Gottfried Lindauer

Bohemian born portrait artist, Gottfried Lindauer, had a long association with Woodville. After living something of an itinerant life painting Maori & European portraits, in 1890 he built a house and studio on four hectares on Pinfold Rd.

Lindauer continued to work there until 1918 when his failing eyesight made him something of a recluse. His last years were spent quietly in Woodville and he died on 13th June 1926 aged 87.

He is buried in the old Gorge Cemetery beneath the Ruahine Ranges, with a small granite tombstone curved in the shape of an artist’s palette and the simple inscription reads ‘ Gottfried Lindauer – Artist’. The Studio contains furniture and prints of Gottfried Lindauer’s paintings.

Early life

He was born Bohumír Lindauer in Plzeň (Pilsen), Bohemia, Austrian Empire (now part of the Czech Republic) on 5 January 1839. His father, Ignatz Lindauer was a gardener. His first drawing experience was plants and trees. From 1855 Lindauer studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, where he took classes of Leopold Kupelwieser, Joseph von Führich and Professor Rohl. To increase his chances on the market, he decided to change his name from the Czech Bohumír to the German translation of his name, 'Gottfried'. From his studio in Plzeň he created paintings with religious themes for churches and painting frescoes in the Cathedral churches of Austria. His paintings attracted people, particularly the prominent people who were often the subjects of his paintings, including Bishop Jan Valerián Jirsík. After a sojourn in that city of eighteen months, he went to Moravia for three years.