Curated by Linda Tyler from the Centre for Art Research at the University of Auckland, this exhibition explores the life and work of the Scottish botanist and draughtsman John Buchanan. The exhibition features watercolours and drawings of New Zealand landscapes, birds, fossils and botanical specimens created by Buchanan during his scientific endeavours.
The material on display has been sourced primarily from the collections of the Hocken and Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand. The most well-known of Buchanan's watercolours, Milford Sound from Freshwater Basin, which was first shown in the 'Specimens and Illustrations of Natural History and Physical Science' section of the 1865 New Zealand Exhibition, and now in the Hocken, is one of the exhibition's highlights.