Unpacked: Treasures from Te PapaNgā taonga a Te Papa

Unpacked: Treasures from Te Papa brings a selection of masterpieces from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa to Whangarei Art Museum and Waikato Museum. Each art work displays for three months.

Featured paintings from Te Papa’s art collection are Louis John Steele and Kennett Watkins' The Blowing Up of the Boyd (1889), which depicts one of the most notorious incidents in New Zealand’s colonial history; Edward Poynter’s Asterié (1904), an enigmatic portrait made by one of the most successful Victorian artists of his day; Rita Angus’s Fay and Jane Birkinshaw (1938) (Whangarei Art Museum only), a striking work of international significance; and Rozzie at Pisa (1978) (Whangarei Art Museum only) by Grahame Sydney, a contemporary New Zealand artist whose work spans more than four decades.

The blowing up of the Boyd, 1889, Auckland, by Louis John Steele, Kennett Watkins. Purchased 1992 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa (1992-0019-2)

Tour schedule and availability

Unpacked: Treasures from Te Papa exhibited at:

Whangarei Art Museum, July 2015 – 17 April 2016

Hosting enquiries

Jake Yocum, Touring Exhibition Manager
touringexhibitions@tepapa.govt.nz