ATTRIBUTED TO ALGERNON PHILLIPS WITHIEL THOMAS (1857-1937)
Nicholas Thomas Fleming, seated half-length, holding a monocle
initialed A P W and indistinctly dated (lower left)
oil on canvas
83 x 63 cm

Algernon Phillips Withiel Thomas, a biologist who emigrated to New Zealand in 1883 to take up the professorship
of natural sciences at the university college of Auckland. He held a position of
some social standing and took a keen interest in the arts, being a member of the
Auckland Society of Arts and the Auckland Institute and Museum.