Louis John Steele
Louis John Steele (30 January 1842 – 12 December 1918) was an English-born New Zealand artist and engraver. He was born in Reigate, Surrey.[1]
Biography
Steele's parents were the surgeon John Sisson Steele and Harriet (
Steele married Marie Louise Alexandrine Piatti some time before 1871. They had two sons, Ernest Henri and Louis John Sisson Piatti (born August 1871).[1]
New Zealand career
Steele emigrated to New Zealand in around 1886, settling in
In 1898 he and Goldie collaborated on The Arrival of the Maoris in New Zealand, now considered the best-known history painting to be completed in New Zealand;
The contents of Steele's studio were auctioned on 16 August 1917; he died in Auckland on 12 December 1918.[1]
His large oil painting of an elderly Sir John Logan Campbell at his house Kilbryde (now the site of the Parnell Rose Gardens) was thought lost for 100 years, but resurfaced in 2017;[2] it fetched a record NZ$505,000.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Stacpoole, John. "Louis John Steele". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ a b c "Sir Logan Campbell portrait for sale after 100 year absence". The New Zealand Herald. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
- ^ a b "The Arrival of the Maoris in New Zealand". Auckland Art Gallery. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
- ^ "Painting of Sir John Logan Campbell sells for record-breaking half million". The New Zealand Herald. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.