Born in 1933, in Tokomaru Bay, on the East Cape of New Zealand, artist Paratene Matchitt attended Auckland Teacher's College before moving to Dunedin to practice as a full time artist. He is a largely self-taught artist and began incorporating features from Maori rock art into his work as early as the 1950s. He was recognised as a leading Maori artist who works with sculpture, painting, printmaking, carving and assemblage, but fell from grace in 2001 when he was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for having a sexual relationship with an underage girl. .
The total number of works by Para Matchitt offered for sale by auction since 1994 is 187, of which 130 (70%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $54,634 for Whakapapa II sold by Webb's in March 2022. This year 2 works have been offered for sale. Works by Para Matchitt are held by the Auckland Art Gallery, Museum Of New Zealand and a further three major public national galleries (see list below).
Paratene (Para) Matchitt is listed in the following standard biographical references:
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