Sir Edmund Hillary 1919 - 2008
Artist Garth Tapper - commissioned by NZPG
Title: Sir Edmund Hillary
Artist: Garth Tapper
Size: 820mm x 750mm
Medium: Oil on canvas
Ownership: The portrait was commissioned by the New Zealand Portrait Gallery and was painted from life by Garth Tapper in 1992.
SIR EDMUND HILLARY, KG, ONZ, KBE, Conqueror of Mt Everest.
Edmund Percival Hillary was born on 20 July 1919 in Auckland and died
there on January 11 2008. He attended Auckland Grammar School, and followed
in his father's footsteps as a beekeeper.
Hillary joined a British expedition to climb Everest in 1953, led by the
British mountaineer John Hunt. On 29 May 1953, Edmund Hillary and Sherpa
Tenzing Norgay stepped onto the summit of Mt Everest.
In 1958 Hillary led an expedition riding tractors across Antarctica to the
South Pole. In the 50's and 60's he undertook another half dozen Himalayan
assents; in 1960 he embarked on a much-publicised expedition to find the
Abominable Snowman; and in 1977 he journeyed by jet boat to the source of the
Ganges.
Hillary established the Himalayan Trust to assist in improving the Nepalese
standards of education and health, and over the decades has raised funds and
helped set up many schools, hospitals and medical clinics.
In 1985 Sir Edmund was appointed High Commissioner to India and Nepal.
He was the only living New Zealander to be featured on a bank note.
Garth Tapper, artist (1927 - 1999)
Tapper is best known for his figurative works of "typical kiwis". Born in the Waikato and a graduate of the Elam School of Fine Arts, his paintings are regarded as a commentary on New Zealand life. Gum diggers, roadside workers, court room scenes and Puhoi pub patrons feature predominately in his paintings. This portrait was commissioned by the New Zealand Portrait Gallery and painted from life in 1992.