US online shop slammed for selling shower curtains depicting Maori portraits

(Auckland Art Gallery)
(Auckland Art Gallery)

An online fine art website is being criticised for selling shower curtains depicting Maori rangatira (chiefs and leaders).

The Fine Art America website has been selling the Gottfried Lindauer curtains as late as last night, but they've since been removed from sale.

US online shop slammed for selling shower curtains depicting Maori portraits

Phoebe Davis is a descendant of Tamati Waka Nene who also features on the curtains. She says the use of the images is "insensitive".

"It just made my blood boil, really. I just find that absolutely, absolutely abhorrent and disrespectful, culturally insensitive. You know, it's misappropriation. It's just wrong on so many levels."

US online shop slammed for selling shower curtains depicting Maori portraits

Ms Davis hopes the website's decision to pull the curtains from sale will be permanent.

Lindauer's portraits of Maori are valued for their attention to moko design, clothing and inclusion of artefacts.

Lindauer however relied mostly on photographs and sometimes altered details for his paintings. The artworks therefore represent a likeness, rather than an accurate image, of 19th century Maori.

Newshub.