One woman's 10-year search for the 'Happy Face' in Beatrice White portrait

The boy in the portrait, Deborah Williams believes, could be from Rotorua. Photo / Supplied

Whenever Deborah Williams walks into her home office she is greeted by a familiar smile.

"When I come in through the door, he's straight ahead of me," Williams, 75, told the Rotorua Daily Post.

"He's there with all his youthful exuberance, a gorgeous smile and lovely, dark, glossy hair. He's a real soul."

For the past 10 years, Williams has been on a quest to discover the identity of the boy in the pastel portrait on her wall - and her investigations have led her to believe he could be from Rotorua.

For ten years, Deborah Williams has been on a quest to discover the identity of the boy in this pastel portrait. Photo / Supplied

"I've been associated with Parihaka for more than 10 years although I live in Christchurch," the retired French and German language teacher said.

"When I go to Parihaka they have pictures of the people on the walls of their whare who have passed on and I just thought the portrait belongs with the family if I can find them."

The artwork came into Williams' family decades ago, when her parents won a raffle at the Canterbury Society of Art.

Since then, the portrait has been a part of Williams' home and now has pride of place in a room where she spends most of her day.

"He's part of a room full of wonderful people that are very special to me," Williams said.

"It's beautiful. It's such a lovely painting. But it's not mine to keep. It's mine to look after and pass on. I am only its kaitiaki."

A newspaper article referring to Beatrice White's pastel studies of children exhibited at Puriri Gallery. Photo / Supplied

The portrait, titled Happy Face bears the signature of artist Beatrice White. The back of the work is labelled: "Happy Face Māori, 15 years [old]".

"There's also the number 2 written there, so there may have been another portrait done," Williams said.

"It's also got an address: 17 Jefferson St, Wellington and a date, 1957."

From this information, Williams has been conducting her own research through art catalogues, newspaper articles and speaking with curators.

"There was a catalogue in Christchurch that mentioned a portrait by Beatrice White was of a guide from Whakarewarewa."

Williams believes the portrait that now hangs on her wall was part of the same exhibition.

Now, she hopes spreading the word about the painting will help her to find him or his family.

"He'd be four years older than me," Williams said.

"I've tried several times, quite intensively, to find out who he might be."

A newspaper article about pastel portrait artist Beatrice White. Photo / Supplied

The only way Williams has not tried yet is to put the portrait on display in Rotorua.

"I thought, if I send the story to the local paper, more people might see him and someone who knows who he is could come forward."

When asked why she continued to search after 10 years, Williams replied with her favourite whakataukī: "He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata. What is the most important thing in the world? It is the people, it is the people, it is the people."

Williams said she was searching for the boy's people.

"It's a picture of somebody's father or brother and I would like to find this person and learn his story."

Williams asks anyone with information that could lead to identifying the boy in the artwork to contact her at debwnz@gmail.com.