Examples of Daff’s work can be found at cultural institutions around the country, including Hocken Collections, and encompass pencil works, watercolour paintings and illustrated publications.
Daff was born in London in 1885. She trained at London Polytechnic and commercial correspondence school, specialising in draughtsmanship and lettering. Daff’s training and artistic skills led to a career as an illustrator for a greeting card company. However, the work was poorly paid, and Daff felt unfulfilled. In 1926, she migrated to New Zealand following her mother’s death. She arrived first in Wellington and was employed by the New Zealand Government Tourist and Publicity Department. At this time, she also began sketching and painting native birds and flowers.
In Phormium tenax with bellbird (c.1933), Daff depicts a korimako/bellbird resting on a flowering harakeke/flax bush. Daff’s attention to detail is particularly evident in this work with her skilled application of colour, accurately capturing the slight blueish tinge of the bird’s face, wing and tail feathers. She also paid close attention to the delicate structure and rich golden hue of the harakeke flowers. To me, this image encapsulates late summer. I can imagine the melodious call of the korimako ringing out across the landscape, and the sweet honey-like fragrance of the flowering harakeke filling the summer air.
Daff’s paintings were featured in a variety of publications, including New Zealand Birds and how to identify them (1936), an illustrated guide to native birds dedicated to the children of New Zealand. This book was written by ornithologist and naturalist Perrine Moncrieff, another woman who made considerable contributions to wildlife conservation in New Zealand during the mid-20th century.
Daff’s work also drew support from Captain Ernest Valentine Sanderson (1866-1945), secretary of the Native Bird Protection Society (now known as Forest & Bird). The society was formally established in 1923 and aimed to promote the importance of protecting native bird species and their habitats. Sanderson saw the value in Daff’s paintings and their potential to captivate the public and foster increased support for the organisation and its mission.
Daff created 52 paintings of native birds in their natural habitats, which were published in two albums: New Zealand birds: 24 coloured illustrations of forest-inhabiting birds with descriptive letterpress (1933) and New Zealand sea and shore birds (1940). These albums were reprinted multiple times, indicating their popularity and a desire among readers to learn more about New Zealand’s endemic species.
Daff’s paintings were also featured on the covers of more than 30 Forest & Bird magazines from 1933 to 1945.
Daff’s impressive artistic talent and her interest in native flora and fauna led to her forming connections with leading ornithologists and naturalists around the country. In 1931, Daff travelled to Dunedin to paint the only taxidermied takahē in New Zealand, a bird that was thought extinct at the time. Later that year, Daff became the first woman to be professionally employed at Otago Museum. She continued working at the museum until her death in 1945.
Daff brought attention to an important cause and encouraged appreciation of native flora and fauna among the wider public in Aotearoa. Unfortunately, however, a number of publications featuring Daff’s illustrations did not fully credit her work. This was likely because during her lifetime her paintings were often perceived as popular art rather than informative scientific illustrations.
All publications mentioned and examples of Daff’s work are available to view upon request at Hocken Collections (open 10am-5pm, Tuesday to Saturday). A small selection of digitised works are also available to view on Hocken’s digital collections website: hocken.recollect.co.nz.
Amy Closs is a general assistant at Hocken Collections.
