previous whereabouts of this present painting was unknown.