Born in 1922 in Prague to German-speaking parents, Harry Sangl established a career as a professional painter before marrying a New Zealander and emigrating to her homeland in 1969. Chance circumstances led him to meeting his first 'kuia with moko' in Ruatoki, Bay of Plenty in 1972, beginning a pilgrimage around the country to locate the 34 moko kauae bearers and seek their consent to be portraited. Now resident in Auckland, Harry Sangl has continued an illustrious painting career into his nineties. An exhibition of prints of his kuia moko works took place at the Depot Artspace in Devonport, Auckland, in March 2019.