About the Author

Born in Wellington in 1927 and educated in Christchurch, Brian Brake gained an affinity with the camera at a young age. After working with the National Film Unit in Wellington, he based himself in London and worked internationally as a freelance photographer, before being invited by Henri Cartier-Bresson to join the exclusive Magnum Photos agency in 1955. His 1961 photo essay Monsoon propelled him to world acclaim; in that year he moved to Hong Kong, where he was based until the mid-1970s, contributing regularly to magazines such as National Geographic and Life, and later making films. In 1974 he was commissioned by the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council of New Zealand to photograph indigenous art and artefacts from museums around the South Pacific - many of those images are contained in this collection. He returned to New Zealand to live in 1976, and his ongoing involvement in exhibitions and publications helped Maori art to reach an international audience. Brian Brake died in Auckland in 1988.