It is just over a century since Katherine Mansfield sailed out of Wellington harbour in 1908, never to return. It is 125 years since she was born Kathleen Beauchamp in Thorndon, Wellington, in 1888. Mansfield's reputation as an innovative modernist writer continues to grow and she has inspired numerous artistic endeavours. Indeed, this Journal reaffirms Mansfield's artistic legacy with every volume. As a writer, Mansfield has fascinated academics and readers globally. As an art curator my own interest lies in the many images of Mansield, made both during her lifetime and in the near century following her death. Adorning the covers of many publications over the years is the now familiar Anne Estelle Rice portrait, held in the Museum of New Zealand's collection, but Mansield's image has continued to provide inspiration for artists, especially in the last two decades, when there appears to have been something of a renaissance in portraits of her.

In 2004 I visited a Wellington dealer at the Tinakori Gallery, to view well-known New Zealand artist Nigel Brown's latest work. However, not on display, but kept in the stockroom of the gallery, was a much earlier work by Brown entitled Names Paintings – Katherine Mansfield. It caught my eye instantly and I purchased the large portrait. What I did not know at that time was that the acquisition of this work would begin an interesting journey for me as both a private collector and curator of a public art gallery.