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By Nick James of 

A mistake by council staff led to a $7000 portrait of Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau being painted, rather than a photograph being used.

Mayoral portraits are a long-standing council tradition dating back to Wellington’s early civic history. They have been produced in both painted and photographic formats.

Last week, Whanau unveiled a portrait created by artist Clark Roworth using oil on canvas.

Painted portraits of previous Wellington Mayors Mark Blumsky, Fran Wilde and Kerry Prendergast. Photo / Wellington City Council

In 2023, the Wellington City Council executive leadership team recommended photography should be used as the standard approach for mayoral portraits for reasons of “cost-effectiveness and timeliness”.

A statement from the council said the Whanau portrait resulted from a “misunderstanding” of that 2023 direction during a period when the operational guidance had not yet been formalised.

It said staff told the mayor’s office a portrait could be commissioned when the office sought advice this year.

“As part of the current review of the city art collection policy, council is reflecting this in the revised policy to ensure clarity and consistency going forward.”

Whanau declined to comment to RNZ on the matter.

Previous mayoral portraits included a $9000 painting of Fran Wilde and an $8500 painting of Mark Blumsky.

The last mayor to have her portrait painted before Whanau’s was Kerry Prendergast in 2011. The cost was not recorded.

Celia Wade-Brown had a photographic portrait, which cost $2000; Justin Lester’s portrait was a photo, which the council said had “minimal cost”; and at the time of reporting, a portrait of Andy Foster had not been completed because of his commitments as an MP.

When Whanau unveiled her mayoral portrait, she said in a post on Instagram that it felt like a “lovely end” to her time in the role with her “mana intact”.

“We will leave behind a progressive long-term plan for the next council.”

Whanau said she was appreciative of Roworth’s talent.

“His attention to detail is incredible, and I love how he captured the original brief - Mana serving diva.”