Suzanne Bambridge

Suzanne Teriimarama Bambridge (1844–1911) was a leading social figure in Tahiti in the late nineteenth century.[1]

Gauguin's portrait of Suzanne Bambridge, 1891

Life

Bambridge was the daughter of Thomas Bambridge and Maraea Haumani O'Connor. Her English father was a missionary in Papeete and Tahitian-Irish O'Connor was his second wife.[2] In 1891 French artist Paul Gauguin, recently arrived in Papeete, secured a commission to paint Bambridge's portrait.

Her great-grandfather, James O'Conner, had been a sailor aboard the whaler Matilda, which had wrecked on Moruroa on 25 May 1792. The crew had survived and reached Tahiti on 5 March. O'Conner and a handful of other survivors declined later opportunities to return to Britain, preferring to settle in Tahiti.

References
  1. Russell, Peter (2016). Delphi Complete Works of Paul Gauguin (Illustrated). Delphi Classics.
  2. Tapscott, Robert E. (2017-02-12). "Tapscott Family History: Tales of the South Pacific — The Bambridge Family". Tapscott Family History. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
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