Eileen Mayo has a special place in Christchurch’s art history, not only because of her extraordinary prints and illustrious career but also her tangible connections with this city. Mayo settled here in Christchurch in 1967, having established a career as a printmaker and designer in Britain and Australia. Her British contemporaries included Mabel Annesley and Clare Leighton, both of whom are included in this exhibition, and several works by these artists came into the Gallery's collection as part of a gift of British modernist prints by Redfern Gallery director Rex Nan Kivell.

Mayo adored cats. They were a constant source of companionship throughout her life and were regularly used as subjects in her art.

The Golden Age 18 December 2015 – 1 May 2016

In the exhibition White on White (23 November 2008 - 26 October 2009), this work appeared with the following label:

The kotuku lives in other parts of the world (like Asia and the Pacific), but is very rare in New Zealand, with just one permanent population of 100 to 120 birds found near Okarito in South Westland.

In the past, their beautiful long feathers were worn as head-ornaments by important Maori leaders. Sometimes they would keep a bird in a special cage, so that when a new feather grew, someone was waiting and ready to pull it out!

This painting was one of Eileen Mayo’s original designs for a set of cards (Rare and Endangered Birds of New Zealand) collected from packets of Gregg’s jelly.