PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Auckland Purchased from FHE Galleries Label affixed verso

Ralph. Such a beautiful man. We first met in 1978 and I spent quite a long time with him. I remember his house, his paintings, his hospitality when I arrived, the sweetness, the ease of being with him, and his kindness. Marti Friedlander

Ralph Hotere - The Artist's Studio, Port Chalmers is part of a series of portraits of New Zealand artists by Marti Friedlander taken between 1977 and 1979. She was inspired to photograph living artists after reading Alexander Liberman's book The Artist in his Studio. In doing so, Friedlander created an invaluable and insightful photographic record of young artists, many of whom would go on to become leading lights of New Zealand art. In this work, Ralph Hotere is relaxed and contemplative, his gaze reflects a penetrating awareness, framed by the intense light falling on his face and hair. Hotere's hand is cupping his cigarette.