William Beetham.

About William Beetham

William Beetham was an English-born portrait painter, who painted mainly in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. He exhibited his paintings at the Royal Academy of Arts in London (1834–53) and painted in Hamburg, Copenhagen and at the court of the Tsar in Saint Petersburg. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1855 and became a significant figure as a colonist, pastoralist and portrait artist. He had a society clientele and received commissions to paint portraits of aristocrats and national leaders, including important Māori Rangatira chiefs. Beetham's paintings are in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London and Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington. He was a founder and President of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts in 1882. Mezzotint prints of Beetham's drawings are in the permanent collection of the Science Museum, London Beetham's paintings and drawings have also sold at Bonhams auction house.