This portrait was acquired by the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts sometime before 1936, the year it was donated to the newly opened National Art Gallery. The identity of the sitter is unknown. However, as Leonard Bell noted in his book The Maori in European Art, 'She is handsome and assured, with a straightforward, no nonsense look. She could not be mistaken for a museum record of a member of an allegedly dying race, the relic of a past age.'

Dougal Austin, Curator Māori and William McAloon, Curator Historical New Zealand Art, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa