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For some years I have been interested in an itinerant painter in water colours named Christopher Aubrey. He was an elusive character, moving from town to farm to town throughout New Zealand from the 1870s to the early 20th century, earning a living as he went by painting. Aubrey had a real skill as a draftsman. He also has a distinctively awkward way of depicting people and animals. While charming, the lack of technical skill indicate that he was not a trained painter.

The only authentic biographical information on Aubrey is the legacy of signed and dated paintings found in New Zealand galleries and museums and private homes, from Auckland to Invercargill.  I have found no other records of him.

It has been surmised that Aubrey was a remittance man, one of those unfortunates who were bundled out of the old country by their dis-satisfied families to avoid scandal. There is no evidence to back this up. Remittance man seems to be a handy label to hang around someone’s neck when no other information is available.

Can anybody help me? I’d love to try and flesh out Aubrey’s life and provide a genuine and accurate profile for him. Does he appear in old farm journals or personal diaries? Are there satchels filled with his works in the loft of someone’s barn? Please contact me if you know anything about Aubrey.

Durie Hill from No. 2 Line

Christopher Aubrey

1890s

Water colour

A view of the town of Whanganui from Durie Hill. Two men walk down the unpaved road that is No. 2 Line (now Portal Street) towards the Whanganui River.