Rebecca Rice

Senior Curator Art @Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Wellington, NZ

In my role at Te Papa I am responsible for growing and sharing historical art in the national collection across a variety of platforms, from exhibitions and public talks to popular and academic publications. My current research focuses on nineteenth-century female botanical artists, the visual culture of the New Zealand Wars, and the impact of impressionism on New Zealand artists at home and abroad.I have co-curated \'Rā Maumahara | New Zealand Wars\', 2017, with Matiu Baker,\'Ngā Tae Whakarongorua | Encounters\', 2018, with Matariki Williams, and \'Tamatea: He Tūtakinga Tuku Iho | Legacies of Encounter\', 2019, with Megan Tamati-Quennell.I have worked on major international exhibitions including \'Shi Lu: A revolution in paint\', 2014,\'Colour and Light: French and American Impressionism\', 2013, and \'Terracotta Warriors: Guardians of Immortality\', 2018. Recent publications include ‘From Aide-memoire to Public Memorial: The ‘Gordon Collection’ of Photographic Portraits Relating to the New Zealand Wars’, New Zealand Journal of History,(2018), and ‘“My dear Hooker”: the botanical landscape in colonial New Zealand’, Museum History Journal, 2020. I have contributed to Te Papa’s collection-based publications,\'New Zealand Art at Te Papa\'(2019) and \'Ten x Ten: Art at Te Papa\'(2017), in which I have sought to increase the representation of nineteenth-century female artists. I am currently working on a major publication with my Mātauranga Māori and History colleagues that will showcase taonga, artworks and artefacts from Te Papa’s collections that are intimately connected with key events and people associated with the New Zealand Wars.

Victoria University of Wellington

PhD, Art History

Victoria University of Wellington

Bachelor of Arts (Honours) , Art History

Victoria University of Wellington

Master's degree, Art History