Steele in 1906 Louis John Steele (30 January 1842 – 12 December 1918) was an English-born New Zealand artist and engraver. He was born in Reigate,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

Biography

Steele's parents were the surgeon John Sisson Steele and Harriet ( Thompson). Steele studied at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris before journeying to Florence. Steele returned to Paris some time before 1870, and was living in the city during the Franco-Prussian War and the time of the Paris Commune. He returned to Britain shortly afterwards, and exhibited paintings at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

in 1872 and 1875. From 1881 to 1886, Steele showed etchings at the Academy. Steele married Marie Louise Alexandrine Piatti some time before 1871. They had two sons, Ernest Henri and Louis John Sisson Piatti (born August 1871).

New Zealand career

Louis John Steele - Portrait of a young Maori woman with moko - Google Art Project

Steele emigrated to New Zealand in around 1886, settling in Auckland; Marie Louise did not accompany him. He opened a studio in an arcade on Shortland Street. One of his early pupils was

Charles Frederick Goldie Charles Frederick Goldie (20 October 187011 July 1947) was a New Zealand artist, best known for his portrayal of Māori dignitaries. Early life Goldie was born in Auckland on 20 October 1870. He was named after his maternal grandfather, Charle ...

, the most significant painter of Māori subjects. In New Zealand, Steele painted portraits, racehorses, and scenes from history. Some of his history paintings were on a large scale, produced in collaboration with other artists. 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; it was based directly on Théodore Géricault's famous '' Raft of the Medusa''. The contents of Steele's studio were auctioned on 16 August 1917; he died in Auckland on 12 December 1918. His large oil painting of an elderly Sir

John Logan Campbell Sir John Logan Campbell (3 November 1817 – 22 June 1912) was a prominent Scottish-born New Zealand public figure. He was described by his contemporaries as "the father of Auckland". Early life John Logan Campbell was born in Edinburgh, Sco ...

at his house Kilbryde (now the site of the

Parnell Rose Gardens Dove-Myer Robinson Park, more commonly known as the Parnell Rose Garden, is a park in Parnell, New Zealand, Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand. The park is named after Dove-Myer Robinson, the longest-serving mayor of Auckland, who served for 18 yea ...

) was thought lost for 100 years, but resurfaced in 2017; it fetched a record .

References

1842 births 1918 deaths English emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand printmakers People from Reigate {{NewZealand-painter-stub