Orakei Korako on the Waikato

Painted by Charles Blomfield in 1890, this scene takes us to Orakei Korako, a geothermal valley along the Waikato River in New Zealand. Wisps of steam drift up from the ground in several spots, a clue to the hot springs and geysers that made this area famous. In the foreground, a small Māori settlement sits among thatched huts, with a few figures resting near the buildings. Behind them, the land opens into a wide river valley framed by soft, rolling hills and distant mountains fading into a hazy blue.

Blomfield was an English-born artist who moved to New Zealand and spent much of his career capturing the country's landscapes, especially its volcanic and geothermal wonders. He is best remembered for his paintings of the Pink and White Terraces, the natural silica formations that were destroyed by the 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera. His work has real historical value because it records places and ways of life that have since changed or vanished. This painting follows a fairly traditional landscape style of the time, calm and detailed, more interested in documenting a place honestly than in showing off.

Today, scenes like this one offer a quiet window into nineteenth century New Zealand, when European settlers and Māori communities lived alongside the country's remarkable natural features.