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It is one of the most famous photographs in New Zealand, a black and white photo of the first Labor Prime Minister, Michael Joseph Savage.
The iconic portrait hung in thousands of homes in the 1930s and 40s and is visible today in the office of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Until now, historians have never known if the original negative still existed. But this month, a curator at Te Papa discovered the original of the famous photo.
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The original negative of an iconic portrait of Michael Joseph Savage was discovered at Te Papa
Te Papa’s curator of photography, Athol McCredie, discovered the original negative in Spencer Digby’s archive at the museum, which comprises tens of thousands of negatives of images taken by the studio between the 1930s and 1960s.
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McCredie said he had long suspected that Spencer Digby’s archive might contain the original of the iconic image, but it was only when he began actively researching the archive this year that he gathered the clues.
In the study’s log book, he found an entry titled “Savage” that led to the discovery of the negative, tucked into a well-filled drawer.
“We have seen the image reproduced many times, but never the negative; this is the origin of all those images, the original from which all those impressions come, ”McCredie said.
ALEXANDER TURNBULL LIBRARY / Stuff
Michael Joseph Savage bringing furniture to New Zealand’s first state home. John Alexander Lee is also visible.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has the portrait in her office and was prominent in the background of her speech to the nation when announcing the Covid-19 alert level system, which Massey University political communications expert Claire Robinson, He said it was a deliberate branding exercise.
“With his slight smile and eyes that sparkled and connected directly with viewers, this portrait of Savage has long been considered the embodiment of Labor government’s first brand: friendly, benevolent, trustworthy and selfless,” says Robinson. .
“Placing his portrait behind the desk of Jacinda Ardern is a sign that she is committed to the mission he started in the 1930s to rid the country of poverty and unemployment.”
Photo negatives from this era are commonly made from flammable materials and must be kept in specialized storage facilities.
The Spencer Digby file is kept in special stores, at two degrees Celsius.
